WIMBLEDON, England — Novak Djokovic paid fairly a praise to Carlos Alcaraz.

Before they’ll face one another within the Wimbledon closing on Sunday, Djokovic was requested to dimension up Alcaraz - and he in contrast the child to himself.

Pretty good firm.

“He’s been incredibly successful in adapting to the surfaces and (to the) demands and challenges of opponents on a given day,” Djokovic stated. “I see this as a great trait, as a great virtue. I see this as one of my biggest strengths throughout my career, that I was able to constantly develop, adapt and adjust my game, depending on the challenges, basically. That’s what he’s doing very early on in his career.”

And Alcaraz’s evaluation of Djokovic?

“He has no weakness. He’s a really complete guy, really complete player. He’s amazing. He does nothing wrong on the court,” Alcaraz stated. “Physically he’s a beast. Mentally he’s a beast. Everything is unbelievable for him.”

The matchup on Centre Court on the All England Club to shut the fortnight is totally the one each males anticipated. As did just about everybody else.

What extra might tennis followers ask for?

“He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry,” Djokovic noticed. “I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast.”

It is a showdown pitting one of many biggest gamers ever - many think about him THE biggest - in Djokovic, who's 36, in opposition to a rising new star in Alcaraz, who's 20. It is the widest age hole between two males’s Grand Slam finalists since 1974, and Djokovic would change into the oldest male champion at Wimbledon within the Open period.

Alcaraz is ranked No. 1, Djokovic is No. 2 (however has spent extra weeks at No. 1 than anybody else, man or lady).

They confirmed they’re a reduce above the remainder with straight-set victories in Thursday’s semifinals: Alcaraz by no means gave No. 3 Daniil Medvedev an opportunity whereas beating him 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; Djokovic had just a few robust spots he needed to navigate however eradicated No. 8 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Medvedev went as far as to place Alcaraz within the class of the so-called Big Three of males’s tennis: Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

“He’s kind of like them,” Medvedev stated.

Djokovic has received 23 Grand Slam titles, greater than any man within the century-plus historical past of tennis, and is in search of his males’s-record-tying eighth at Wimbledon, together with fifth in a row.

Alcaraz is a generational expertise, the primary teenager to complete a yr atop the ATP rankings. He received final yr’s U.S. Open and now could be bidding for a second main championship.

On prime of all of it, it is a rematch from the French Open semifinals final month. The first two units of that contest have been deliciously entertaining, chock filled with highlight-worthy photographs by each.

It was tense. It was tight. It was terrific.

And then all of it got here aside on the seams when Alcaraz succumbed to full physique cramps that he attributed, a minimum of partly, to nerves from going up in opposition to Djokovic on that stage and with these stakes. Djokovic ran away with the victory there, taking every of the final two units by a 6-1 rating.

“We had a very good match until he started struggling physically in Paris,” Djokovic stated. “We really took the level of tennis very high. I think it was great for the audience and great for us players to be part of that.”

Not surprisingly, Alcaraz needs one other shot at Djokovic.

Been speaking about it over the previous fortnight.

“Gives you extra motivation. It’s more special to play a final against a legend from our sport,” Alcaraz stated. “Well, if I win, it could be amazing for me - not only to win a Wimbledon title, but do it against Novak, would be super special.”

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com