For 15 years, Djokovic has dedicated his career to being better than them — not just for one match or one tournament, but forever.
Now that his rivals are on the way out, Djokovic looks for new motivation. He has already defeated a generation of future stars — Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, who generally crumbled against him in Grand Slam events, half defeated by his aura and his previous dominance of them before his first forehand sharply angled across the court.
“In moments of pressure, he played very well, never lost,” Sinner said. “That’s him.”
Now he has another Grand Slam title, and the 20-something upstarts want to take him down before he’s out of the game for good. He doesn’t often talk about deriving any special satisfaction from beating players whose legs have less mileage than he does, players who really should send an opponent into the second half of his thirties. But he did that, briefly, earlier in the week, after beating Rublev, who is 25 and put in a solid effort in the quarterfinals, losing in four sets.
“They want to win, but it’s still not happening,” Djokovic said on court after it was over.
Now comes Alcaraz for the second time in five weeks. In the French Open semifinal, an overstressed Alcaraz suffered near-paralyzing full-body cramps.
Now the 20-year-old Spanish star, the only player younger than 27 with a Grand Slam title, gets another chance against a more relaxed Djokovic, playing in his ninth Wimbledon final. Alcaraz played only 12 matches at Wimbledon in his lifetime.
“He’s young, he’s hungry – I’m hungry too,” Djokovic said. “Let’s have a feast.”
