In the end, the loneliness became too much for Novak Djokovic. The isolation was too much. He has braved loneliness for most of his career. And he has laughed in the face of antipathy and ambivalence, even as he became the greatest male tennis player of all time. However, this was too much. There were too many. The odds were just too great.
To witness his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz on Center Court in an epic Wimbledon men’s singles final was more than just the defeat of a great champion at the hands of a force of nature 16 years his junior, a boy who seems destined to rule the tennis world in its place for many years.
It was a defeat against Alcaraz and his youth and his enthusiasm and his power, but this wasn’t just Djokovic against Alcaraz; it was Djokovic against 15,000 spectators in the most famous arena in tennis, the vast majority of them cheering every point he lost and encouraging his opponent for all they were worth.
It was Djokovic against the world. It always seems to be Djokovic against the world. And this time, the world and the brilliance of Alcaraz finally brought him to his knees and to a seismic loss that seemed to herald the beginning of a new era and the end of Djokovic’s period of dominance.
Djokovic lost more than just a final here. He lost the chance to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s singles titles. He lost the chance to tie with Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Novak Djokovic’s loss in the Wimbledon final seemed to herald the end of his era of dominance
The Serbian star had tried to defy both Carlos Alcaraz and the Center Court crowd
Instead, Djokovic waved goodbye to the prospect of achieving a Grand Slam on the calendar
Djokovic waved goodbye to the prospect of becoming the first man in over 50 years to complete the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open Calendar Slam in the same year. It is unlikely that the opportunity will pass him by again.
And as Alcaraz has matured, having added a Wimbledon title to the US Open he won last year, Djokovic could find his chances of adding more Slams to his collection of 23 dwindling.
Just when he’s finally beaten Federer and Rafa Nadal, just when he thought he’d have a walk to move further up the list of all-time Slams won, he discovered that the pretender to the throne is no longer pretender to the throne. . He’s the real thing.
By the end of the second-longest men’s singles final in Wimbledon history – a single match final lasting 26 minutes that Alcaraz won – Djokovic had looked all his 36 years.
He has always been a player who has defied both time and opinion, but when he forced the match into the fifth set he looked old.
He stopped running for some of the devilish drop shots that Alcaraz began to drift over the net with increasing frequency. He conceded defeat to them. He tried to ease his pain. But he didn’t have the bounce and boundless energy he saw dancing in front of him on the other side of the net.
Watching Alcaraz felt like watching a young Mike Tyson. It felt like watching a young man, little more than a boy, who is just beginning to realize the destructive power of his strength and his youth and is so intoxicated by it that sometimes he can’t control it.
And there were times when Djokovic faltered in the face of that youth. There were times when even he, the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the man who had won the last four men’s singles titles at Wimbledon, looked simply overwhelmed.
Alcaraz demonstrated his destructive power as the Spanish youngster took the lead in the final
Djokovic was aged by Alcaraz during the latter stages of the Wimbledon final
Alcaraz possesses a box office quality that has quickly won over 20-year-old new fans
Djokovic has been applauded for some of his winners, but Alcaraz is tennis’ new superstar and he has the kind of panache in his game that Djokovic has never had. Djokovic is a competitor, a genius, but he is not spectacular like Alcaraz. Djokovic is not a box office. He was never cashier.
So while Djokovic hung in there, Alcaraz shone. There were times when he hit running forehand passing shots that were so ferocious the crowd didn’t know whether to gasp or roar. Usually they did both.
And every now and then, at crucial points or when he made spectacular winners, Alcaraz would turn to the crowd and raise his fist, Tiger Woods style. So we called Tiger and we called Tyson. Alcaraz is in that spirit. In the States they would call him ‘a phenomenon’.
And on Center Court, Djokovic was his straight man. The greatest male player of all time reduced to a straight man, a foil for the new man. The king is dead, long live the king. It can happen that fast in sport and on Sunday it happened before our very eyes.
Recharge, explore his limits, enjoy his talent, Alcaraz was all about expression, strength, freedom and daring.
He also looked raw. That’s the scary thing. When he learns how to fully utilize his power, he can be untouchable.
In the end, Djokovic looked worn out by Alcaraz. Worn by everything. It started to dawn on him early in the second set, after blowing Alcaraz away 6-1 in the first. Alcaraz was lucky with a net string that gave him a breaking point and the crowd cheered wildly. Djokovic applauded them sarcastically and laughed at the way they cheered for a moment of happiness.
There were more moments like that. Djokovic had won 15 straight tiebreaks before this match and he had a point to win his 16th at the end of the second set on Sunday. But he blew it with an unusually weak backhand. Alcaraz won it instead. That felt like an omen.
Midway through the fourth set, as Djokovic forced his way back into the match and the crowd tried to reel in Alcaraz, the old champion turned and blew a sarcastic kiss to the crowd after winning a match. He tried to use the adversity against him to fire him into more resistance.
Djokovic sarcastically blew a kiss to the crowd when the seven-time champion resisted
Djokovic hit his racket against the net post as Alcaraz secured the decisive final break
Center Court may have witnessed Alcaraz replacing Djokovic at the top of the men’s game
But when Alcaraz broke him in the third game of the fifth set, it was as if Djokovic finally felt he had lost his power. He walked to his seat and slammed his racket into the net post so hard it gave way.
Up in the stands, next to Gangway 211, on one side of the Royal Box, Andy Murray watched from a seat among the spectators. Perhaps that was also a bad omen for Djokovic.
The last time he lost on Center Court was the 2013 Wimbledon final when Murray was on the other side of the net. That defeat was a blip for Djokovic, the prelude to ever greater triumphs.
The defeat against Alcaraz felt different. It felt like the end of Djokovic’s time at the top. It felt like the day we watched him grow old.