AFTER FOUR HOURS And after 42 minutes of battle, Carlos Alcaraz fell to the grass and rolled over in celebration as the crowd roared. He had just done the previously unthinkable: he had handed Novak Djokovic his first loss at Wimbledon since 2017 and won his second major title in the process. His combination of joy and disbelief was palpable.
Alcaraz had dreamed of beating Djokovic on the center court of the tournament since he first picked up a racket as a child. Now it had become reality.
Djokovic had been seeking his 24th major title and his eighth at Wimbledon, and was the overwhelming favorite to win the tournament. He looked dazed as he slowly approached the net to congratulate Alcaraz, 16 years his junior and now a legitimate rival and a serious obstacle in Djokovic's quest for history.
It wasn't long until the latest speculation began about a changing of the guard in men's tennis. While Alcaraz didn't add fuel to the fire during his press conference shortly afterward, he acknowledged the importance of what he had accomplished for him and his teammates.
“I think it's also great for the new generation to see me beat them and make them think they're capable of doing it too,” Alcaraz said after the match. “It's great for me and I think for [all] young players.”
But while others might have thought Djokovic’s time at the top was coming to an end, Djokovic had other plans. He claimed his 24th major title at the US Open less than two months later. Having won three of the season’s major titles and the year-end ATP Finals, he finished the season at number one and publicly declared his goal of winning the “Golden Slam” (all four major titles and Olympic gold) in 2024.
Halfway through the 2024 season, Djokovic, 37, is nowhere near where he wants to be. Never mind the majors: Djokovic has yet to win a title at any level this year, nor has he even played in a final.
He lost in the Australian Open semi-finals to Jannik Sinner and retired before the French Open quarter-finals due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. He underwent surgery on 6 June, leaving many doubts about his ability to play at Wimbledon, but he has been on the court practising all week. On Monday he told the BBC that he would play only if he believed he had a chance to “fight for the title”.
While it seems increasingly likely that Djokovic will play, he is not the favourite to win the title at the All England Club. Combined with the absence of Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Major champion who has indicated this could be his final season on tour, and the retirement of Roger Federer in 2022, it seems the guard might finally be changing – this time for real at the top of men’s tennis. The stars of tomorrow are now very much the present, and a handful of players could contend at any tournament.
“This is such an exciting time [for men’s tennis]” Brad Gilbert, current coach of Coco Gauff and former coach of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, told ESPN earlier this month.
“[The French Open] It was one of the first ones where I didn't have to pick the lock, and it seems like things are going that way. Before, he was always Joker at Wimbledon, but now, he enters the field. Same thing at the Australian Open. Or Nadal at the French Open, but now, good luck, he enters the field. These guys were a casino before and the house always wins. That's how it was in many of these Grand Slams. … But [in Paris] “There was no overwhelming favorite by any means, and maybe that's just the way things are going.”
IF DJOKOVIC RETIRES Before play begins on Monday, this will be the first Wimbledon main draw without a member of the Big Three (Djokovic, Nadal and Federer) since 1998. And the trio didn't just play at Wimbledon; They dominated collectively.
In fact, last year, Alcaraz became the second player outside of the three to win the men's title at the event since 2002, joining Andy Murray. Murray, 37, a three-time Grand Slam champion with two victories at Wimbledon and arguably the fourth-best player of the past two decades, is waiting until the “last moment” to decide whether he will play in the tournament. event due to a recent procedure on his back.
But whether Djokovic (or Murray) plays this fortnight, Alcaraz, 21, and Sinner, 22, are considered to have the best chances of winning the title. ESPN BET had Alcaraz and Sinner tied for the longest odds (+165) through Thursday. Djokovic was a distant third (+385).
“I'm trying to think if [Djokovic] “If he was 100 percent healthy, what would be the odds, because right now you have Alcaraz and Sinner as big favorites,” Patrick McEnroe, a retired player and current commentator, said at a news conference this week. “Then there's a big drop-off with Novak as the third player… Now I have to say that the idea of him playing at Wimbledon, if there's a place where he could make it with this injury, after having had this injury, maybe he could do it… [But] “I would lean toward the younger two. I think they've both gotten over the hump when it comes to winning major tournaments.”
“[Sinner] “It is probably one of the most difficult challenges we can face in tennis right now. I think he is the best player in the world.”
