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What a game we witnessed in the men’s singles final at Wimbledon on July 14th. The 21 year old Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, absolutely destroyed Novak Djokovic to do the French Open/Wimbledon double in 2024. This alone is an amazing achievement, yet the magnitude of his performance over Djokovic is what many people are talking about.
Having watched the game, I can confirm that Carlos Alcaraz was simply incredible. He broke Djokovic in the very first game of the match and never looked back. While the first two sets were 6-2 6-2, Djokovic staged somewhat of a fightback in the third. But it was too little too late, and Alcaraz wrapped up the third set 7-6.
This was the 4th Grand Slam final Alcaraz has ever played, and it’s the 4th Grand Slam that he’s won. Of course, this means he successfully defended his Wimbledon title from the previous year, too. However, putting all of this aside, with how emphatic Alcaraz was in this match and given the result, one has to wonder – is the changing of the guard now official?
We’ve all talked about it before. But Djokovic has kept hanging on – until now! The final certainly felt like a statement victory, and a subdued Djokovic almost looked accepting of his fate when all was said and done. Therefore, I want to discuss whether this really is the changing of the guard in men’s tennis or whether we are all getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.
Let me share my two cents on this topic right now.
The changing of the guard has officially arrived – here’s why
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If you tracked the Wimbledon 2024 draw via our dedicated page, you’ll know that Alcaraz had the tougher draw to reach the finals. I’m not saying Djokovic had an easy path to the finals, but Alcaraz certainly had a trickier time of things. Despite that, he still came through and produced a performance worthy of a champion in the Wimbledon final.
In fact, he looked like a guy who had been there a thousand times – much like Djokovic has looked at the peak of his career. There was a sense that Alcaraz expected that result, and to some degree, it almost felt like Djokovic expected it, too. However, rather than focusing on personal feelings and impressions of the match, let me cover some facts to back my opinion that the changing of the guard has arrived.
Djokovic’s 2024 Grand Slam season
I know that many people are referencing the Wimbledon final as the pivotal ‘changing of the guard’ point. But I’ve looked a little bit beyond just the Wimbledon final to give further substance to my opinion. Of course, Djokovic has been at the top of the game for quite some time, and he’s undoubtedly the most successful player of all time.
Yet, the reason the Wimbledon result feels so significant is because it puts Djokovic in a position he hasn’t been in since 2017. Specifically, it was the 2017 season when Djokovic last failed to take a Grand Slam from the first three slams of the season. In fact, he didn’t win any in 2017, and we all said he was done for then!
For that reason, given his recent injury problems and the fact that he’s obviously seven years older than he was back then, this time does feel different. And coming back to the Wimbledon final, he just didn’t seem hungry for the title, which was very unusual.
Alcaraz’s superiority to Djokovic in key areas
Now to put the spotlight back on the final between Alcaraz and Djokovic. Again, I watched the match, and there were some very obvious differences between the two. These differences put further emphasis on the fact that the changing of the guard has probably arrived. So, what were these differences, and why are they so important?
Firstly, Alcaraz seemed a step ahead of Djokovic for the entire match. He read Djokovic’s game perfectly, and his shots had more venom, they did more damage, and they seemed to have extra bite compared to the Serbian’s. Secondly, while Djokovic has had a surgery on the knee recently, he didn’t look anywhere close to the physical level Alcaraz was at.
Lastly, Djokovic had a clear plan of coming to the net to try and beat Alcaraz, suggesting that even on the grass, he senses that Alcaraz had his number.
Djokovic losing his aura of invincibility in men’s tennis
If we rewind to the Wimbledon 2023 final, this was one of the few times in recent history where Djokovic failed to find answers and win a big match. Of course, this was also a match against Alcaraz. And while anyone can lose a big game based on a few shots here and there, Alcaraz has backed that result up by dismantling the seven-time champion on Centre Court.
Keep in mind that with this loss, he has now failed to win either the Australian Open or Wimbledon in 2024 – two tournaments where he has been almost untouchable. Is this purely a coincidence? I don’t believe that it is.
Alcaraz isn’t the only one coming for the throne
That’s right – the immensely talented Spaniard isn’t the only guy who is now looking somewhat sharper than Djokovic on tour. As you probably know, Jannik Sinner took down Djokovic with a commanding win in the Australian Open. He is dubbed as a ‘Next Gen’ player despite being the world number one!
At the same time, Carlos Alcaraz has now beaten Djokovic in two huge matches at WImbledon, which feels almost more significant than the result in Australia. Besides these two guys, there’s also Holger Rune, who has the potential to surpass Djokovic in the coming months and years. I mention these three because they are all so young, yet they’ve all beaten Djokovic in important matches over the last 12-18 months.
Lastly, with just one Grand Slam left in 2024, if Djokovic fails to do anything at the US Open, I feel we can safely say that his time on the throne is over.
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