‘It’s really important that Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam final’
A former world No 1 believes it is important for tennis that Novak Djokovic gets “kicked off his throne” by Carlos Alcaraz as it would give the sport a boost.
Djokovic will be looking to win a record-extending 24th Grand Slam on Sunday when he takes on rising star Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final while he will also be out to draw level with Roger Federer’s record eight titles at the All England Club.
The Serbian has dominated tennis in recent years as 11 of his 23 majors have come in the past five years while the rest of the pack have won only eight Slams between them.
Despite being on the wrong side of 30, there appears to be no stopping Djokovic as he has so far dealt with every challenger thrown his way by the younger brigade.
On Sunday he will face 20-year-old Alcaraz, who will be playing in his first Wimbledon final.
The Spaniard is considered the future of the sport as he is currently ranked No 1 in the world and is also the reigning US Open champion.
The last time the pair met was in the French Open semi-final and on that occasion Djokovic blew his young rival away and seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander believes in order for Alcaraz to show that he is now the leader of the pack, he needs to get the better of Djokovic in a major final.
“If he can put the puzzle together against Novak who gives you nothing, then we’re talking about somebody who’s going to transcend our game,” the Swede told Reuters during an interview.
“It’s really important that Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam final before [Djokovic’s career] is over. It’s really important for our sport that the person that’s the champion gets kicked off the throne, just like Lleyton Hewitt did with Pete Sampras.
“It would be an injection of energy for our sport if Carlos can do that at some point, if not tomorrow then at the US Open. One of the young guys needs to beat Novak before he’s done.”
Wilander also highlighted the difference between an experienced campaigner like Djokovic, who will play in his 35th Grand Slam final, and a young player.
“He’s going to come in and play at about 90% the whole time, dipping to maybe 85% and sometimes up to 95%. But he’s going to be there the whole time,” he explained.
“Carlos is going to be roller-coasting through the match because you can’t stay with Novak for five sets. You have to go in and out. Novak will have no dip.
“The thing with Carlos is can he do what all of us did when we were really young, which is suddenly, because of the adrenaline… play a match you didn’t even realise you could play, like Boris Becker here in 1985.
“It’s possible that Carlos Alcaraz plays 25% better tomorrow because that’s happened before to young guys, and girls.”
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