Except he did, at least in the post-match interview I watched. Nothing but respect for Alcaraz, which he should have anyway because the kid will likely be the one to break his Grand Slam record one day.
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I was referring to the italian lad he had just beaten…Lorenzo Musetti
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One Spaniard wins in England. Here’s hoping Spain wins against England.
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Loved seeing Djokovic getting destroyed like that. He has never come across as being particularly likeable.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, appears to be a really nice guy. Here’s hoping he continues his fine form for many more years.
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Yup seemed like a nice lad when he was doing his interview with the cheeky Spanish comment.
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Pity that injury has blighted his career. Had he not been in the era of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, he would surely still have won many more titles.
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Yeah he was cursed by being born to the golden generation of tennis. The fact he won what he did between his injury issues and the quality of opposition shows how good he was.
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Yup, 10 years earlier he would have had more or probably just coming through even now.
Alcaraz seems the stand out but there isn’t anyone like those 3 currently.
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Once DJokovic’s knee completely heals he should still provide stiff opposition to a point. He was noticeably trying to keep points short at Wimbledon. He can still repeatedly hit the corners of the court and that can trouble Alcaraz.
It’s great that Alcaraz tries shots for fun in pressure games but by doing so he makes life difficult for himself. Then again, I’ve had enough of robotic players. Carlito is a breath of fresh air.
I guess his rivals would be Sinner, Zverev, and Medvedev. If he’s on his game, though, he wins a majority of those matches. He also has big room for improvement of his return game and making his first serve a bit more unpredictable.
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Knee injury at 37 though, can’t be many more years left in Djokovic
But it’s not Novak’s DNA and it’s starting to show.
He’s one of the greats, but him risking more isn’t really himself (making some stupid unforced mistakes) and when he still plays a good portion of his nothing/neutral shots, it’s bread and butter for today’s younger top players.
Getting to this Wimbledon’s final at 37 was perhaps the best he could get this time, considering the injury, time out, time to recover, etc. Still, it was a bit surprising how easy Alcaraz beat him.
Of course, Novak could still have a quality run to the end if he has better preparation. But at some point, that’ll be it. It’s possible that this was it, or at least a significant match that signals the shift of power.
I really like Sinner though, the way he attacks, his variety and touch. Spoke to a tennis coach who is a friend of mine and he tells me how his progression in tennis came pretty late in his childhood. Opting at times for other sports. Talent was there, results in youth tournaments weren’t really, but he and people around him believed in him.
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Sinner can strike powerful and accurate shots off both wings, but that’s all. His net skills and slices and stuffs like that are weak, and most important his legs are fragile - hence those recent injuries.
Medvedev and Zverev are approaching 30, and at their heights I don’t think they can last long like the Big 3. It will be only Sinner for the next few years, given how Rune has regressed a lot compared to last year.
I’ve already said that I never particularly liked tennis until Đoković came along and will likely lose interest in it once he retires. However, even though I know that Western folks have a particular dislike for him (not that I care but this is a forum that’s mostly populated by people who are West of me!) and even though I’m still riled by his Covid vaccine stance, he’s everything I’d want to see from every sports player from my country. Or every person for that matter in terms of attitude and respect towards neighbours and opponents, not to mention the massive amount of charity work he puts in without bragging about it.
I have to spare a thought for Alcaraz, though. I couldn’t care less for players that Đoković used to beat in numerous finals over the years but Alcaraz is the first one I actually cared about and sympathised with. The biggest compliment I can pay him is that, if Đoković wasn’t around and I had to choose one player to watch and support, it would be him without a second of thinking. I’m convinced that he will be the first one to surpass Đoković’s Grand Slam record but that’s beside the point. I hope he retains this humility and spirit of a real champion throughout his career.
I think people in general liked Federer more. More of them grew up watching him play
Somewhere down the line , fanboys translated support for Federer as dislike for Nadal and Djokovic and vice versa in this stupid social media times
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I dunno he has always irked me.
Though I’ve never been a fan of any of them, I like the underdog.
Anyhow bit of a shock last night.
I used to dislike Nadal as he was so robotic I found him monotonous and boring but over time I’ve come to appreciate him.
Djokovic I’ve never warmed to. Playstyle-wise he doesn’t do anything that we haven’t seen from other players before. If I watch Federer play I know I’m about to watch a genius. If Nadal plays I know I’ll see an athlete who has maximized every aspect of their ability. Djokovic doesn’t leave a lasting impression on me personally, he’s really good obviously but he’s just got less that sticks with me.
For someone who is called “The Joker” he comes across as completely humourless and overly sensitive to any form of criticism. The covid stuff is just an example of him intentionally creating drama then acting upset and claiming he’s unfairly treated when he’s called out on his bullshit.
I see that Djokovic is friends with Ronnie O’Sullivan, who I would say have pretty similar personalities so it makes some sense, but at least we can appreciate O’Sullivan as a flawed genius and not have this weird PR campaign about what a great guy he is really. O’Sullivan is a prick, he knows it, we know and he doesn’t care. That’s easier to like than the fakeness of Djokovic.
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Shelton Tiafoe was a real good back and forth game last night, even at 2-1 sets down I thought Tiafoe at 3/1 was a good bet. One of the most underrated players out there on his day.
Drape shows real promise. If he can bring all his shotmaking to bear more frequently and serve more accurately and consistently he can genuinely be a grand slam contender.
He’ll have to work hard on his 5 set stamina though.
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