Key events
Alcaraz 1-4 Djokovic* Alcaraz makes 15-0, Djokovic retorts with an ace, the way he’s sneakily become one of the best servers ever, in his 30s, a ludicrous state of affairs. So far, he’s made one unforced error, dialled into the match like the opening scene of Once Upon A Time In America. He consolidates comfortably, and so far has played near-enough perfectly.
*Alcaraz 1-3 Djokovic Terrific hitting from both players, but a mistimed backhand, on the stretch, offers Djokovic a loopy trajectory and friendly bounce; he duly dematerialises an inside-out forehand winner for 0-15. A drop, though, and Alcaraz is level – I’m sure he’ll want to test his man running forwards, not just side to side – but consecutive errors and at 30-40, Djokovic has break point. We are talking. Though another drop, from mid-court, is too good, another Alcaraz error – unforced if we’re being strict, but the pressure he was under brought it about – earns Djokovic another opportunity, saved by some big hitting, only for another mistake to put him under pressure again. And this time, the rally of the match ensues, Alacaraz on top then suddenly asked to retrieve, which he does well. But the purity of Djokovic’s ball-striking is too much: he’s not going for corners but he is contrloling the pace, securing the break. He is quite good at tennis.
“This is going to be a wonderful contest,” writes Kim Thonger, “but I do wish the major tournaments would set more exacting and tasteful standards of dress. Long white trousers and proper shirts were so elegant, as evidenced here…”
Anything, other than whatever they put Sinner in, is better than Alcaraz’s vests. The line green he wore on Friday was better, but still, he deserves better.
Alcaraz 1-2 Djokovic* A love hold for Djokovic, and if the serving continues as it’s started, we’re going to have some serious tension towards the end of sets.
“Hi from snowy Sweden,” begins Juliian Menz. “I’ve been watching tennis since the Borg/McEnroe days. I remember Becker, Sampras, it’s a long list. More recently, the glorious grace of Federer, the brilliance of prime Nadal, it’s a long list. As tennis fans, we are truly blessed now though. The sheer audacity of Djokovic to cast aside his Zimmer frame and beat the almost indestructible Sinner. The mere fact that we are witnessing a talent like Alcaraz.”
Agreed in all aspects, but it’s worth noting that until Friday, this tournament was a disappointment: no close matches and the feeling the final was inevitable. As Djokovic ages, I fear that’ll become increasingly the case: some amazing finals, some meh first 10 days.
*Alcaraz 1-1 Djokovic An ace out wide to open, and both these freaks of nature look loose, Friday out of their system for now. Djokovic then send a line backhand into the net – the shot worked really well against Sinner, but Alcaraz is a little lighter on his feet and also quicker, so he might cope better. We quickly reach 40-0, then a forehand winner merely helped down the line brings the goat into the game – these are the shots he’s relying on – but an overhead then secures another dominant hold.
Alcaraz 0-1 Djokovic* (*denotes server) Djokovic starts well, a serve out wide allowing a forehand into the space which effectively wins the point, then a return into the tape is followed by a wrong-footing backhand; 40-0. So Alcaraz announces himself, hooking a forehand into the corner which facilitates the putaway at net – he’ll feel better for that, though his next return flies long, sealing a confident hold.
You could cut the atmosphere with an atmosphere-cutter. Djokovic to serve – Alcaraz opted to receive – ready, play.
Does Djokovic think this is his last chance? He’s on his favourite court – in terms fo dominance – and his two young rivals will only get better as he fades. It’s not too hot, it’d dark, he’s not wearing sunglasses. Hit it.
And here they come!
Our players are ready to come out. This is going to be special.
I keep saying it, but it bears repetition: we’re at the start of a golden age in women’s tennis. Sabalenka, Rybakina, Gauff, Swiatek and Osaka at their peaks, Anisimova coming, Andreeva getting there, then Mboko, Baptiste and Jovic on the match; ooooh yeah.
I’ve recently realised that I might be obsessive, and one of my currents, as per the preamble, is love in sport. So here’s something on that.
