2023 Wimbledon F: Alcaraz vs. Djokovic

[tented]

Who wins?

 

[shawnbm]

I said Carlitos in four sets, the fourth being a tiebreaker. I just like to think he is really rounding into shape. Novak will be very tough though so confidence is not too high.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Carlitos had better listen to ole AP by bringing a bottle of mustard to slow down body cramps and dehydration.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Nehmeth you were correct Meddy s grass court was not ready for the top 2 players

 

[nehmeth]

Nehmeth you were correct Meddy s grass court was not ready for the top 2 players

AP, he was having strawberries and cream with some lady in the middle row of the box while waiting to receive serve!! You can’t win from there. I thought he would have shown more fight and Carlos might have been mentally tired. Neither was the case today.

Looking forward to watching the two best players in the world in a classic match

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

AP, he was having strawberries and cream with some lady in the middle row of the box while waiting to receive serve!! You can’t win from there. I thought he would have shown more fight and Carlos might have been mentally tired. Neither was the case today.

Looking forward to watching the two best players in the world in a classic match

Meddy usually returns serve from there, I dont understand why is coach dosent tell him to move up further, especially on a 2nd serve, anyway he probably was waiting to get a few strawberries and cream before he had to receive

 

[Moxie]

Carlitos had better listen to ole AP by bringing a bottle of mustard to slow down body cramps and dehydration.

I thought it was pickle juice.

 

[rafanoy1992]

I just have one wish: Carlos Alcaraz, please do not get too amped up before the match AND don't get too amped throughout the match! Eat nutella or something, but please no more full body cramping!

 

[Moxie]

Meddy usually returns serve from there, I dont understand why is coach dosent tell him to move up further, especially on a 2nd serve, anyway he probably was waiting to get a few strawberries and cream before he had to receive

Meddie had an interesting answer about not changing his return position v. Eubanks. He said he was into Eubanks's service games, so figured he was close in his strategy. He didn't change it until he'd lost 2 sets. But Alcaraz is an entirely different animal, and I think he was too intractable in his strategy, today.

 

[Moxie]

As to the match on Sunday, Djokovic is the clear favorite. But there are some intangibles:

* Djokovic has the pressure, particularly of the CYGS, and the window that's closing

* Djokovic had by far the easier draw, but dropped sets to Hurkacz and to Rublev

* Djokovic didn't have to get out of 2nd gear to beat Sinner today. You could argue that Alcaraz is more fine-tuned for the final

* Alcaraz is younger and full of vinegar, and learning to play on grass in real time; hopefully he's gotten over his intimidation factor that cramped him up at the French v. Novak

All of this said, I would suggest that Carlitos avoid TBs, and a 5th set.

 

[MikeOne]

This is an interesting matchup. They really are very sumilar players. Both are supremely athletic and great movers. They have a great fh, bh, serve, can drop shot, slice and volley well. Both use variety. Both have deadly forehands, slight edge to carlos. Both have great backhands, slight edge to djoker. Their serves are very similar, both have great serves with djoker having a bit better placement, carlos a bit faster.

in many ways, they are almost identical, versatile all court players with amazing athlethic abilities. The main differences are age, experience, mental approach.

anything can happen, if one is a bit off and other on, can be straight sets by either player. If both are playing at a high level, it will come down to a battle of timing. Novak is slightly better than carlos at taking ball early and taking time away. Carlos has more finishing power when they both have more time to setup. So provided they both serve well, use variety (net, dropper, slice) i think it come down to whether novak can take enough time away from carlos to gain the advantage in the rallies. If he can, he will get the better off the baseline exchanges. If he can’t, carlos will use his power to gain the upper hand. I think this will be key. Novak has to step in and take ball early, push carlos for hours.. we saw at french, carlos was rushed in the first set vs novak.

the mental game will obviously be key. Novak can’t afford to have lapses where he’s distratced by crowd or other elements. Carlos has to keep the intensity and stay with novak and be tough.

 

[Kieran]

There’s a lot we won’t know about this match until we see how Carlos reacts to the situation. He’s young and inexperienced, youngest Wimbledon finalist since Rafa in 2007, and it’s an overwhelming occasion even for more experienced players. It was overwhelming for even Rafa that year. So we saw in Paris that Carlos became overly excited by the occasion and cramped, but we’ve seen his reaction since then, and especially his play on grass, and at Wimbledon, to see that he has a natural buoyancy that helps him rebound.

But we won’t know until we see.

