New Delhi: At Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic had looked old. As Carlos Alcaraz had mercilessly hammered him and reduced the match to a no-contest, fans had knowingly nodded to each other — his time was now up. The injuries were piling up, he hadn’t won a title in 2024, the younger players were getting better, and it was all adding up for the Serbian.
But Djokovic had not said a word then. He had miraculously recovered from his knee surgery and reached the final of Wimbledon. The world thought he was done, but he had just smiled.
He was saving it all for the Olympics. He had won hundreds of matches over a long career and won almost everything there was to win but there was no Olympic gold in his cabinet. For 16 years, it had eluded him and he wanted it badly.
But standing in the way of successfully completing his quest was Alcaraz...
again. The Spaniard clearly didn’t fear the Serbian but the old dog, having had a few more days to recover from his surgery, had a few tricks up his sleeve as well. The games were intense, bringing back memories of the kind of tennis that Nadal and Djokovic would often dish out when they faced each other.
Alcaraz is 16 years younger than Djokovic and that difference has usually shown in the power of his forehand. At Wimbledon, on the grass, he did not miss..
. he just couldn’t. But here on the terre battue a different set of tactics came into play.
Djokovic knew that he didn’t have the luxury of a five-setter to fall back on. Lose the first se.