LONDON – Novak Djokovic vowed to get back to work after being outplayed by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final Sunday less than 1 1/2 months after knee surgery, with the intention of contending for a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and a record 25th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.
“In the face of adversity, normally I rise and I learn and get stronger,” Djokovic said after his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) loss to Alcaraz. “That’s what I’m going to do.”
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Djokovic also was beaten by Alcaraz in last year's Wimbledon final. The 37-year-old from Serbia is 23-7 without a title this season; Sunday was his first appearance in a final in 2024.
In Grand Slam play, he was eliminated by current No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals in January, then reached the quarterfinals at the French Open but needed to pull out before that round after tearing the meniscus in his right knee. He had an operation on June 5 and wasn't sure he would be able to enter Wimbledon at all until a few days before the draw.
“My preparation for Wimbledon wasn’t as I would have it normally. ... There was hindrance obviously because of the injury,” Djokovic said. “That probably had an effect, particularly in the opening rounds. But as the tournament progressed, I felt better and better. I reached the finals. Some matches I played some really good tennis. Some matches I kind of battled my way through. But today, I saw that I was just half a step behind him, in every sense.”
With a gray sleeve covering his right knee, Djokovic won just 27 of 53 points when he went to the net and finished with 26 winners to Alcaraz’s 42.
Djokovic was broken five times and only won one of the 21-year-old Alcaraz’s service games.
“Being able to reach the finals of Wimbledon ... (is) a great confidence boost. But I also feel like in a matchup today against the best player right now in the world, for sure — I mean, other than Jannik, and both of them are the best this year by far — I feel like I’m not at that level,” Djokovic said.
“In order to really have a chance to, I guess, beat these guys in Grand Slam latter stages or Olympics," he added, "I’m going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today.”
Still, like most people, Alcaraz was impressed that Djokovic managed to make it all the way to the final at Wimbledon.
“What he has done this tournament — with a surgery just before a few weeks before the tournament — (began) is amazing. It is unbelievable.”
The next goal for Djokovic is the Summer Games; the tennis competition starts at Roland Garros on July 27.
An Olympic gold is pretty much the only accolade missing from a resume that includes 10 titles at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon, four at the U.S. Open — where his title defense begins on Aug. 26 — and three at the French Open, along with a total of 98 tour-level titles and more weeks spent at No. 1 in the rankings than any other player.
He'll analyze where there's room for improvement. He'll train and practice to try to be at his best.
What he won't do is harbor regrets about what he could have done differently against Alcaraz on this particular afternoon in England.
“Of course, I can always be self-critical, which I am. I can always find the flaws, which I can already see. Things that I maybe should have executed better,” Djokovic said Sunday. “I don’t think that would change too much the course of the match, to be honest.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis