Today, Novak's first serve was non-existent. He could have saved energy and just hit 2nd serves. It's hard to win matches like that and he came close. They had an equal number of games and Novak came up short by 1 point compared to Alcaraz's point total.
It's not clear and may not be clear until we see a pattern. To those
that think Novak is now finished, keep in mind that simply getting to
the final of a grand slam event is a career defining event for most
professionals.
These
things happen to all top players going back into tennis history. I was
surprised to see how many finals Laver and other long-career players
have lost over the decades. He was absent from many of the slams for
most of his career but still accumulated 17 final appearances winning 11
of them and being the runner-up in 6.
His losses in the finals include 1 to Olmedo, two to Fraser, two to
Emerson, and one to Rosewall. His slam wins total eleven.
Novak has been a runner-up 12 times in his finals appearances compared
to his 23 wins. Amazingly, he has been in the finals of 35 slam events.
He may not win as many in the future, but as long as he keeps
reaching the finals it is normal to lose a percentage of these matches,
especially in the 4th quarter of his Professional Career. Winning any
is a bonus.
