TENNIS: Wimbledon 2024 - men's finals
Jul. 15th, 2024 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllDay fourteen – men’s final
Thanks to an invitation I couldn’t refuse, I wasn’t able to watch it live. That was okay, I told myself, I’d catch up in the evening. Except that other people have smartphones and feel the need to look the tennis up and tell you what’s happening. So, I knew that Alcaraz was 2 sets up, had just lost Championship points and it was 5-5 at 4 something. I didn’t want to know any more! And yet when I came home and saw that the BBC One programme finished at 17:10, I presumed that Alcaraz must have won in three, because they wouldn’t have switched over channels (which has been so annoying this year, and why up until the end, I’ve stuck to court specific streams) if the match had gone on.
Knowing that, I was staggered, because I had thought Djokovic had played the better in the semis. Indeed, I gave him the edge to win, although I’m more of an Alcaraz fan though I didn’t expect anything like the first set from last year.
I watched the BBC One coverage, knowing what I knew, and the build-up was okay. When asked for the highlights of the tournaments, the former players settled on the Italians and Americans. (Hat tip to Jacob Fearnley.) The interviews with the two finalist were thought provoking, they got Djokovic in ruminative mood, talking about how much it took, particularly this year, to play at this level, while Alcaraz referenced that his success was happening so fast for him so young, and I think he’s barely had time to process winning the French Open. Although they tried to give balanced air time, there did seem to be an expectation that it would be Djokovic, as there was so much talk about the records. If he won, he’d come top on all time slams and equal Federer’s record here, and of course there was much talk about the knee surgery and his incredible recovery.
I was reminded that he has not had a great 2024 by his standards, not that much success at the Australian Open, where he has been strongest, or in the lesser tournaments, a hard time at the French – two five setters, the one against Musetti going on until the ridiculous wee hours, and the second one leading to injury. But Alcaraz didn’t have a great 2024 because of injury until the French either, (or a back end of 2023.) But McEnroe said he’d tipped Alcaraz at the start of the tournament with the air of someone who hadn’t believed Djokovic would be able to play, let alone so well. But it was noted that Alcaraz had had the tougher draw.
We watched them do ‘the walk’ with a little moment where Alcaraz smilingly deferred to Djokovic, who is a seven-time winner here, and the higher ranked at the moment.
Alcaraz put Djokovic in to serve first, and won the second point. The first game would be crucial. There were a few long exchanges and it went on for over 10 minutes, with several deuces, but Alcaraz converted a break point. He followed it up with a strong service game, having clearly started fired up and settled quickly. As the set went on, he played strong, Djokovic less so. Djokovic was coming in an awful lot, but more often than not either getting passed or dumping volleys in the net. Alcaraz won a second break of serve, and was serving well, hitting his fastest serve of the tournament very early on. He was making only a few errors, and even though he hit a few thundering forehands, they were ‘with margin’. He won the first set 6-2 and everyone was a little stunned.
Set 2, and Djokovic got broken early again, and Alcaraz’s serve was even better. We got to see his big groundstrokes, his athleticism and his invention. Djokovic was still coming into the net and not getting enough from it, while when Alcaraz came in, it was usually on his terms. There were, of course, a few drop shots, and like most things, Alcaraz was coming off the better. Another double break, another set over. The commentators were suggesting that Djokovic tried to get the crowd on side (the crowd that’s never loved him? Yes, he might get some ‘he’s the underdog and we want to see more tennis before it’s time to leave to watch for the football’ sympathy, but Djokovic as underdog does not compute, and the crowd already loves Alcaraz.) On the other side of the court, Alcaraz was looking as if he was more than a year older than last year, having matured into being the defending champion who didn’t want to give up this court, thank you very much. And he was 21 years old, and a 21 year old with a magnificent five-set record. 37 year old Djokovic coming back from two sets down was a big ask.
But Djokovic dug in and won the first game on his set, then another, then, as Kyrigos noted, reached 3 games for the first time in the match. But the best returner in the game was still getting hardly anywhere on Alcaraz’s serves. He was getting to see few second serves, while for most of the match, Alcaraz was The 3-2 game was a bit fraught, with the crowd getting involved, and even calling out ‘Nole’. Was this the one that went quite long on Alcaraz’s serve or was it the next? He got out of it with three excellent serves. Then at 4-4 came a stunning return game from Alcaraz, where he won with winner after winner.
And so he was serving for the match, and got up to 40-0 relatively easily. And then came a nervy double fault. Djokovic got in a good return. The third championship point lost to nerves, and someone calling out in the middle of the point. Soon the rest of the game was gone too. 5-5, the celebration we’d all been expecting a never was. This was also the point that was unknown to me.
Both players sat down. Could Djokovic, the old master, use this reversal as a platform for the impossible? He won the next game with relative ease. Alcaraz had to serve like the last service game hadn’t happened to take it to a tiebreak. And he did.
