Novak Djokovic might be the most decorated Grand Slam champion in the history of men’s tennis but he is taking nothing for granted heading into his upcoming clash with Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
The Serbian is chasing after a record-equalling eighth title at The All England Club this year which is a tally that has only been previously reached by Roger Federer on the men’s Tour. Furthermore, victory on Sunday would reward him with his 24th major title and a return to the top of the ATP rankings.
Standing in his way is 20-year-old Alcaraz who is rapidly finding his footing on the grass where he has won 11 matches in a row this season. Alcaraz defeated world No.3 Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Friday.
On paper, it could be argued that Djokovic has the edge given his experience. He is almost 16 years older than the Spaniard who he also beat in their most recent clash at the French Open.
“It could help a little bit in some important moments but it’s not going to be the deciding factor really,” he said during his press conference after beating Jannik Sinner in three sets.
“It’s not going to affect that much on the game itself. Whoever on a given day is in a better state, mentally and physically, will be the winner.”
To put the age gap into perspective, Sunday’s men’s final will be the second-largest gap in the Open Era. The largest took place in 1974 when there was a 17-year gap between Jimmy Connors and Ken Rosewall.
Djokovic has said on multiple occasions that at this stage of his career, his number one goal is to peak in time for the major tournaments. Coming into Wimbledon he has won three out of the past four Grand Slam events contested. The only exception was at the US Open which he was not allowed to play at due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19.
“Every time I start the season, I want to peak at these four tournaments,” Djokovic states.
“I try to organize my training schedule, my preparation weeks and all the tournaments according to these priorities.’
“All the tournaments that I play are leading me up to the Grand Slam. I’m really glad that this year, actually the last several years, my Grand Slam seasons are amazing.” He added.
Djokovic has only played Alcaraz twice before, which was on the clay. Their head-to-head is level at 1-1 but on the grass, it will be a different dynamic. He hasn’t lost to a top-10 player at Wimbledon since 2013. Meanwhile, his opponent didn’t record a Tour win on the Surface until this year.
“I think he has already developed a very accurate game on grass,” Djokovic said of Alcaraz.
“This is probably the best final that we could have. We are both in good form. We’re both playing well.’
“Without a doubt, I want to take this title. It’s going to be a great challenge and the greatest challenge that I could have at the moment from any angle really: physical, mental and emotional.”
“Grass is massively different from clay. I do have more experience playing in Grand Slams or Wimbledon finals than him. Still, he’s in great shape, he’s very motivated, he’s young and he’s hungry.”
The men’s final will start at 14:00 GMT on Sunday.
