The 2023 Wimbledon Men’s final was a dream matchup that tennis fans have been waiting for all year long. Alcaraz missed the Australian Open 2023 due to injury and Djokovic dominated their French Open 2023 semi-final match as Alcaraz still seemed to be learning what it takes to play on the world’s biggest tennis stages. But the tennis gods had their way with the grand daddy of grand slams and delivered a Wimbledon Men’s final dream matchup for the ages.
These two players Djokovic and Alcaraz are undoubtedly at the top of their tennis games right now. They are considered to be the two most dominant men’s tennis players on the tour at the moment with both players healthy and playing at the top of their games.
One couldn’t write a better script with the 36-year-old Djokovic from Serbia saying to anyone who will listen that the “age of 36 is the new 26” as he ages gracefully on the tennis tour right before our eyes. And Alcaraz is the up and coming prodigy who was born in 2003, ironically the same year Roger Federer won his first grand slam title at Wimbledon that summer.
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Alcaraz plays like a young Kobe Bryant that exudes the Mamba mentality when playing a match on the tennis court. He is confident and believes he belongs on the big stage, no matter the opponent. Alcaraz has been anointed the frontrunner of the next generation of up and coming men’s professional tennis players and he has so far lived up to the hype.
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Djokovic is the wise warrior seasoned from many battles at the most prestigious tennis tournaments of the last decade. He currently has 23 grand slam victories, and he has won 15 of the last 18 grand slams that have been played leading up to the 2023 Wimbledon tournament. He clearly has made his mark as arguably the most dominant men’s tennis player of the last ten years.
Federer will always be the fan favorite, but Djokovic’s record in grand slam events gives him the edge as the greatest men’s player.
Rivalry in the Making
Even though Djokovic is currently 36 years old, he is showing no signs of slowing down on the court. He dominated his opponents at both the Australian Open and French Open tournaments in 2023 and he was looking like he may complete a “calendar slam” if he kept winning at this unprecedented level for his age.
Alcaraz also was playing at an impressive level for someone only 20 years old and relatively new to Grand Slam tennis tournaments even though he already has one grand slam win under his belt. He showed he was “mortal” when he played Djokovic in the French Open 2023 semi-final and was soundly beaten by the more experienced Djokovic in this match even though Alcaraz cramped up which restricted his mobility.
Alcaraz said after the match he learned from the experience and he would return to the court better prepared for a Grand Slam in his next major tournament. And through the early rounds at the 2023 Wimbledon tournament, he delivered on this promise by winning his matches by a comfortable margin in each match.
Great Day for Tennis on the Sport’s Biggest Stage
As the Wimbledon fortnight progressed fans watched Alcaraz and Djokovic play in their separate draws with anxious anticipation as each player breezed through their matches on a collision course to an epic Wimbledon final.
And when the final was set with each winning their semi-final matches in convincing fashion, the tennis world rejoiced that the world’s number 1 and number 2 players would meet on finals Sunday in one of the most anticipated men’s finals in recent memory.
Tennis fans have been treated to some special men’s finals moments since 2003 when the run started where every Wimbledon final since that year has been won by one of the “big four” whom fans know to be Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. Each one of those finals “over-delivered” on high level tennis play and we are forever grateful as fans for the memorable tennis matches.
But this Alcaraz – Djokovic final comes with the “unknown” because this is the new rivalry in men’s tennis that we haven’t seen previously in a grand slam final setting.
So enjoy the moment tennis fans and lets hope this is the start of many more finals matches between these two as long as Djokovic keeps playing.