All things being equal, if Carlos shows up and plays his best, Djokovic will actually have to win a match at a slam, something that’s only happened to him once since Wimbledon in 2019, so it’ll be interesting to see how Djoker handles that.

I think they’re very different players, different outlooks on the game. Novak sensibly tends towards looking after defence first and grinding down the opponent, and he’s effective at that. Super resilient, steady, practical, unadventurous.

Carlos is a brilliant stylist, a player of Federer-level skills, but he still has an immature tendency to go for flashy and show-off shots at inappropriate times - thinking of the 15-40 points he had yesterday at 3-2 in the third against Danii - and instead of closing out the games ruthlessly he tried to be unnecessarily clever and tricksy, and he’ll suffer tomorrow if he does that. He’s got to take care of business first. I think funny enough that if Carlos was playing Sinner, he’d coldly dispatch him, like he did with Holger, but it might be that Carlos feels the need to impress tomorrow, and that could be fatal.

Hard one to call. If Carlos plays his best, however, he wins. It’s a big ask but it’s not impossible. It would be better for tennis, too..

 

[Kieran]

I just have one wish: Carlos Alcaraz, please do not get too amped up before the match AND don't get too amped throughout the match! Eat nutella or something, but please no more full body cramping!

Novak used to have the odd attack of the vapours when he was young too. He lied, as is his continued habit, and pretended he was injured, withdrawing from so many battles ‘lame’ that Andy Roddick wondered out loud if he’d contracted SARS.

Novak was deep into his 24th year when he grew out of this, so there’s hope for Carlos..

 

[nehmeth]

“Alcaraz has admitted that playing Djokovic makes him nervous. It was the main reason he gave for the cramps that cut their Roland Garros battle short. Even after winning at Queen’s Club, Alcaraz downplayed his chances at Wimbledon a bit by saying, “Novak is coming.” So for Alcaraz, playing Djokovic means starting with a little less self-belief, and little more anxiety, than he does against anyone else.” Steve Tignor

I watched Carlos’ post match chat on court when they asked him about playing Novak. It’s going to be a hill for him to climb toward self-belief against a legend. It’s the rite of passage each young player makes toward greatness.

The fact that Tignor picked Nole to win should be a boost!

 

[Kieran]

“Alcaraz has admitted that playing Djokovic makes him nervous. It was the main reason he gave for the cramps that cut their Roland Garros battle short. Even after winning at Queen’s Club, Alcaraz downplayed his chances at Wimbledon a bit by saying, “Novak is coming.” So for Alcaraz, playing Djokovic means starting with a little less self-belief, and little more anxiety, than he does against anyone else.” Steve Tignor

I watched Carlos’ post match chat on court when they asked him about playing Novak. It’s going to be a hill for him to climb toward self-belief against a legend. It’s the rite of passage each young player makes toward greatness.

The fact that Tignor picked Nole to win should be a boost!

It’s the occasion got to Carlos. That includes playing Novak, but he wasn’t similarly overwhelmed in Rome and Madrid in 2022, playing both Rafa and Novak. The difference is that this time he’s facing one of them in a slam. And the real difference is that he’s only 20. It’s impossible to imagine that this will be his mindset in a year, let some five years, or whatever age Novak was when he finally came of age.

And Novak developed in the shade, whereas Carlos is playing in the full heat that Rafa experienced at the same age.

What’s most interesting in this match is how Novak will respond to a challenge. He hasn’t had one in a while, and he can be notoriously tetchy at times…

 

[kskate2]

Carlitos had better listen to ole AP by bringing a bottle of mustard to slow down body cramps and dehydration.

He needs Mustard, Pickle Juice and an LMNT

 

[Kieran]

He needs Mustard, Pickle Juice and an LMNT

I think if he focuses his mind on enjoying the occasion and not put himself under huge pressure, he’ll flourish without mustard. He should enjoy his underdog status and not get ahead of himself…

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I think if he focuses his mind on enjoying the occasion and not put himself under huge pressure, he’ll flourish without mustard. He should enjoy his underdog status and not get ahead of himself…

Agree, like Rafa says, play one point at a time and dont get ahead of yourself

 

[kskate2]

I think if he focuses his mind on enjoying the occasion and not put himself under huge pressure, he’ll flourish without mustard. He should enjoy his underdog status and not get ahead of himself…

I'm not disagreeing, but since those things I mentioned can't hurt, why not? When you're clashing w/ a Titan, you need every advantage available.

 

[tented]

Agree, like Rafa says, play one point at a time and dont get ahead of yourself

This. One of Rafa’s greatest assets.