Novak Djokovic got his tactics wrong during his Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, according to Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni.
The Serb was emphatically outplayed at Centre Court on Sunday night, with Alcaraz winning 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 to secure a third Grand Slam crown of his career.
Djokovic had gone into the game having exceeded all expectations at the tournament. He had back surgery just 37 days before Wimbledon, having been forced to withdraw from the French Open.
Against Alcaraz, the world No 2 wanted to whittle through points quickly to boost his chances of reigning supreme.
Novak Djokovic has been accused of making a big tactical mistake by Rafael Nadal’s uncle during Sunday’s Wimbledon final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz
REUTERS
Yet Toni Nadal, writing in his column for El Pais, has suggested the 37-year-old was wrong to adopt that stance.
“In my opinion, the only option the Serbian had was to try to slow down the game. To hope that he was completely right and to trust that Carlos was not having his best day,” said the Spaniard.
“Trying to beat the player from Murcia by speed is practically impossible nowadays. Perhaps only Jannik Sinner can play the Spaniard on equal terms.
“And, in fact, this Sunday’s final confirms that the real rivalry in the next tournaments and, probably, in the next few years will be between these two: the Italian and our great Spanish champion.”
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Toni did, however, admit the decision must have been a tough one for Djokovic to make.
“The decision was not easy. It is the same one that many players and teams face when they face a superior opponent,” he continued.
“How do we approach the match? Do we face it with our usual weapons and our own style or, on the contrary, do we try to neutralise our opponent by looking for other solutions by moving away from our characteristic game?
“Personally, I always chose the first. Djokovic opted for the second option.
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“Knowing that neither his legs nor the precision of his strokes were what they once were, and that a long and physical match would not help him either, he tried a tactic that ultimately proved fatal.”
Djokovic won three of his four Grand Slam finals last year, with a defeat to Alcaraz the only time he failed to come out on top.
Fast-forward to now, however, and he’s on the verge of a first year without a major since 2017.
Djokovic, given his age, appears to be starting to wane. With Alcaraz so impressive, stopping the 21-year-old will take some doing.
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Novak Djokovic was unable to cope with the brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz during Sunday’s Wimbledon final
REUTERS
But he’s determined to keep on playing and, when asked if he’s taken part at Wimbledon for the last time, the 24-time Grand Slam champion strongly denied that was the case.
“As far as coming back here, I mean, I would love to,” he said.
“I don’t have anything else in my thoughts right now that this is my last Wimbledon.
“I really want to play at least whatever. I don’t have any limitations in my mind. I still want to keep going and play as long as I feel like I can play on this high level.”
Novak Djokovic may struggle to reel in Carlos Alcaraz after being thumped in the final of Wimbledon
REUTERS
Djokovic also admitted he was eager to succeed at the Olympics and US Open, too. He said: “The Olympic Games and US Open are the two big goals for the rest of the year for me really.
“I’m hoping I can be at my best in those two tournaments, yeah. That’s all I can say right now.
“I mean, being able to reach the finals of Wimbledon, of course, it’s a great confidence boost.
“But I also feel like in a match-up today against [the] best player right now in the world for sure, I mean, other than Jannik [Sinner], and both of them are the best this year by far, I feel like I’m not at that level.”
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