Novak Djokovic is in the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz and can snatch another record from the Swiss. How can we beat the Serb?
Can win his 25th title at a Grand Slam tournament: Novak Djokovic celebrates after his victory in the semifinals.
An alternative game was offered to spectators at Wimbledon in the last two weeks of the tournament off the court. Who will find Federer? The maestro has been out of action for two years. He lost his last match on the legendary Centre Court in July 2021 against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz 0-6 in the third set. Hardly anyone likes to remember this final humiliation.
A year ago, Federer returned to the All England Lawn Tennis Club on an official mission to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his first Wimbledon victory in July 2003. Dressed in a smart suit, he watched a match in the Royal Box with Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. He had left his four children at home because of the numerous commitments that came with the anniversary.
The news portal GB News had started the search for the Basel tennis icon with an article shortly before the start of the tournament and announced that Federer was planning to visit Wimbledon again this year. His children had urged him to go to Wimbledon, he said recently. “I’m happy at home, but my children said: ‘Last year you flew without us, now we want to go to Wimbledon too.'”
He then reportedly added: “We’ll probably be there. But I don’t know yet if we’ll go to the grounds and watch some matches there. But I’ll be in Wimbledon Village, so try and spot me there.”
The news portal does not name sources for the quotes. They may also be completely made up. In any case, there are no pictures showing Federer on the courts until the penultimate day of the tournament. He was also absent from the tearful farewell to his long-time rival Andy Murray in the first week of the tournament. Instead, Federer posted a selfie on Instagram with the American pop icon Taylor Swift from the concert last Wednesday in Zurich.
Federer is wanted everywhere
But the article undoubtedly served its purpose. Federer is sought after in every corner of the venue. With eight titles, he is still the record winner of the most important tennis tournament on the calendar. His last title dates back to July 2017, when he defeated the Croatian Marin Cilic in the final in his brilliant comeback year after his first knee injury. Two years later, in the final against Novak Djokovic, he had two match points on his own serve, both of which he missed. The memory of that probably still hurts him today.
Novak Djokovic is still here. This Sunday he will be in his 10th Wimbledon final. Federer has played two more. Overall, the Serb is already playing in his 37th major final. With a win, he could win his 25th title and thus replace the Australian Margaret Court (24 wins) as the record Grand Slam winner. His last opponent on the way to this historic mark is Carlos Alcaraz, who surprisingly defeated him then, as he did a year ago.
Challenges Novak Djokovic in the final: last year’s winner Carlos Alcaraz.
Just two weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that Djokovic would reach the final at Wimbledon again. The Serbian, now 37, is in the middle of a disappointing season by his standards. He is still waiting for his first title. At the Australian Open, he lost in the semifinals to Jannik Sinner, and a month ago he had to give up in the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros against the Norwegian Casper Ruud because of a torn meniscus. Djokovic then underwent a minor operation in Paris, and the weeks leading up to the start of Wimbledon became a race against time.
But Djokovic managed it. What’s more, he was in brilliant form at Church Road this year. In the five matches before the final, he lost just two sets and spent 12 hours 54 minutes on the court. He won the quarterfinal against Alex de Minaur without a fight because the Australian was injured. On Friday, he defeated the Italian surprise man Lorenzo Musetti in 2 hours 48 minutes and three sets.
After the semi-final, Djokovic told the media that it felt almost surreal to be back in the final. “Wimbledon was my favorite tournament as a child. It always reminds me not to take anything for granted. Until three or four days before the tournament started, I wasn’t even sure if I would actually be able to compete. It took a special effort to get fit again in time after the operation.”
Djokovic now has the chance to strike the first blow against the Spaniards on a big sports Sunday. In the evening, the Spanish national football team will play against England in the final of the European Championship in Germany. But the Serb has his own plans. He is driven to leave his mark on tennis. He is breaking one record after another.
He usually snatches the best performances from Roger Federer, who until a few years ago seemed to be out of danger. When the Basel native won his 8th Wimbledon title here seven years ago and his 20th major tournament in Melbourne six months later, many thought these were records for the ages.
But what is forever? Certainly not tennis records. They are there to be broken. On Friday, Djokovic said: “Of course I am aware that Roger holds eight titles here. And the record of 25th major victory is also at stake. I see that as a great motivation. At the same time, it also puts me under pressure. I am 37 years old today and I am competing against 21-year-olds. And yet I still expect to win most of my matches.”
Roger, do it like Abba
Djokovic says he still feels on a par with Carlos (Alcaraz), Jannik (Sinner), Sascha (Zverev) and all the others. “This season has not been so successful for me so far. I probably had the weakest six months in many years.” But if Djokovic wins his 8th title today in Wimbledon, his 25th at a major tournament, then all doubts of the past weeks and months will be dispelled. He will then underline once again who is the greatest of the moment, perhaps even of history.
Meanwhile, the public continues to search for Roger. He will hardly be seen on the grounds in southwest London on the final day. The rivalry with Djokovic is too great. But there is a very simple solution to Federer’s problem. His role model can be found in the northeast of the city, around 20 kilometers from Wimbledon, on the edge of the 2012 Olympic Park.
Since May 2022, the Swedish pop band Abba has been performing there again in a specially built arena. Evening after evening, thousands of elderly and slightly less elderly Abba fans fill the arena, cheer on their childhood idols and painlessly travel back into their own past. Of course, they are not the real four Swedes, but their avatars. But the experience is astonishingly lifelike.
A Federer avatar who meets Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon and, of course, beats him. That would probably be one way to beat the Serb. In real life, Roger Federer probably can’t get past Novak Djokovic.
