Three US Open champions falling by the wayside even before the first week ended in New York has prompted some tennis fans and experts to say the best of Novak Djokovic is over, Carlos Alcaraz is beatable and ousted defending champion Coco Gauff is just another joker in the pack.
One needs to go through what all Alcaraz and Djokovic underwent in the packed 2024 tennis season, where the Paris Olympics was also top priority. Alcaraz had begun the year shakily at the Australian Open. Former players who have now turned commentators were worried the Spaniard’s extremely physical game was going to do him more harm than good. He had already started wearing protective stuff around his joints.
At the Australian Open, it was the man under intense scrutiny these days for failing dope tests – Jannik Sinner – who came out tops. By the time the outdoor season was over in the USA and the tennis caravan headed to the clay swing, Alcaraz had become strong. His presence was defining and what caught the eye was his fitness had improved by miles and the hunger to win seven matches on clay at the French Open saw him lift the trophy.
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The French Open and Paris are known for the ‘Rafa Romance’ as the winner of 14 French Open titles, Rafael Nadal had turned the season’s second Grand Slam into his own theatre. Nadal is past prime, his injuries and repeated rehab don’t work and it seemed he came to the French Open more to watch countryman Alcaraz turn on the heat. What the young champion did was not only to win the biggest title on clay but also position himself as the superstar, through the crazy ATP computer rankings decided Sinner was No.1. That was illogical.
From Paris to London, when Alcaraz crossed the English Channel, there was intense pressure on him. How he peaked again on grass and defeated Djokovic to win Wimbledon for a second time was defining. There was hardly any time period for the tennis stars to recover as the Paris 2024 Olympics was approaching. This is where tennis fans, not all very literate in terms of what the surface and conditions demand, need to understand how hard it was for Alcaraz to make a transition.
The wily old fox Djokovic was much more hungry for the gold medal, again in Paris, this time winning it for himself and Serbia as the Olympics reached a crescendo and the Roland Garros once again lapped up all the action and energy with delight. Djokovic craved for the Olympic gold and once he clinched it, the emotional scenes were overwhelming. He cried with his team and daughter, posed for photographs with all and even declared this win was his biggest. Imagine, for someone to have won 24 Grand Slam titles and say the Olympics gold is even bigger, it puts things in perspective.
The tennis season is punishing. Djokovic came to New York, unsure how he could again find the energy and drive to produce high intensity tennis on the hard courts. As defending champion, the pressure increased, though he made no excuses for the third-round loss to AussieAlexei Popyrin. Just after the loss, tongues started wagging. Djokovic had made winning a habit and armchair critics pronounced his inability to win a Major in 2024 means he is past prime. This is, indeed, knee-jerk reaction. Is a champion supposed to be winning every time at a Grand Slam or at 37 is Djokovic not entitled to a slump in form? Fact is, after the emotions of the gold medal campaign at the Olympics, to reboot for the US Open was hard. Never mind, he will return to the 2025 tennis season and the first Major in Melbourne next January, fully aware there will be more expectations from him!
Back to Alcaraz, winning two back-to-back Grand Slam titles, then competing in singles and doubles at the Olympics and then losing in the second round at the US Open was no sin. He is still a kid who likes to enjoy himself. His career has not ended and he knows what is in store. Be it Djokovic or Alcaraz, they don’t pay too much attention to social media. And on Sunday, to see Alcaraz enjoy himself at the Monza Circuit as Charles Leclerec won the Formula One Grand Prix suggests he knows how to deal with external negativity. That is sufficient reason to believe, whatever critics may say, two champions from different generations – Alcaraz and Djokovic – know how to deal with bad losses.
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