I always thought that if Djokovic had not faced Alcaraz in Wimbledon Finals, he would have got his 24th grandslam title there itself and be striving for 25th at US Open thereby completing his silver of grandslam titles. But this feat had to wait for few months and happen at US open.
The things went right for the great Djokovic from the start itself. He got 2nd seeding to Alcaraz’s 1st, ensuring that the two would meet, if at all, only in the finals. While the things went on smoothly for the seeds, with the top 3 seeds reaching semis, only Ben Shelton being the dark horse, Djokovic’s chances became considerably bright as Alcaraz-Medvedev match was expected to be a tough encounter, tiring both the players for facing the great Joker in the finals. Djokovic had a relatively easier win over Shelton and Medvedev played game of his life to overcome Alcaraz. Djokovic played the sublime tennis to defeat Medvedev to claim the record 24th grandslam, a feat that brought him at par with Margaret Court and ahead of all his contemporaries, making him the undisputed GOAT ( Greatest of all time).
At 36, Djokovic only seems to be improving. Good service followed by volley at the net is the new weapon in his armoury making him even more lethal. His immediate rival, Alcaraz is already contemplating seeking help for temperament for big games. What a year this has been for the GOAT! Appearing in all four grandslam finals and winning three of them ( against Tsitsipas, Ruud and Medvedev), is a great feat in Modern day tennis. Will Djokovic be fit and motivated enough to have a calendar slam in 2024 is anybody’s guess, but that’s unrelated to his confirmed GOAT status.
Lucky are we to be witnessing great tennis rivalry amongst Federer, Nadal and Djokovic , with Djokovic ultimately outrunning others to emerge a GOAT.
Arvind Arya blog 