Wimbledon, England – Novak Djokovic’s hope to win the eighth Wimbledon title and the record-breaking 25th Grand Slam crown was shattered by the sparkle of the world’s No. 1 Janik Sinner on Friday.
Djokovic, 38, who stumbled his move after a fall in the previous round, was the second clear best against the criminal who won his final five matches against the Serbs.
Djokovic shares his career major record with Margaret Court and knows he may not have too many chances to win another. Has he missed his best chance to win another major? We break it down.
Time is not by his side
Over the years, Djokovic has rewritten what is possible from the human body, pushing himself to the absolute limits, moving incredibly well, still playing at a very high level.
But it has been two years since his last Grand Slam victory. He won the US Open for the fourth time in his career. He turned 38 in May, but the simple fact in question is that he has given up on the sinner for 15 years and 16 years to Carlos Alcaraz. Ken Rosewall is the oldest man to win the slam title at the 1972 Australia Open, 37 years old, two months and a day ago. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were both 36 years old, like Djokovic, who won the US Open a few years ago. Maybe it’s a cutoff.
Sinner and Alkaraz are taking the game to another level
Soon after Federer and Nadal’s retirement, few would have thought we could guide another golden age of men’s tennis. But in Sinner and Alcaraz, men’s tennis is blessed with two men who can control the sport for years to come. Thinner has already won four slams, with Alkaraz having five in his name, with two guys squared off in the Wimbledon Finals.
Their power is unparalleled, their movements are unparalleled, their momentum is as high as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic’s peak. Perhaps the biggest problem for Djokovic is that in order to win another major, he not only needs to ignore the passage of time, but also to beat at least one, perhaps both of these two. It’s something that has been proven beyond him so far, and unless the draw is opened in some way somewhere, it asks him to do it a lot.
“I think playing Best of 5, especially this year, was a real struggle for me physically,” Djokovic said Friday. “The longer the tournament, the worse it gets. We’ve reached the final stage. We’ve reached the semi-finals of all the slams this year, but we’ve got to play sinners and Alkaraz.
Injuries are beginning to fall victim to
At the Australian Open, hamstring tears ended his hopes that they would reach the final. Djokovic quit after a set with his opponent, Alexander Zverev, who he expected to hit a beat. At the French Open, after losing a tough three-setter on the sinner, he revealed he is suffering from muscle damage. Then again at Wimbledon, his movements were clearly hampered, falling into the late and hips of close muscles in the previous round.
Trying to get past seven matches, each with five sets, is a challenging task at the best, but at 38, painless, injury-free pain, long enough to have a crack in another title, is becoming increasingly difficult.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Djokovic said after the match Friday. “It’s just age, it’s wear and tears in my body. Just as I cherish it, reality hits me now, last year and a half, like never before.”
But don’t write him down
Nothing inspires Djokovic than being told he can’t do anything, so anyone who clearly says he’s got his final major is stupid at best. Again and again, he came up with an incredible feat when the odds were against him. And like all great champions, he loves it when he is amortized.
Of course, the US Open and the Australian Open are good surfaces for his game, and once things move into a draw, he will believe there is one more for him. In theory, clay would be even more difficult, but if his body plays the ball, grass is always a good opportunity for him. What’s certain is that if he gets another chance, in another final, he gives everything he has.
