Carlos Alcaraz must be ecstatic after crushing Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s tough Wimbledon 2024 final.
It was a faultless effort that could not have been more different from last year’s hard-fought five-set thriller. This time around, the Spaniard dominated.
Alcaraz must now swiftly concentrate, however, since tennis never stops, and he must keep looking ahead if he is to genuinely end the Big Three period for good.
After Roger Federer retires in 2022, Rafael Nadal, 38, will shortly hang up his racket. However, Djokovic, 37, is determined to keep playing and keep battling the younger players who are gradually catching up to him.
In addition, the major tennis event on the Paris clay court will begin on July 24th, marking the approach of the Olympic Games. It is likely Djokovic‘s last opportunity to win a gold medal for Serbia, so he is already preparing for it and vowing to give it all he has.
The 37-year-old may not be thinking about retirement just yet, but he surely will not be an active player when the next Olympics rolls around in four years’ time, and possibly missing out on gold to Alcaraz could make him reconsider his plans.
Alcaraz, of course, will be battling for gold and is arguably the favourite to do it in singles after he became just the sixth man in the Open Era to land a Channel Slam on Sunday, winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles back-to-back. But there are several things Alcaraz needs to do to ensure that he stays on this upwards trajectory that’s seen him land four major titles by the age of just 21.
Keep Novak Djokovic feeling ‘inferior’ with his lethal serves
Alcaraz played some sensational tennis in his triumph over Djokovic, especially over the first two sets. The Serbian veteran simply could not handle Alcaraz’s serve and the Spaniard will need to maintain that kind of power going forward.
‘I’ve never seen him serve that way, to be honest,’ Djokovic said on Sunday. ‘136. Maybe I was missing something this tournament, but I’ve never seen him serve that fast. He must have had a really good serving practice day [on Saturday].
‘Overall, the way I felt on the court against him, I was inferior on the court. That’s it. He was a better player. He played every single shot better than I did. I don’t think I could have done something much more. Try to pump myself up maybe, yes. Get the crowd involved. That’s what was happening in the third.
‘That got me going a little bit. Yeah, he wasn’t also allowing me to have much of a free points on my serve. He was reading the serve. He was playing with a lot of variety. Yes, overall he really outplayed me. I really think he just was better than me in every aspect of the game – movement, in the way he was striking the ball beautifully, serving great, everything.’
Alcaraz added: ‘[On my] days off I was practicing the serve. I was really focused on the serve to be better. I think I got better in every match that I was playing. Really glad that I had this serve game [against Djokovic] because it was really a main weapon that I put in [the] match. I’m really pleased about it.’
Never ‘give up’ ever again and make forehand improvements
Alcaraz openly admits he ‘gave up’ during the first set of his Wimbledon quarter-final over Tommy Paul before winning 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-2. It’s the sort of thing he has to cut out completely if he wants to go on and pass the legacy of the Big Three.
The Spaniard also wants to make improvements with his forehand shots and insists it’s something that he can turn into even more of a weapon on the court.
‘I gave up a little bit [against Tommy Paul],’ Alcaraz said. ‘I remember perfectly. I gave up a little bit in the second set after losing the first one. It’s something that is unacceptable playing in a Grand Slam.
‘I knew that these things can’t happen again. It helped me a lot coming to the next Grand Slams, next tournaments to be better in the mental side, to be strong enough, playing best tennis in the close and difficult situations. Yeah, I think I’m here right now thanks to this kind of situations that I learned about.’
Speaking about his forehand skills, Alcaraz added: ‘Yeah, I have to keep improving everything, I guess. My forehand, at this level I think it can be better. Every year should be better.’
Take no notice of tumbling records on path to greatness
Alcaraz simply cannot afford to rest on his laurels. He needs to stay hungry, take no notice of the various records he keeps breaking and remain as humble as possible, especially after enjoying such incredible success so early into his career.
Alcaraz has registered a historic Channel Slam – and he’s become just the second man in the Open Era to win his first four major finals in singles. It would be easy to be happy with those achievements and take his foot off the gas heading into the Olympics and US Open but he needs to drown out the praise and just keep going.
‘Well, obviously I’ve seen and I’ve heard all the stats that I am the youngest to win at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon the same year,’ Alcaraz said on Sunday. ‘I honestly try not to think about it too much. Obviously it’s a really great start of my career, but I have to keep going. I have to keep building my path.
‘At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now. It doesn’t matter if I already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21. If I’m not keep going, all these tournaments for me, it doesn’t matter. I really want to keep going. I will try to keep winning and end my career with a lot of them.
‘I don’t know what is my limit. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to keep enjoying my moment, just to keep dreaming. So let’s see if at the end of my career it’s going to be 25, 30, 15 or four [major titles]. I don’t know. All I want to say is I want to keep enjoying it, and let’s see what the future brings to me.’