There were nerves in the tiebreak. There were smiles too (perhaps Alcaraz’s were forced, but they helped him. Djokovic had at least one rueful smile.) Alcaraz tore through his challenges, got a minibreak, lost it, got another, threw in a drop shot at 5-4 (of course he did!) to make it 6-4, and on this Championship point, he did not waver. Fists up, no collapse to the ground, he’d come of age. The exultation was his, the bitter disappointment Djokovic’s.
We started to take in what we’d seen as the ceremony took place, with especially warm applause for Princess Katherine. Annabel Croft calling Alcaraz hot made everyone laugh, Djokovic was forced to be gracious (I think he was even more gracious afterwards, when it was just him and Alcaraz, with only one of them cradling the trophy they’d both wanted, but Alcaraz was just a bit overwhelmed.) Alcaraz admitted to nerves while making the speech, as he was asked about forgetting the 5-4 game so that he could win the tiebreak.
But the records that we must now be impressed by are four wins in the four grand slam finals Alcaraz has played in. He’s defended his Wimbledon title (like Djokovic), he’s won back to back French and Wimbledon titles, which is the hardest double. He’s got two slams this year (world no. 1 Sinner only has one, and bragging rights are based on slam wins, not ranking). He’s got more grand slam titles than Andy Murray, he’s just 21. He can play however he likes all tournament so long as he gets through and plays the final like this, disciplined but attacking, with the odd sprinkle of ‘did he just do that?’ magic.
He showed respect to Djokovic by turning up and playing well from the beginning. Did Djokovic show too much respect to him by not playing his usual game (Alcaraz won most of the long exchanges they had,) or was it the knee, or was it the decline of age, where there are fewer days when you can play at your best, finally hitting him? Only Djokovic knows. Andy Roddick made some good points about how the lack of play he’d had to strengthen the knee told, and that he’d got away with it a little by not facing a top 10 player – de Minaur’s movement is not far off Alcaraz’s. Alcaraz was able to make even tougher demands of Djokovic than any other player on grass right now. I think it’s still too early to say we’re seeing the changing of the guard, but Alcaraz has won on all surfaces and is the best. It can only get tougher for Djokovic to win another slam, and this one has got to hurt. Losing twice here, and this time in three sets, a comprehensive loss. But Alcaraz showed again how complete a player he is, despite his youth, and how he has the mentality to play big on the big occasions. Of course, Spain continued to have a good day.
And now I am at a little bit of a loss without tennis to watch.
Thanks to an invitation I couldn’t refuse, I wasn’t able to watch it live. That was okay, I told myself, I’d catch up in the evening. Except that other people have smartphones and feel the need to look the tennis up and tell you what’s happening. So, I knew that Alcaraz was 2 sets up, had just lost Championship points and it was 5-5 at 4 something. I didn’t want to know any more! And yet when I came home and saw that the BBC One programme finished at 17:10, I presumed that Alcaraz must have won in three, because they wouldn’t have switched over channels (which has been so annoying this year, and why up until the end, I’ve stuck to court specific streams) if the match had gone on.
Knowing that, I was staggered, because I had thought Djokovic had played the better in the semis. Indeed, I gave him the edge to win, although I’m more of an Alcaraz fan though I didn’t expect anything like the first set from last year.
I watched the BBC One coverage, knowing what I knew, and the build-up was okay. When asked for the highlights of the tournaments, the former players settled on the Italians and Americans. (Hat tip to Jacob Fearnley.) The interviews with the two finalist were thought provoking, they got Djokovic in ruminative mood, talking about how much it took, particularly this year, to play at this level, while Alcaraz referenced that his success was happening so fast for him so young, and I think he’s barely had time to process winning the French Open. Although they tried to give balanced air time, there did seem to be an expectation that it would be Djokovic, as there was so much talk about the records. If he won, he’d come top on all time slams and equal Federer’s record here, and of course there was much talk about the knee surgery and his incredible recovery.
I was reminded that he has not had a great 2024 by his standards, not that much success at the Australian Open, where he has been strongest, or in the lesser tournaments, a hard time at the French – two five setters, the one against Musetti going on until the ridiculous wee hours, and the second one leading to injury. But Alcaraz didn’t have a great 2024 because of injury until the French either, (or a back end of 2023.) But McEnroe said he’d tipped Alcaraz at the start of the tournament with the air of someone who hadn’t believed Djokovic would be able to play, let alone so well. But it was noted that Alcaraz had had the tougher draw.
We watched them do ‘the walk’ with a little moment where Alcaraz smilingly deferred to Djokovic, who is a seven-time winner here, and the higher ranked at the moment.
