Wimbledon
\nRegardless of what happens in Sunday\u2019s Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic will leave with a lead in the all-time Grand Slam race that seems permanently secure.
\nHe\u2019s going to retire with the edge over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer no matter what. Everyone else is so far behind that the numbers seem irrelevant. Does it really matter whether Djokovic has 24 or 25 majors as he starts the inevitable wind-down of his career at age 37?
\nIt might \u2014 only because of the guy who will be standing across the net from Djokovic on Sunday.
\nCarlos Alcaraz heads into the Wimbledon final with the opportunity to make a lot of history. He could become the ninth man in the Open era to go back-to-back at the All-England Club and just the sixth to complete the French Open-Wimbledon double.
\nBut if Alcaraz wins his fourth Grand Slam title Sunday, Djokovic may well need to worry about whether he has enough breathing room.
\nSounds absurd, doesn\u2019t it? Four is still a very long way from 24. So many things can happen in a tennis career, from injury to lack of motivation to another worthy rival coming along and taking his share of titles, that the odds are long of anyone catching Djokovic.
\nBut based on what we\u2019ve already seen from Alcaraz, and what almost certainly lies ahead in his development, it\u2019s not crazy to think that he has a real shot to reach the 20s.
\nIf we are peering another decade and a half into the future when Alcaraz is the same age Djokovic is now, would it be a big surprise if we remember this Wimbledon final as a pivotal moment in their Grand Slam rivalry?
\nThough it already seemed like Alcaraz was a generational talent when he made his first Wimbledon final last year, putting his name into the Grand Slam record conversation would have been ridiculous at that point. He only had a US Open title on his re\u0301sume\u0301 and was a significant underdog to Djokovic, whose seven Wimbledon titles trail only Federer\u2019s eight.
\nWhen Alcaraz won the match in five sets, it was the first real tectonic shift in tennis\u2019 power structure. Though Djokovic responded by having an incredible fall, including rolling through the US Open, the kids took control of the sport in the first half of 2024 while Djokovic\u2019s health and motivation to physically grind like he used to were suddenly in question, as he played sparingly and poorly from the Australian Open all the way through the spring.
\nA few weeks ago, it didn\u2019t seem likely Djokovic would get this chance to add a 25th major this summer \u2013 or maybe ever when he had to pull out of the French Open quarterfinals with a knee injury.
\nDjokovic quickly opted for surgery, and the conventional thinking was that he wanted to get healthy, if possible, for the Olympics, which is the only big prize he\u2019s never won. Instead, he felt enough progress to enter Wimbledon, caught a very favorable draw and has used his wealth of experience and canniness on grass to roll into the final without even having to push himself that hard.
\nAt this stage of his career, that might be the formula Djokovic needs to add more Slams. Things broke right for him this time, and the only real test he\u2019ll face is in the final \u2014 a match he certainly can win.
\nBut unlike last year, Alcaraz is the favorite this time. He knows how to mentally and physically handle Grand Slam finals, and his top level is at least equal to or maybe even better than Djokovic\u2019s top level in 2024. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wimbledon Regardless of what happens in Sunday\u2019s Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic will leave with a lead in the all-time Grand Slam race that seems permanently secure. He\u2019s going to retire with the edge over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer no matter what. Everyone else is so far behind that the numbers seem irrelevant. Does it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-418478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n