Carlos Alcaraz
From Federer's first Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon in 2003 until the end of the 2023 season, the Big Three had won 66 of the 81 major titles. For many years, they mainly played each other in the finals, but in recent years, Djokovic and Nadal have had to hold off a number of rising stars in Grand Slam finals, including Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud .
Dominic Thiem was the first male player born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open, but even that came with an asterisk as none of Djokovic, Nadal or Federer had elected to participate in the tournament due to the pandemic. Medvedev became the first member of the “Next Gen” to defeat a member of the Big Three in a Grand Slam final the following year at the US Open. Djokovic had been in pursuit of his first calendar-year Grand Slam — which requires winning all four majors in the same year — before Medvedev played himself into a slump in three disappointing sets.
Although he said it was far from over, Djokovic also saw what was to come.
“The new generation, if you want to call them that, is nobody new,” Djokovic said after the loss. “It's already in place, established. Of course, they will take over.”
Since then, Medvedev, 28, has failed to win another major, but has played in three Slam finals and won seven ATP titles. It is Alcaraz and Sinner who seem best prepared to make Djokovic's prediction a reality.
Alcaraz has won three majors, including the French Open earlier this month, and Sinner earned his first at the Australian Open in January. Both have dominated tournaments at all levels this season.
Alcaraz, currently ranked No. 3, won six titles in 2023 and claimed his second trophy at Indian Wells this season. Sinner, who took the world number one spot from Djokovic for the first time on June 10, has won eight titles since the start of the 2023 season, including Melbourne, the Miami Open Masters 1000 in March and his first on grass. in Halle last week.
The budding (and friendly) rivalry between the two has also become must-see viewing, as both seem to continually raise their level to match the other. Alcaraz holds a 5-4 career advantage, including a win in their most recent meeting in the French Open semifinals — an epic 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 clash that lasted more than four hours. Both seem to recognize how good their rivalry is for themselves and for the sport, which seems to leave the Big Three behind.
“[Sinner] “It's probably one of the toughest challenges we can face in tennis right now. I think he's the best player in the world,” Alcaraz said ahead of his match in Paris. “The matches we've played before have been amazing matches, I think everyone wants to see this match… We'll see how it goes, but I think it's going to be great for tennis and for the fans.”
Both could meet in the semifinals at the All England Club. Djokovic is on the other side of the draw and would only play one of them in the final.
But there are several players who have taken a step forward this season and have shown that they are also capable of winning the most important titles. In five Masters 1000-level tournaments this season, the most prestigious events after the Slams and the ATP Finals, there have been five different winners. In addition to Alcaraz and Sinner, Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev have emerged victorious. They could also win at Wimbledon or anywhere else.
But the variety of players with the potential to win doesn't end there. Medvedev, known primarily for his hard-court prowess, reached the semifinals at the tournament last year. He could use his experience and momentum, especially against a group of mostly rookie players on that surface. Medvedev will also be among the favorites in New York.
Hubert Hurkacz, the seventh seed who lost to Sinner in the final in Halle, is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and even handed Federer his last defeat at the event in 2021. Alex de Minaur has had a great season that saw him reach the top. 10 for the first time and already included a quarter-final appearance at the French Open and his second career grass-court title earlier this month at the Rosmalen Grass-court Championships.
And there are some who might surprise, like British star Jack Draper, who won his first ATP title in Stuttgart and then defeated Alcaraz at the Queen's Club the following week. Or Tommy Paul, the new American number one who won his first title on grass at the Queen's Club.
“I love the way Tommy Paul plays,” McEnroe said. “I actually think he could be in the semi-finals or the final if he wants to.”
As the first round of the main draw at Wimbledon fast approaches, many questions remain about the tournament, starting with Djokovic's ability to play, and about men's tennis in general.
Will Djokovic win another major title and become the only record holder in tennis history? Will Alcaraz and Sinner officially emerge as one of the big two? Or will they be joined by others who regularly compete for major titles? Wimbledon could perhaps be the first real glimpse of what life will be like in the post-Big Three era.
Of course, even with Djokovic's season so far and his possible absence at Wimbledon, that doesn't mean his reign at the top is over. When asked about the younger generation and knowing what people were thinking after his semi-final exit in Melbourne, Djokovic told reporters not to rule it out just yet.
“I still have high hopes, you know, for other Slams, Olympics and any tournaments I play in,” Djokovic said. “This tournament has not been up to my standards or criteria or the level I would normally play or expect me to play, but [it] It doesn't necessarily mean that it is [the] “Beginning of the end, you know, as some people like to call it.”
