Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic to win Wimbledon – the Serb’s first loss on Centre Court in a decade. But the Spaniard is refusing to write off the Big Three era.
Carlos Alcaraz has refused to agree that his Wimbledon victory has sparked a new era of tennis after defeating Novak Djokovic in five sets to lift the title. Djokovic himself said he was looking forward to establishing a rivalry with the 20-year-old star and already wanted to face him again at the US Open. But Alcaraz doesn’t think there will be any changing of the guard until the Serb and Rafael Nadal are retired.
Alcaraz became the first man to defeat
Djokovic was ’embarrassed’ in Wimbledon final as Alcaraz backed to dominate
Alcaraz became the first man to defeat Djokovic on Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 10 years on Sunday as he was crowned the champion at SW19. Aged just 20, he ended the world No 2’s hopes of winning an eighth Wimbledon and 24th Major by lifting his second Grand Slam trophy.
It also marked the first time since 2017 that Djokovic lost a match at Wimbledon and the 36-year-old said he believed Alcaraz was the best player in the world right now. But Alcaraz isn’t ready to suggest that he is ushering in a new generation of tennis stars as he looked to Djokovic’s other Grand Slam triumphs this year.
“I don’t think so, because, in the end, Rafa is still there, Novak is still there,” the Spaniard told AS. “They’ve been dominating the circuit for 20 years, practically. In the end, as long as they keep playing… Look what Novak has achieved. He has won Australia, he has won Roland Garros.”
While Alcaraz was proud that he managed to stun Djokovic at the All England Club, he still thinks it is too soon to talk about the changing of the guard. He continued: “Here I have been able to beat him, but it has been an epic battle for me, so at the moment I am not thinking of a change, that this cycle will change.
“I have said it, in a few years we will talk about this topic, but even in a few years new players will have emerged who will have established themselves and won in Slam, but, as long as Rafa and Djokovic are around, that change or that debate has to wait.”
It comes after Djokovic said he hoped the Wimbledon five-set classic was the start of a rivalry between the two. “I would hope so, for my sake. He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around,” Djokovic said after the final.