It’s really windy in Melbourne, and the roof may close at some point, as there’s a threat of rain, but for now, it’s open and the conditions will, presumably, favour Alcaraz’s extra power and creativity.
On which point, how does Lorenzo Musetti feel today? Like Griggzy Dimitrov and Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, he was two sets up – on Djokovic – only for injury to intervene. And how on earth did Djokovic dredge up the performance he did in the next round?
Email! “I saw a forward yesterday,” begins Krishnamoorthy V, “where a Damien Omen-ish young Alcaraz is beaming at the camera with Djokovic in the background on the court. Am sure Djoker must regret inspiring this boy faced assassin. One thing I have learned in the last 25 years is never to bet on an outcome when Djokovic is playing. Even though form and age supports the second of the history that you mentioned to cone through, on the other side is Djokovic, who has cheated death so frequently that the grim reaper has vacated his post code. Today’s match shall however answer the age old paradox: what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?”
It’s amazing isn’t it? Djokovic saw off his own generation, the generation after him, and now he’s working his way through a third.
Those semis, though. The 1990 FA Cup, Italia 90, Germany 06, World snooker 2020; there are others, but this is the exulted company in which our Friday now sits. Only one, though, the first, could be said to have delivered a final of similar standard.
Some numbers: in five-set matches, Djokokic is … 43-11; Alcaraz is … 15-1. Ridiculous behaviour in both aspects.
Oh, and in matches over 3 hr 45 min, Jannik Sinner is … 0-8.
So who’s going to win? I guess it depends a lot on who’s the fitter, but if Alcaraz’s semi-final issue was “only” cramp, you have to favour him. He should be well recovered from that, so the length of the matches might take more out of Djokovic.
On the other hand, if Djokovic serves as well as he can, he’ll be very difficult to stop. Alcaraz doesn’t find it easy against him, and he can expect to be spending plenty of time retrieving from the corners, especially from groundstrokes down the line. But ultimately, Alcaraz’s speed about the court and ability to conjure winners from any position make me lean towards him.
Preamble
Over the 74,301 years he’s been playing tennis, warming to Novak Djokovic hasn’t always been easy. And the man himself knows it, frequently bristling at sleights perceived, imagined and real, his 24 grand slam titles unable to replace the basic need to feel loved.
What we all learn from Djokovic, though – what even Djokovic himself can learn from Djokovic – is how to execute the perennially torturous business of loving yourself. He knows exactly who he is, exactly what he’s worth and exactly what he needs, which is how he comes to be exactly where he is: in yet another major final, his 38th.
To do as he’s done – reaching this stage for the first time in 18 months, aged 38, having outlasted Jannik Sinner, 14 years his junior, in the semi-finals – is an act of self-love barely believable in its intensity. Playing tennis is really, really hard. Practice is repetitive and gruelling, so too the travel, and the mental toll of putting a body and a life through that, with a young family at home and a wider world believing his time has gone – risking defeat for victory, to opponents he would once have devastated – is a lesson in trust and respect, curiosity and hope, a fearless desire to back yourself no matter what. May we all learn it well.
In Carlos Alcaraz, though, he meets an almost-child who somehow knows all of this already, as comfortable in his own soul as anyone roaming the planet. A break down in the final set of his semi, he knew that if he kept being himself, the cosmos would ultimately bend to his will, and even if it didn’t, he’d still be who he is. It’s arguable that no one, ever, in any sport, has kept the scales of nice boy and killer, of playing for fun and for your life, balanced in such glorious equilibrium.
Both players are playing for (yet more) history. If Djokovic wins – and, despite it all, he’ll not get many more opportunities – he goes out alone on 25 majors won, one more than Margaret Court. And if Alcaraz wins – despite it all, even he can’t defeat time – he becomes the youngest man to complete the career grand slam, at 22 years and eight months, three months younger than Don Budge was in 1938. This is about tennis, sure, but more than anything, it’s about everything it takes to exist and thrive as a human being.
Play: 7.30pm local, 8.30am GMT
