There would still be 60 empty wicker chairs on Centre Court if Wimbledon invited the players who had defeated Novak Djokovic on grass to the Royal Box.
Theresa May was prime minister the last time the Serbian lost on the lawn—to Marin Cilic in the 2018 Queen’s final—and only 14 players have ever defeated him on this surface.
Seven Wimbledon championships have been won as a result of this dominance, and an eighth one is certain to occur on Sunday unless Carlos Alcaraz manages what no player has done at SW19 in six years, when Tomas Berdych’s victory over Novak Djokovic was much aided by an elbow injury that prompted Djokovic to withdraw from the tournament.
The younger generation’s greatest hope at this point seems to be Djokovic quitting the sport entirely. The No. 1 Court crowd laughed when Jannik Sinner was asked, following his quarterfinal victory, who he hoped to play in his semi-final on Friday.
Djokovic is the “monster” that no player wants to face, in Nick Kyrgios’ words, and while Alcaraz will welcome the challenge and declare that there is no time to be “tired or afraid,” it is unclear whether he genuinely thinks that.
But it all begins there. inner ear. Djokovic is aware that he usually defeats opponents before they even step foot on the court. Cilic, who defeated Djokovic to win the Queen’s trophy, said after the match on the mental fortitude it takes to stay in the game.
Five years later and zero Wimbledon losses later, Djokovic may have said something that best captures his current state of mind.
On Tuesday, he stated, “I know they [the younger players] want to get a scalp, they want to win, but it ain’t happening,” and the way he spoke the final three words terrified his rivals. And don’t confuse that with conceited arrogance. This was evidence-based assurance from a man who is aware that he is the favorite and is once again living up to the hype.
How therefore, specifically on this field, do you defeat him?
You wouldn’t be mistaken if you just stated or thought, “Bang a load of aces,” using the conventional grass-court strategy. Sam Querrey defeated Novak Djokovic in a full match at Wimbledon last year with 31 aces, defeating Djokovic in four sets.
Sam Querrey was the opponent in the final Wimbledon match Novak Djokovic lost in 2016 (Photo: Getty).
Querrey also had the advantage in tie-breaks, winning both of them on that occasion. However, Djokovic is currently on a roll in tie-breaks, winning 15 straight grand slam matches — a record for the Open era.
After dominating all break points in his victory at the French Open, Djokovic stated last month, “It’s the attitude of a lockdown. “I’m only focused on the upcoming issue, therefore I need to thoroughly consider my options carefully. For me, it “has worked really well.”
On grass, Novak Djokovic loses against
King’s Cup 2018: Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
QF of the 2017 Wimbledon: Tomas Berdych 7-6, 2-0 RET
2016 Wimbledon Round-32 results: Sam Querrey 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6
Final Wimbledon match of 2013: Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Olympic bronze medalist Juan Martin del Potro, 7-5, 6-4 (2012)
Olympic SF for 2012: Andy Murray 7-5, 7-5
SF for the 2012 Wimbledon: Roger Federer 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Tomas Berdych, 2010 Wimbledon SF 6-3, 7-6, 6-3
R16 in 2010 for Queen’s: Xavier Malisse 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
(2009) Wimbledon Quarterfinals: Tommy Haas 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
Tommy Haas defeated in the 2009 Halle championship match 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
2008 Wimbledon R64: 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 Marat Safin
Rafael Nadal won the 2008 Queen’s final. 7-6, 7-5
SF for the 2007 Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 RET
R16 for Queen’s in 2007: Arnaud Clement 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Wimbledon R16 from 2006: Mario Ancic 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Jan Hernych, 2006’s’s-Hertogenbosch R16 6-2, 6-4
2005 Wimbledon R32: 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 Sebastien Grosjean
So far, Djokovic has succeeded in avoiding tie-breaks and serving nearly flawlessly. These two skills were especially important in his fourth-round triumph over Hubert Hurkacz, who dropped the first two sets in tie-breaks before winning the third. How? By only losing three points in the serve-and-match.
“He was serving incredibly well,” Djokovic remarked later. To be honest, I don’t remember ever feeling so helpless during a return game.
“I knew he’s a big server and a great player, especially on grass, but I didn’t anticipate him to serve this effectively and accurately. He merits praise. It was an extremely close contest. It might have taken a different turn.
As far as Djokovic has come throughout the tournament, his match was very nearly troubled. Even though he later lost the opening set to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, he only dropped eight games after that.
Djokovic has a 47-36 winning percentage at major slams, which is great even when he loses the opening set, but if he wins the opening set, you can nearly forget about it.
The 36-year-old has only lost from that position five times across all four majors. In 250 matches where he had that advantage after winning the first two, he only lost once.
At Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz (R) has been closely monitoring Novak Djokovic’s development (Image: AFP).
Therefore, we must serve very well to win the opening set without using a tiebreaker. Simple, right?
All of that obviously needs breaking Djokovic, who has only been broken three times this Wimbledon despite being down six matches and 20 sets and reserving 16 break points in the process. His 84 percent saved this fortnight is better than the percentage of only three other male players
You must be willing to take a chance. It just gets easier, doesn’t it, as Alcaraz discovered the hard way when he faced Djokovic in the French Open semifinals last month.
Alcaraz acknowledged that the stress of playing Djokovic was a factor in the match’s eventual demise. Prior to the cramp setting in, the Spaniard only made two of his 12 break chances, both of which came in the second set, which he won 7-5.
Alcaraz vitally controlled the medium rallies, which lasted five to eight shots, winning 17 out of 22, indicating that once the effect of the serve had worn off, he had Djokovic on the ropes.
But it has ultimately come down to that. analyzing individual sets. Hurkacz’s set a few days ago; Alcaraz’s set at the French. One of the most difficult things in all of sport at the moment is to win three matches before Djokovic does so for himself.
And with Djokovic in this mood right now, it feels practically impossible at Wimbledon.
It is still feasible, however, especially if Djokovic only connects on 58% of his first serves, like he did in the semifinal match against Sinner. Despite the fact that this was a tournament low, he will probably make up for it when it matters on Sunday.
Additionally, Alcaraz made more mistakes on his backhand (30 out of 52) than his forehand, indicating a weakness that has to be addressed. Although Djokovic enjoys doing this in kind, few players are as methodical in their approach when tennis comes to tactics as the Serbian.
Alcaraz can, though, if anyone can. At this stage, it is more of a question than a declaration. Although he has managed the buildup to the match on Sunday and has a fierce baseline game, he will need more than just his bag of tricks to dethrone Djokovic.
And so to follow in the footsteps of Cilic, Berdych, Querrey, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Roger Federer, Xavier Malisse, Tommy Haas, Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal, Arnaud Clement, Mario Ancic, Jan Hernych and Sebastien Grosjean (a surprisingly long list but one that spans nearly two decades), Alcaraz will have to be virtually flawless; take his break-point chances, win those longer rallies, serve big in the key moments, get that drop shot fine-tuned. And stay away from cramps.
