Perspective on the Alcaraz win over Novak - is this a changing of the guard?

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. 

Novak did this with a gone-missing serve today.

  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.

 

 

Bartolia - "..debate is closed." - Novak is the GOAT

 Novak is the GOAT

 

He leads every single stat.

Novak eyeing 24th win at Wimbledon

24th Win is his target

Novak - "So whoever I get to face across the net, it doesn't make a difference for me. I need to do what I need to do."

Novak is the Real #1 - Wimbledon picks by the experts

 The Real #1 by Jason

https://lastwordonsports.com/tennis/2023/06/30/novak-djokovic-real-world-number-one/

 

Expert Picks - Wimbledon 2023

Drucker - Djokovic 

Fitzgerald - Djokovic 

Kane- Djokovic 

Levey - Djokovic 

Livaudais  Alcaraz 

McGrogan - Djokovic

Tignor - Djokovic

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wimbledon-men-s-semifinal-final-champion-predictions-can-alcaraz-or-djokovic-be-

https://ausopen.com/articles/news/expert-picks-who-will-be-wimbledon-champions-2023

Novak loses #1 ranking and top Wimbledon Seed to Alcaraz by 80 Points courtesy of 2K points taken last year

McNamee wrote, "For me, not a good look." I agree it's not. 

Taking 2,000 points last year from the Wimbledon winner was decided by the ATP players council. Both Fed and Rafa were on the council along with an assortment of players that had no expectation of winning the tournament. It was an easy decision to punish your leading rival. 

Alcaraz lost less than 200 points from that move. He's not complicit in that but has surely benefited. Alcaraz gains the #1 ranking and top seed at Wimbledon by 80 points.

Boris Becker on his lost millions

 Hard Living - now it's all gone.

R.I.P. Dick Savitt

 Savitt passes at 95 years old

Raducanu early exit from injury

It's easy to judge someone at a distance. I remember when Fed and Novak were beset with problems that caused them to quit playing a match. No one would call either of them wimps now with justification. Her problems started with coaching changes that were from advice she took based on her age and inexperience. Hopefully, she'll begin to trust her own counsel.

 

 

Raducanu out

Stubbs Supports Following Rule that Allowed Novak to Play

 That is refreshing since most tennis commentators are still going on and on about the now dispensed vax rule.

Stubbs

British Tennis Russian Ban May Continue into 2023

 So what will the ATP do if Wimbledon keeps Russians out in 2023? The ATP should discuss a boycott or huge fines to force Wimbledon to undo this bad idea. At least the WTA showed some backbone.

 British Tennis Russian Ban May Continue into 2023

Tennis Rankings are a Mess - Let Novak. Play

The ATP, Wimbledon Officials, Australian Politicians, and finally, USA CDC; They've all contributed to screwing up Tennis Rankings and tournament participation by Tennis Players who only want to hit tennis balls, make their own health decisions, and not involve themselves in politics when it comes to tennis.

Let Novak Play - at the U.S. Open

Novak vs Nick in Final - How will it go?

Novak's primary hope is the frustrate Nick through high-level consistency and defense. If he can do that, Nick has proven that he can cause his own problems by losing focus and self-destructing. The main thing on Nick's side is the utter disbelief and excitement of ending up in a slam final well-rested courtesy of Rafa.

I would be nice to see a well behaved pair of players complete a final.  I expect Novak to win, but Nick has a serve and some tough shots.  Novak wins if it goes to 5 sets. 

Nick Kyrios - Class Clown of Tennis

Nick did have a point regarding Tsitsi hitting a ball into the crowd, but he also causes a reaction with his behavior. I'm not a Tsitsi fan either because he has his own gamesmanship issues. 

Nastase used similar tactics in the '70s to knock his opponents off their game, and at times so did Connors. Mac had his tirades that served to break the momentum and rhythm of his opponents. 

You have to learn to give it right back to them, somehow. I'd also single out the officials for doing nothing. Nick is a hotdog who happens to hit a very good tennis ball, so I don't see him changing. I gave up thinking he could mature and now just want to see him fade into obscurity as a sideshow footnote. Though he may yet pull off a slam when luck runs his way and a top player is taken out of his path. 

Nick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piuvxrFRm1c

 

 

 

Rafa Scolds Opponent at Net

 Rafa - Wimbledon 2022

Underarm Serves

Some see the underarm serve as an underhanded maneuver.  Others see it as lazy and a sign of weakness.

Do you teach the use of an underarm serve? How about using it to teach a student how to respond to one. 

 

I believe it has a place in tennis, simply because it offers variation, the keystone of effective serving.   Sure, if you have a monster and bulletproof serve it seems pointless to work on such a shot, but what about if you sustain an injury that limits your ability to perform or you are exhausted?   Generally, it should be used sparingly or not at all if your main serve is taking care of business.

 

Then there is the final justification for developing such a skill, you'll become an old tennis player someday and at that stage, anything goes within the rules.   Most older players rely on slice serves almost exclusively as their strength dissipates

 

Murray used an underarm serve as his first shot at Wimbledon this year thanks to a stomach muscle injury. Here is Bublik using six of them in one game against Tiafoe at Wimbledon 2022. I presume he resorted to this because his opponent was easily handling his regular serve. 

Nadal Close to Retirement before Wimbledon

 Tennis Buzz - in his words

At some point, the question has to be asked, is this precisely the situation, or is it overstated? He keeps coming back and playing and shows no noticeable reduction in function. I doubt how bad it is, so when do we call BS?

3 of top 10 men at Wimbledon out with Covid

Wimbledon

Novak at Wimbledon - The interview and the outing of the Tennis Media

The article is almost unreadable but it does give insight into the mind of how the tennis intelligentsia views Novak, as quixotic and arrogant to dare decide what is best for his health. The narrative that he violated the rules in Australia runs against the knowledge that others received exemptions according to the same media that claim he had a choice.  

Djokovic’s vaccine stance is nonsensical, but it’s still hard not to empathize

 

The Globe

They just can't leave it alone. He seems ready to move on and just play tennis where he is allowed to play. The USA is one of the last countries with vax mandates for visitors while Britain dropped that requirement.

 

Wimbledon Picks

 Tennis

Novak - Wimbledon 2022