When Magic Johnson was still regarded as the undisputed GOAT of basketball, there is this Michael Jordan tale from that era. It is from the Dream Team’s split-up practise game at the pre-Olympics camp in 1992. What was supposed to be a typical morning workout transformed into a confrontation of titanic egos in which nobody lost ground. Jordan was having a great day, and Johnson was reminded by his dynamic play that he wasn’t completely invincible.
Jordan strutted towards Johnson and Larry Bird as they were sitting on the sidelines after the game. He smiled slyly, “There’s a new sheriff in the town.” Johnson told Bird, “He isn’t lying,” with a deep laugh.
According to legend, it will be basketball’s equivalent of the Sunday at Wimbledon when Carlos Alcaraz defeated 23-time Grand Slam champion and undisputed tennis GOAT Novak Djokovic. A new sheriff has arrived, the 20-year-old from the Spanish community of El Palmar said proudly from the renowned grass court, and he wasn’t lying. El Palmar is noted for its tall palm trees.
Some others thought he reminded them of a 17-year-old Boris Becker. This final was a display of the harsh strength and brazen ambition of the young fighting the odds, just like it was in the 1985 final. Others at Wimbledon were made aware of the historic Roger Federer vs. Pete Sampras fourth-round encounter from 2001.
But this was a unique situation. While Alcaraz entered Wimbledon as the World No. 1 and the US Open champion, Becker was a 17-year-old rookie. Sampras was long past his prime, so Federer had it easy. In his prime, the best tennis player was Alcaraz’s opponent. This marks the start of a new era rather than the end of one. An on-court competition had just begun.
For a very long time, men’s tennis had been waiting for true prodigies to show themselves. Many competitors had been exposed by Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Federer as frauds. Wimbledon 2023 will be remembered for the Grand Slam, though, when tennis unearthed a young player who was the’real thing’ and had what it took to upend the status quo.
Djokovic had been absent from the US Open, which Alcaraz had won. Alcaraz won a Slam without an asterisk in front of commoners and nobility late in the evening. The suits of the ATP have been hoping for a fresh dawn like this for years. Following the defeat, Djokovic slipped in a phrase that would delight the game’s marketers. “I thought you would be hard to beat on clay and hard court, but you showed that you are tough to beat on grass too,” he remarked.
Since Federer’s retirement and Nadal’s impending retirement, there has been a perception that Djokovic will enjoy a period of freedom. This thrilling five-game series demonstrated that Alcaraz will always be the draw’s go-to expert, no matter the situation.
On Sunday, Alcaraz had a response for each ruse the Serb made. Djokovic got off to a fast start but was unable to pull ahead. By taking his time between strokes, he attempted to slow down the tempo of the game, but the rhythm of the young players was unbroken. The veteran shot faster and tried more daring lines, but they were unsuccessful as well. Shot for shot, volley for volley, and serve for serve, Alcaraz matched him.
When Djokovic took a lengthy break at the conclusion of the third set, there was a sense that he would come back reenergized and easily win the match. He had already done that against the finest players in the world. He nearly succeeded by taking the fourth set. Alcaraz, however, demonstrated in the fifth that he wasn’t the kind to crumble under duress. He wasn’t experiencing cognitive fog,
He pounded out precise ground strokes that were powerful and deep even when under duress. His serve was unwavering. He once struck a magnificent drop shot in the dying seconds of the decisive set and then followed it up with a lob that Djokovic watched go over his head. Even though the game was far from over at that point, the defending champion’s realisation that the new sheriff had checked in was a turning point.
