Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic (Image Courtesy : Sky Sports)
Former world No. 1 Boris Becker believes that Novak Djokovic’s era of dominance has not been diminished yet, despite the Serb’s defeat in last week’s Wimbledon final to 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.
People have been quick to draw parallels between Alcaraz’s triumph over Djokovic andRoger Federer‘s win over then-seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round of Wimbledon 2001, with the insinuation that it will usher in the change of guard and the start of a new era in tennis.
The World No. 2, was chasing a record-extending 24th Grand Slam singles title, and also a record-equaling eighth Wimbledon crown, before his stellar unbeaten run at SW19 stretching back to nearly six years was brought to a halt by the young Alcaraz.
Boris Becker, Novak Djokovic’s coach from 2013 to 2016, believes that his former protégé is far from finished, despite facing an agonizing defeat at the hands of the Spaniard.
“I don’t think it’s the end of the Djokovic era. And I hope not, because that was a perfect example of how a tennis match should be played,” Becker said speaking exclusively to Eurosport’s Das Gelbe vom Ball podcast.
The German went to add, “We won millions of new fans thanks to the Final, and I hope they can repeat that in New York or Melbourne.”
When the question of motivation was broached, the 55-year-old winner of six Grand Slam singles titles, Boris Becker, believes that Novak Djokovic’s quest to win more Grand Slam titles has not diminished one bit. He believes that the Serb will not only be looking to equal Margaret Court‘s singles Grand Slam tally of 24, but also surpass it and seek sole ownership of the Grand Slam title record across men’s and women’s singles competitions.
All said and done, quite a few tennis fans seemed to have jumped the gun when they interpreted Novak Djokovic’s defeat in last week’s final as a sign of the end of the seven-time Wimbledon champion’s reign of supremacy. The indomitable Serb is known to thrive when adversity reaches its peak. Time and again, the world’s most decorated Grand Slam champion has let his tennis do the talking.
One need not look far back to 2017, when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal swept the four Grand Slams that were held that year. Following Djokovic’s humiliating defeat in straight sets to Chung Hyeon at the 2018 Australian Open, fans were quick to judge the unraveling of events as a precursor to the end of Djokovic’s dominance.
However, the Serb had the last laugh, adding an impressive 11 Grand Slam titles to his trophy cabinet since that defeat. Most notably, he has remained undefeated at the Australian Open until the time of writing.
Whether you love him or hate him, as Boris Becker rightly put it, it would be imprudent to conclude that the defeat in last week’s Wimbledon final marks the end of the Novak Djokovic era.
Arjun is a connoisseur of all things sports. He has been a tennis aficionado since 2004, and he also follows cricket, football, the NBA, and Formula 1.
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Arjun K
(41 Articles Published)