 "Alcaraz has best of Federer, Nadal and myself, says Djokovic after 'Spanish bull' wins Wimbledon 2023 (WATCH)")
synopsis
"I haven't played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos Alcaraz is a very complete player," said Novak Djokovic after the Spanish sensation bagged his maiden Wimbledon crown.
Novak Djokovic has faced legendary tennis icons Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal 109 times in total. The Serbian played Carlos Alcaraz for just the third time on Sunday, losing to the 20-year-old Spaniard in the Wimbledon 2023 final in five sets. In his post-match analysis, Djokovic was all praise for Alcaraz, likening the World No. 1 to himself, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, Nadal, a 22-time Slam champion, and Federer, a 20-time major winner.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about [Alcaraz’s] game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that. I think he's got basically best of all three worlds,” Djokovic said.
“He's got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It's quite impressive. He's got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence that we've seen with Rafa over the years. And I think he's got some nice sliding backhands that he's got some similarities with my backhands. The two-handed backhands, defence, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too," the seven-time Wimbledon champion added.
“I haven't played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces," Djokovic noted.
Djokovic’s title match against Alcaraz was a winner-takes-all showdown, with the champion leaving London with the trophy and the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking. With his second major, Alcaraz on Monday will begin his 29th week in top spot. Djokovic enjoys his rivalry with Alcaraz and believes it is beneficial for sports.
“He's going to be on the Tour for quite some time. I don't know how long I'll be around. It's been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in later stages of Grand Slams,” said Djokovic, who defeated Alcaraz en route to the Roland Garros crown.
“I hope we get to play in US Open. Why not? I think it's good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn't be better for our sport in general," he added.
Djokovic advanced to a tie-break in the second set after taking the first set. Prior to Sunday, the 36-year-old had prevailed in his previous 15 major tie-break matches, but he was unable to hold off Alcaraz, who evened the score and got a foothold in the match.
“I would say the tie-break in the second set,” Djokovic said in his press conference when asked if he had any regrets. “The backhands kind of let me down, to be honest. Set point, I missed the backhand. He did play a backhand that was quite long in the court, and had a little bit of a bad bounce. But I should not have missed that shot."
“Then on 6/6, again, another backhand from middle of the court in the net. Just two very poor backhands. That's it. The match shifted to his side. It turned around. He just raised his level so much in the third. I wasn't myself for quite some time," the Serbian added.
Djokovic, who finished the season with a 33-5 record, will leave London having won a season-high 23 majors at Roland Garros. As he attempts to earn a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals for the 16th time, the Serbian is also second in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin.
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