Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz faced each other in a historic match. Historic, but only for one person: Djokovic. Victory in this match could be the final enigma in the picture of the Serbian’s absolute greatness (which, in general, is no longer disputed). There was already one match in Novak’s career in which he was one step away from history. Then he lost it to Daniil Medvedev in New York. And here is the second attempt. An attempt to win the only thing that Djokovic has not yet achieved.
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The excitement before the match was even greater than before the Djokovic-Nadal match here a few days ago. The subway cars were almost packed, and the prices of the touts reached 3,000 euros. Parents again brought their small children to this match, as if they were going to a match between Novak and Rafa. One of them cried so hard in the middle of the first set that Djokovic paused before serving, and the stadium had to applaud to calm the child down.
The match was supposed to be historic, and it was. Not only in terms of meaning, but also in terms of nerve, level of play and plot twists. When Djokovic stepped onto the court, he exhaled, crossed himself, closed his eyes and walked. His entire Olympic (and general) career was built on these 20 steps to his spot. These 20 steps included defeats by Nadal, Murray, Del Potro and Zverev. This was his last chance. And unlike the match with Nadal, where the entire Philippe Chatrier court was vibrating for Novak and drowning for Rafa, here the situation was the opposite. Everyone wanted to touch history, which is why almost all 15,000 fans were in favour of Djokovic.
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The first set was an incredible bundle of nerves, tension and mistakes. Of course, he had the greater tennis skill, but the weight of history weighed more, which is why it lasted almost two hours. Both had been looking for a working first serve for a long time, both were looking for transfers along the line. From the stands it seemed that Carlos was more nervous than Novak. Several times he grabbed the towel just to calm down.
Novak, for his part, combined segments of a great match with disastrous ones, during which his front line completely shut down and the lines didn’t work.
First set tie-break: Novak begins to loosen his grip and starts to flutter around the court. It is as if Djokovic said to himself and to everyone: “I would rather die than lose.” After which he takes the first set from the net, where he began to go more often during the match, because it was impossible for Carlos to break through to the baseline.
In the second set, both tennis players finally got free. If my nerves didn’t disappear, then they were a little defeated by the dust on the floor. Both began to regain their serve quite easily, they began to move along the line, but it still seemed like it was just a little bit, but Novak was better. He had several opportunities to break, but Alcaraz pulled himself together and played unreal tennis.
And here is the second set tie-break, where the 15,000 was frozen. The apotheosis of Djokovic’s entire career. For this tie-break, he returned to the court a month and a half after a torn meniscus and surgery. And here he is seven points away from his dream, but quite the opposite: the best tennis player in the world at the moment, who by the end of the second set was already playing again and was not going to give anything away. I don’t want to even think about what was going through Novak’s head at that moment.
Novak Djokovic
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more brilliant shot in tennis, given the importance of the moment, than the one Djokovic executed at 3:2. This cross-court, screaming all over the stadium, automatically made me jump out of my seat in the press box, scream and start clapping. The hostesses even had to reprimand me, but no one could keep calm. Then Novak took four points in a row and went down in history. He cried after this match like he had never cried in his career. The shot of his fingers shaking with tension as he celebrates on his knees is the best ending to any movie, even better than Rocky.
At that moment I thought: this is the perfect last match for Novak. To end your career like this, nothing could be better. And for a few moments I thought: “Or maybe he will actually do that?” But no, it’s Novak. As he himself said: “I will only leave when I realise that the youngsters are kicking ass.” So far it hasn’t hurt, not even after a meniscus operation at 37.
The best!
