“I’m not sure if I’m going to break his heart. I’m not intending to do that.” So said Novak Djokovic as he prepared to face Carlos Alcaraz in his 10th Wimbledon final.
But surely he must be tempted. After all, the Spaniard had broken Djokovic’s heart 12 months ago.
Had it not been for Alcaraz’s youthful, unshakeable belief in last year’s final (and Djokovic’s own netted smash on break point in the fifth set) the world No.2 could have been on his way to the Grand Slam.
It was the only match he lost at a major championship all year and it had been so, so close. A bit of revenge would taste sweet.
This time around, neither man is the same.
We all know about Djokovic’s once-sore knee (which appears now to be in the rudest of rude health despite being chopped about by the surgeons five weeks ago) and we have all seen Alcaraz struggle for a set or so in every round.
Neither champion is at his absolute best which makes this final all the more intriguing. Who can deal with adversity better?
Djokovic has been fighting his own battles for the past two decades. From growing up in Serbia during the NATO bombings to being deported from Australia during the pandemic, he has taken the world head-on. And usually, in the end, he has won.
Yet Alcaraz’s journey to the final has not been all plain sailing. After he won here last summer, he did not win another title until March – the Indian Wells title in California.
Even then, he arrived with an ankle injury which made him wary of his movement on court and he was not himself. He was not enjoying life. But, still, he managed to win.
“I overcome a lot of problems in my head, a lot of problems physically,” he said then. “But I learned that you can overcome all the problems that you have. It doesn’t matter what problems you have. If you believe in yourself, you have a really good team around you, you work hard, everything can turn around.”
Having turned it around, he marched on Roland-Garros and won his maiden title. He clearly learns fast.
To the numbers: they have played five times; Djokovic leads 3-2. They have met twice at Grand Slams with honours even.
That said, the schooling Djokovic gave the nervous and cramping Spaniard on the Paris clay last year taught Alcaraz another lesson: how to control his emotions and expectations.
When they met five weeks later in the Wimbledon final, the soon-to-be champion was edgy for a set and then utterly focused, confident and determined as he closed in on victory.
They are very different characters – how could they not be? Djokovic is 16 years older than Alcaraz, he’s married and is the father of two children.
Alcaraz is a normal 21-year-old (well, as normal as any 21-year-old, immensely talented holder of three Grand Slam titles can be) who loves his job, loves his life and has been enjoying the ride as the Spain football team headed for the final of the European Championships.
But they are alike, too, as Djokovic pointed out.
“I see a lot of similarities between me and him in terms of ability to adapt and adjust to the surface,” he said. “I think that’s probably his biggest trait, is that he’s got skills to play equally well on any surface and to adapt to a given opponent that particular day.”
Djokovic’s ability to move seamlessly from clay to grass is remarkable. For Alcaraz, the transition has taken some work.
“It’s difficult – I’m not going to lie – switching from clay to grass,” the defending champion said. “I need hours on grass and practice on grass just to be better, try to feel most comfortable as I can.”
But he has done it. Better still, he feels comfortable on Centre Court. He still gets goosebumps when he walks out into the famous old arena but having won in a final there, he knows what to expect. Yet so does Djokovic.
This is the Serb’s 10th final here – he has only lost two. He knows every blade of grass personally (indeed, he has eaten a blade of grass every time he has won). This is his kingdom and he will do everything in his power to defend it.
Djokovic is the master of defence; Alcaraz is the all-court shot maker. Djokovic is the near-perfect player; Alcaraz has the power and the imagination to overwhelm any player of any style.
Like all finals between great champions, it will not be decided by forehands and backhands but by willpower. Who can maintain that self-belief through every shot of every game in the rollercoaster that is a best-of-five set final?
We will know the answer by Sunday evening but if this year’s final is anywhere near as good a last year’s we are in for a thriller.