Alcaraz put Djokovic in to serve first, and won the second point. The first game would be crucial. There were a few long exchanges and it went on for over 10 minutes, with several deuces, but Alcaraz converted a break point. He followed it up with a strong service game, having clearly started fired up and settled quickly. As the set went on, he played strong, Djokovic less so. Djokovic was coming in an awful lot, but more often than not either getting passed or dumping volleys in the net. Alcaraz won a second break of serve, and was serving well, hitting his fastest serve of the tournament very early on. He was making only a few errors, and even though he hit a few thundering forehands, they were ‘with margin’. He won the first set 6-2 and everyone was a little stunned.
Set 2, and Djokovic got broken early again, and Alcaraz’s serve was even better. We got to see his big groundstrokes, his athleticism and his invention. Djokovic was still coming into the net and not getting enough from it, while when Alcaraz came in, it was usually on his terms. There were, of course, a few drop shots, and like most things, Alcaraz was coming off the better. Another double break, another set over. The commentators were suggesting that Djokovic tried to get the crowd on side (the crowd that’s never loved him? Yes, he might get some ‘he’s the underdog and we want to see more tennis before it’s time to leave to watch for the football’ sympathy, but Djokovic as underdog does not compute, and the crowd already loves Alcaraz.) On the other side of the court, Alcaraz was looking as if he was more than a year older than last year, having matured into being the defending champion who didn’t want to give up this court, thank you very much. And he was 21 years old, and a 21 year old with a magnificent five-set record. 37 year old Djokovic coming back from two sets down was a big ask.
But Djokovic dug in and won the first game on his set, then another, then, as Kyrigos noted, reached 3 games for the first time in the match. But the best returner in the game was still getting hardly anywhere on Alcaraz’s serves. He was getting to see few second serves, while for most of the match, Alcaraz was The 3-2 game was a bit fraught, with the crowd getting involved, and even calling out ‘Nole’. Was this the one that went quite long on Alcaraz’s serve or was it the next? He got out of it with three excellent serves. Then at 4-4 came a stunning return game from Alcaraz, where he won with winner after winner.
And so he was serving for the match, and got up to 40-0 relatively easily. And then came a nervy double fault. Djokovic got in a good return. The third championship point lost to nerves, and someone calling out in the middle of the point. Soon the rest of the game was gone too. 5-5, the celebration we’d all been expecting a never was. This was also the point that was unknown to me.
Both players sat down. Could Djokovic, the old master, use this reversal as a platform for the impossible? He won the next game with relative ease. Alcaraz had to serve like the last service game hadn’t happened to take it to a tiebreak. And he did.
There were nerves in the tiebreak. There were smiles too (perhaps Alcaraz’s were forced, but they helped him. Djokovic had at least one rueful smile.) Alcaraz tore through his challenges, got a minibreak, lost it, got another, threw in a drop shot at 5-4 (of course he did!) to make it 6-4, and on this Championship point, he did not waver. Fists up, no collapse to the ground, he’d come of age. The exultation was his, the bitter disappointment Djokovic’s.
We started to take in what we’d seen as the ceremony took place, with especially warm applause for Princess Katherine. Annabel Croft calling Alcaraz hot made everyone laugh, Djokovic was forced to be gracious (I think he was even more gracious afterwards, when it was just him and Alcaraz, with only one of them cradling the trophy they’d both wanted, but Alcaraz was just a bit overwhelmed.) Alcaraz admitted to nerves while making the speech, as he was asked about forgetting the 5-4 game so that he could win the tiebreak.
But the records that we must now be impressed by are four wins in the four grand slam finals Alcaraz has played in. He’s defended his Wimbledon title (like Djokovic), he’s won back to back French and Wimbledon titles, which is the hardest double. He’s got two slams this year (world no. 1 Sinner only has one, and bragging rights are based on slam wins, not ranking). He’s got more grand slam titles than Andy Murray, he’s just 21. He can play however he likes all tournament so long as he gets through and plays the final like this, disciplined but attacking, with the odd sprinkle of ‘did he just do that?’ magic.
He showed respect to Djokovic by turning up and playing well from the beginning. Did Djokovic show too much respect to him by not playing his usual game (Alcaraz won most of the long exchanges they had,) or was it the knee, or was it the decline of age, where there are fewer days when you can play at your best, finally hitting him? Only Djokovic knows. Andy Roddick made some good points about how the lack of play he’d had to strengthen the knee told, and that he’d got away with it a little by not facing a top 10 player – de Minaur’s movement is not far off Alcaraz’s. Alcaraz was able to make even tougher demands of Djokovic than any other player on grass right now. I think it’s still too early to say we’re seeing the changing of the guard, but Alcaraz has won on all surfaces and is the best. It can only get tougher for Djokovic to win another slam, and this one has got to hurt. Losing twice here, and this time in three sets, a comprehensive loss. But Alcaraz showed again how complete a player he is, despite his youth, and how he has the mentality to play big on the big occasions. Of course, Spain continued to have a good day.
And now I am at a little bit of a loss without tennis to watch.
