‘That was not the real Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon final’, claims his former coach
Novak Djokovic’s former coach Nikola Pilic believes the Serbian would not have lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 Wimbledon final if he “had played as he knows how.”
The former French Open finalist declared it was “not the real Novak Djokovic” playing in the title match, while identifying his serving as a particular issue.
Alcaraz dethroned Djokovic with a 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 triumph in an epic final at the All England Club last week.
It was Djokovic’s first defeat in a completed match at Wimbledon since 2016 and his first loss on Centre Court since falling to Andy Murray in the 2013 final.
The 36-year-old claimed the first two major titles of 2023, with his French Open victory last month lifting him to a men’s record total of 23 Grand Slam titles.
In an interview with Meridian Sport, Pilic addressed suggestions that Alcaraz’s win over Djokovic signalled the beginning of a new era.
“These are pure speculations by journalists. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s see what will happen at the US Open, where he (Alcaraz) defends 2000 points, and Novak doesn’t have to do anything,” Pilić said.
“What will happen in 10 years? Are you going to tell me that Carlos will win 14 Roland Garros titles, or are you going to tell me that he will be number one for 400 weeks? Those are two records for all time.”
The Croatian, who trained Djokovic at his tennis academy in Munich, lamented the world No 2’s performance in the final and the opportunities he failed to take.
“That was not the real Novak Djokovic. It was not Novak’s day and Alcaraz himself admitted it. He could have won the second set, but he didn’t make those two backhands well [in the tiebreak] and his opponent took advantage of that,” continued the Croatian.
“In the second set he completely fell, but in the fourth he got up and started playing well again. In the fifth, he made mistakes in his service and thus allowed Alcaraz to break. That was a problem in general during the match, the service movement didn’t look right.
“For example, in the [fourth round] match against [Hubert] Hurkacz, he served perfectly, and in the final, he did not make an ace for two whole sets. If only Novak had played as he knows how, he wouldn’t have lost.”
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