By Ros Satar
Novak Djokovic is chasing history, and Carlos Alcaraz continues to lay down a marker for the changing of the guard as the pair meet again in a Wimbledon men’s singles final on Sunday.
Djokovic is bidding to win a 25th Grand Slam title and claim the all-time record for the most Grand Slam titles, ahead of Margaret Court.
A victory for the Serb would also draw him level with Roger Federer’s all-time record of eight Wimbledon’s men’s singles titles.
He would become the first player in history to win eight or more singles titles at two different Grand Slam events – he has 10 Australian Open men’s singles titles to date.
Across the net will be the player leading the charge for a new era in men’s tennis, as Alcaraz will target a fourth Grand Slam title from four finals.
He is bidding to become the eighth player in history to win his first four Grand Slam men’s singles finals – and the second in the Open Era after Federer, who won his first seven contested finals in Slams.
Djokovic’s journey to win the elusive 25th Grand Slam title has not been an easy one this year – his wait for a title in 2024 continues, hampered most recently by a torn medial meniscus in the French Open quarter-final.
He was tested in the second and third rounds, eventually prevailing over British wildcard Jacob Fearnley and Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in four sets, before normal service resumed against Denmark’s Holger Rune.
That match saw him tackle the Wimbledon crowd, accusing some of using their ‘Ruuune’ chant as an excuse to boo him.
After so much drama, an extra day of rest might have been quite welcome as Alex De Minaurwas forced to withdraw from their quarter-final, and a relatively straightforward win over Lorenzo Musetti followed in the semis.
“He already beat me here in a thrilling five-setter. I don’t expect anything less than that,” Djokovic said after the semi-final.
“A huge battle on the court. He is as complete a player as they come, so it is going to take the best of my abilities on the court overall to beat him on Sunday.”
Alcaraz might well have some way to go to reach the dizzy Grand Slam heights of his compatriot Rafael Nadal or Djokovic, but he has started well.
As yet unbeaten at the sharp end of a Grand Slam, it feels as though he has made his life unnecessarily challenging during his path to the final.
He was taken the distance by Frances Tiafoe and has had lapses in concentration to advance through the latter stages in four sets.
Grass is a surface that demands the conservation of energy for the potential lung-sapping rallies, especially when looking at Djokovic, prowling the baseline.
He will need to find another level if he wants to become the ninth man in the Open Era to retain the Wimbledon title, and the sixth man in the Open Era to win both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.
“Obviously everybody knows Djokovic. He has played multiple Grand Slam finals, has won a lot of them. Last year it was a really difficult match. He put me in real trouble, I’m going to say,” Alcaraz said on Friday.
“I know how it’s going to feel playing against Djokovic. I know what I have to do. I’m sure he knows what he has to do to beat me. It’s going to be a really interesting one.”
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