After losing the Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic knighted his conqueror Carlos Alcaraz.
“People say that his game consists of certain elements from Roger (Federer), Rafael (Nadal) and me. I agree. He has the best of all three worlds,” Djokovic said after his five-set loss to the Spaniard. “I’ve never played against a player like him.”
Alcaraz had prevailed in the classic lawn in an epic final over 4:42 hours with 1: 6, 7: 6 (8: 6), 6: 1, 3: 6, 6: 4. With the triumph in Wimbledon, Alcaraz also defended first place in the world rankings. For Djokovic it was the first defeat at Wimbledon after 34 wins in a row. The 36-year-old Serb had previously won the grass classic four times in a row.
“One of the best players in the world”
Djokovic would have caught up with record winner Roger Federer, who won eight times in London, by winning the title again in Wimbledon. In addition, with his 24th success in one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, he would have set the record of the Australian Margaret Court.
“He is one of the best players in the world. He is of extremely high quality at this age,” Djokovic praised the 20-year-old Alcaraz. “I hope we can play against each other again at the US Open,” said the Serb, referring to the last Grand Slam tournament this year.
“I don’t think there’s anything better for our sport than world number one and world number two going head-to-head in epic five-set matches.”
