Novak Djokovic made a significant concession after his significant defeat on Sunday to the new king of Wimbledon. The 24-time grand slam champion, widely considered – and statistically indisputably – the greatest tennis player of all time, conceded he was not at his Wimbledon conqueror Carlos Alcaraz’s or world No.1 Jannik Sinner’s level.
At age 37, Djokovic is the underdog again. That much was obvious watching Alcaraz dish out a straight-sets hiding to him on the most famous court in the world. He bashed him from the baseline.
Out-served him. Was better at the net. Hit more winners.
Committed fewer errors. “Just overall, the way I felt on the court today against him, I was inferior on the court,” Djokovic said. “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.” Djokovic stretches for a forehand. Credit: AP Sinner destroyed him in very similar fashion in the Australian Open semi-finals , when Djokovic failed to earn a break point for the first time in his grand slam career.
“I was, in a way, shocked with my level, in a bad way,” Djokovic said after the Sinner loss. “I guess this is one of the worst grand slam matches I’ve ever played.”.