Novak Djokovic deserves respect, appreciation even in Wimbledon defeat

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz got the Wimbledon final underway on Sunday with a 14-minute game with seven deuces and five break points. Was it an early sign of a repeat of last year’s thriller? Not quite.

It took all of two hours and 27 minutes for the Spaniard to win his fourth Grand Slam title. Not a walk in the park akin to Rafael Nadal vs Casper Ruud at the 2022 French Open but given Djokovic’s record at the All England Club and the final last year, this was a breeze.

For the Serb, making his first final appearance of the year, one would have to go back to the 2020 French Open for a similar lopsided defeat in a major title clash. Then, Nadal ruthlessly swept Novak aside even in the cold conditions of a rescheduled Roland Garros. Djokovic lost the 2021 US Open also in straight sets, to Daniil Medvedev, but one can argue that instead of the Russian it were the emotions that overpowered the former World No. 1 that evening.

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As Djokovic’s dream of winning a record 25th major title and joint-record eighth Wimbledon ended at 4:37pm local time, he was gracious in defeat on the court and after much reflection in the interview room.

Every time I walk on to Centre Court, I am filled with such gratitude that I am living out my childhood dream. Thank you to my entire team, partners, family, friends and #nolefam for all of your support throughout the last few weeks. Onwards.

Felicidades, @carlosalcaraz. Well… pic.twitter.com/3Q44pHnK96

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) July 14, 2024

“I was inferior on the court,” he said after the 2-6, 2-6, 6-7 defeat on Centre Court. “Carlos was the better player from the beginning till the end. He played every single shot better than I did.

“Last year I lost an epic five-set match where we went toe to toe. This year it was nothing like that – it was all about him. He was the dominant force on the court and deserved to win.

“The first game set the tone. I think he was coming out from the blocks ready to battle and play his best level right away, which wasn’t the case last year where I started better, had a comfortable first-set win. Today from the first point, he was there, he was ready.

“He was just better than me in every aspect of the game: in movement, in the way he was just striking the ball beautifully, serving great, everything. It’s a bitter taste to lose the final the way I did today.”

It has been a year to forget for Novak. The 37-year-old is 23-7 and without a title this season. The last time he had gone this long in a season without a trophy, he racked up aplenty including Wimbledon. Alas the script has changed.

Djokovic’s dominance at the Australian Open, where he’s won 10 titles, was checked by Jannik Sinner and his World No. 1 ranking was snatched away as well. At the French Open, he was forced to withdraw before the quarter-final with a torn meniscus in the right knee. He underwent surgery on 5 June and wasn't sure if he'd be able to enter Wimbledon at all.

39 days later, Djokovic was into the Wimbledon final having fended off challenge from Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets and seeing Alex de Minaur hand a walkover. Not the greatest tests before playing someone of the calibre of Alcaraz - and it showed.

Carlos Alcaraz 🤝 Novak Djokovic #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/4HefpitnTt

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024

Playing with a grey sleeve on his right knee throughout the fortnight, and in practice week before it, Djokovic won just 27 of 53 points when he went to the net and finished with 26 winners to Alcaraz’s 42. Djokovic was broken five times and only won one of the 21-year-old Alcaraz’s service games.

“My preparation for Wimbledon wasn’t as I would have it normally. … There was hindrance obviously because of the injury,” Djokovic said.

“That probably had an effect, particularly in the opening rounds. But as the tournament progressed, I felt better and better. I reached the finals. Some matches I played some really good tennis. Some matches I kind of battled my way through. But today, I saw that I was just half a step behind him, in every sense.”

For Djokovic, even at this stage in his won-all, achieved-all career, there is acknowledgement that he is a step behind Alcaraz and Sinner. Therein lies a key attribute to a true champion.

“Being able to reach the finals of Wimbledon … (is) a great confidence boost. But I also feel like in a matchup today against the best player right now in the world, for sure — I mean, other than Jannik, and both of them are the best this year by far — I feel like I’m not at that level,” Djokovic said.

Fighting right until the end 👊

Another superb Championships run from Novak Djokovic 🇷🇸#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/uDVBNnI9Ln

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024

“In order to really have a chance to, I guess, beat these guys in Grand Slam latter stages or Olympics," he added, “I’m going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today.”

Bar the final, the past two weeks at the All England Club may not have tested Djokovic as much on the court, but it did test him off it and questioned his place in tennis folklore.

Fans seemingly tried to thinly veil their contempt of Djokovic by rooting for Rune, bringing out an unreal rant from Novak on the court and then storming off a TV interview later. As the Serb swiftly dispatched Musetti in the semi-final and continued to play the violin for his daughter, the discontent grew. Memories of being the lesser loved of the Big Three, also featuring Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, were back. With Djokovic on the precipice of overhauling Margaret Court’s record for most major titles and equalling Federer for most Wimbledon titles, the crowd’s boos and derision grew.

Novak Djokovic breaks out the violin for the Wimbledon crowd. 👀🎻#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Ajtm7scZCc

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 12, 2024

When Djokovic setup a repeat of last year’s final, he took the microphone and thanked his family for the support - when little came from the All England faithful. “I have to move on and be stronger hopefully,” he said before addressing eight-year-old son Stefan. “My son, he is still smiling.” he said and broke down. “I love you … thank you for supporting me .. I will give you a big hug.”

Some believed the violin playing act was him providing a sombre background music to the jeers of his detractors. The press weren’t too kind either. It was billed as ‘him vs the world’, called over-sensitive, needy and desperate to be liked. “You can’t buy love. You can’t bully your way to it either,” said an opinion piece in The Guardian after drawing comparisons between Djokovic and egoist tycoon Elon Musk. Then there have been the harsh conclusions. “They say Ruuuu and he hears boooo” referring to the supposed support of Rune.

Many tennis players, Novak included, have used the displeasure of the crowd to spur themselves on. Medvedev did that to perfection at the 2019 US Open. At one point in his career, a fitter Djokovic may have come out on the other side of the result amid the fans’ resentment. But the conditions, the factors were not in his favour.

At this point in his career, with Federer and Nadal either retired or on the cusp of it, Djokovic’s desire to be loved, respected and appreciated seems and feels fathomable.

As Federer said in his recently released documentary, “I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans. There was a lot of Rafa-Roger love there, so when Novak came probably a lot of people said, ‘Look, we don’t need a third guy. We’re happy with Roger and Rafa’.

“The Federer fans at the beginning didn’t really like him because they just thought, ‘Roger’s a bit more easy, he does it with ease’. Then Novak came in with his strong personality and that unbelievable grit of wanting to win at all costs. I think also Novak was triggered by the relationship with the fans. I think that deep focus maybe scared some people away.”

After two weeks of wishing people ‘Gooooood night’ and 'nice flight home', maybe the tennis fans need to reflect, appreciate the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz but not forget the jaw-dropping achievements of 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic.