Federer was 36 when he won his last Grand Slam (The Australian in 2018); Nadal likewise was 36 when he won his last (French, 2022), and Djokovic was also 36 when he won The US in September last year. Federer came closest to achieving another Grand Slam win aged 37, at Wimbledon against Djokovic, in 2019. Djokovic, at Wimbledon this year, had what almost certainly was his best and last chance of winning another Grand Slam, because of his smooth run, avoiding the top players, to the final. But even if he had had more time to recover from his knee operation, Alcaraz was way too fast, hit too hard for him, and would have beaten him anyway. He will have the faintest of outside chances in September's US Open, for which he is defending champion, but I will be astonished if he makes it to the final, let alone wins it. Co-ordination declines quite suddenly after the mid-30's (not long ago it used to be earlier), and the ability to endure consistent and high level physical activity for a long period declines also. I hope I am wrong, as I would like to see him achieve his goal of surpassing his and Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles wins, But the odds, now, are very much against it.
Very good analysis, I have a hypothetical question for you, who would win Wimbledon if the 2011 version of Djokovic and the 2024 version of Alcaraz meet, I know Alcaraz hasn't peaked yet, but between these two versions who do you see winning if both play against each other on their best day.
@@issahatake90 Thanks. Great question. It's yet to be seen how much Alcaraz improves and how he handles pressure and his motivation levels and the loses once he has those. I don't think Alcaraz can play any better than what he did on that day. He can definitely improve his game but the way he was able to put all pieces together and play a perfect match, that doesn't happen everytime. So I would wait for 2-3 more years for him to actually peak and then better analyze. However, I think Djokovic wins if he is the 2011 version. The reason is that Djokovic was no where near his best this year, yet the moment he started playing little better, just holding his serve, the third set went to a tie break. And even in the tiebreak, he made 2 unforced errors which we didn't expect from him when he was at his peak. His defense and return were out of this world in 2011, he would reach Alcaraz's drop shots and counter majority of ground strokes. I think Alcaraz was not tested at all in the final. He himself said Djokovic made many mistakes and it helped him play freely. This match was similar to the one between Djokovic and Sinner at this year's AO. Or Nadal vs Federer at 2008 RG. Alcaraz played really well but his opponent did not. It's common for us to forget the level of the players in the past as the recent memories are more fresh. But 2011 Djokovic was absolutely insane. I see his matches even today to understand what him so tough such that even Nadal and Federer both were unable to counter him. If you see his matches, he never looked in trouble in a rally, seemed like he can reach anywhere on court without struggle, he can hit down the line with ease and he can produce his best when down breakpoints. Similar to what we have seen Nadal do on clay, as it seems court is slower at Nadal's end. :) I think Alcaraz's victory last year was a better one and more tougher one as Djokovic was playing better. Yet Djokovic gave the match away in the second set. Alcaraz will certainly be part of the big 5 now counting Murray as well if he can continue this level of play. After Djokovic, I see only Sinner beating him unless a new player comes to the scene.
@@abhiramsharmatennis808 I haven't forgotten how good Novak was in 2011 against Fedal.. But they don't have the weapons as Carlos Alcaraz. What do you think?
@@issahatake90 The only weapon what Fedal didn't have and Carlos has is the raw power. But its a double edged sword. It also causes him to miss shots and some of those shots don't even reach the net. Federer's serve although slower than Alcaraz is way more accurate and better than Alcaraz. Nadal's forehand is better than Alcaraz's. He did not miss shots even when being aggressive. You could not hit slices again Nadal as he was quick to run around and finish the point 9/10 times. Nadal's serve was difficult to counter from the Ad side as it had an angle which was difficult for anyone to be aggressive against. Federer's play at the net was better. If you compare passing shot quality in these matches to Nadal/Federer, Djokovic passing shots were substandard this year. Usually, if you hit a good passing shot, no matter how good the opponent volleys, they won't get a chance put racket on it as the shot would be very close to the line. The most important thing is the ability to handle pressure. Federer and Nadal had so much pressure to deal with as they were expected to beat Djoko but Alcaraz right now is similar to Federer 04-05 when he was young and non of his weaknesses were impacting his results. When Nadal and Djokovic grew and they constantly poked and exposed, Federer's lack of ability to handle pressure points and consistency on his backhand was brought up. Alcaraz does have a complete game and I am sure none of his matches would have been straight set wins for Djokovic of 2011 but I still think the end result would go in Djoko's favour. As its impossible to have that match, I think a good barometer would be Alcaraz's matches against Sinner as Sinner is more of the similar age and plays well. If Alcaraz is able to consistently beat Sinner and play the pressure points well on a "consistent" basis (like he did at the French this year), he can be compared. I couldn't help but notice lot of similarity between this time and Federer's 04-05 season. At that time, even though Federer just had 4-5 GS, people, pundits, former players all were calling Federer the greatest of all time already. But Djokovic and Nadal turned it around. Right now its too early to call anything on Alcaraz. He sure has made better start than the Big 3 but its still early days.
2024 Alcaraz will still win against 2011 Djokovic, tennis has evolution, today’s game is stronger. The current game require multiple weapons like dropshot and not so much rallies. Federer and Nadal both have much more weaknesses.
@@markfish1113 I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Djokovic has one of the best drop shots in the game. And when we are comparing to the best version of Djokovic, we need to also assume that Djokovic will perform his best as he actually did throughout 2011. Federer and Nadal lack few of the skills that Alcaraz has today but they also have strengths that neutralise Alcaraz's game. Federer, Nadal used to volley well, hit passing shots on the lines, winners on the line. We can say that Alcaraz is also doing those things but is he doing those things better than them? That's difficult to confirm. I mean would Alcaraz beat Nadal at the French when Nadal is playing well? Answer is No. Would Alcaraz beat Roger when he is playing well at Wimbledon? No. The reason being Federer will not allow Alcaraz to play his game. Federer has a great serve, adept play at net and a huge forehand. When he is playing well, these things alone keep him in the match. Lets not forget Alcaraz of this year struggled against multiple players to win both at French as well as the Wimbledon. It normal for us to look at the present and think that this has never happened before, I agree that Alcaraz is easy on the eyes, fun to watch and hits extraordinary shots. But does he have the competition like Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka, Federer, all playing well and meeting each other at every tournament, I am afraid not.
Great content bro
I think so. Tennis is really energy intensive! Facing all the young players, physical strength is a huge demand!
Federer was 36 when he won his last Grand Slam (The Australian in 2018); Nadal likewise was 36 when he won his last (French, 2022), and Djokovic was also 36 when he won The US in September last year. Federer came closest to achieving another Grand Slam win aged 37, at Wimbledon against Djokovic, in 2019. Djokovic, at Wimbledon this year, had what almost certainly was his best and last chance of winning another Grand Slam, because of his smooth run, avoiding the top players, to the final. But even if he had had more time to recover from his knee operation, Alcaraz was way too fast, hit too hard for him, and would have beaten him anyway. He will have the faintest of outside chances in September's US Open, for which he is defending champion, but I will be astonished if he makes it to the final, let alone wins it. Co-ordination declines quite suddenly after the mid-30's (not long ago it used to be earlier), and the ability to endure consistent and high level physical activity for a long period declines also. I hope I am wrong, as I would like to see him achieve his goal of surpassing his and Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles wins, But the odds, now, are very much against it.
Of course It is. He is almost 40.
Very good analysis, I have a hypothetical question for you, who would win Wimbledon if the 2011 version of Djokovic and the 2024 version of Alcaraz meet, I know Alcaraz hasn't peaked yet, but between these two versions who do you see winning if both play against each other on their best day.
@@issahatake90 Thanks.
Great question. It's yet to be seen how much Alcaraz improves and how he handles pressure and his motivation levels and the loses once he has those. I don't think Alcaraz can play any better than what he did on that day. He can definitely improve his game but the way he was able to put all pieces together and play a perfect match, that doesn't happen everytime. So I would wait for 2-3 more years for him to actually peak and then better analyze.
However, I think Djokovic wins if he is the 2011 version. The reason is that Djokovic was no where near his best this year, yet the moment he started playing little better, just holding his serve, the third set went to a tie break. And even in the tiebreak, he made 2 unforced errors which we didn't expect from him when he was at his peak.
His defense and return were out of this world in 2011, he would reach Alcaraz's drop shots and counter majority of ground strokes.
I think Alcaraz was not tested at all in the final. He himself said Djokovic made many mistakes and it helped him play freely.
This match was similar to the one between Djokovic and Sinner at this year's AO. Or Nadal vs Federer at 2008 RG. Alcaraz played really well but his opponent did not.
It's common for us to forget the level of the players in the past as the recent memories are more fresh. But 2011 Djokovic was absolutely insane. I see his matches even today to understand what him so tough such that even Nadal and Federer both were unable to counter him. If you see his matches, he never looked in trouble in a rally, seemed like he can reach anywhere on court without struggle, he can hit down the line with ease and he can produce his best when down breakpoints. Similar to what we have seen Nadal do on clay, as it seems court is slower at Nadal's end. :)
I think Alcaraz's victory last year was a better one and more tougher one as Djokovic was playing better. Yet Djokovic gave the match away in the second set.
Alcaraz will certainly be part of the big 5 now counting Murray as well if he can continue this level of play.
After Djokovic, I see only Sinner beating him unless a new player comes to the scene.
@@abhiramsharmatennis808 I haven't forgotten how good Novak was in 2011 against Fedal.. But they don't have the weapons as Carlos Alcaraz. What do you think?
@@issahatake90 The only weapon what Fedal didn't have and Carlos has is the raw power. But its a double edged sword. It also causes him to miss shots and some of those shots don't even reach the net.
Federer's serve although slower than Alcaraz is way more accurate and better than Alcaraz. Nadal's forehand is better than Alcaraz's. He did not miss shots even when being aggressive. You could not hit slices again Nadal as he was quick to run around and finish the point 9/10 times.
Nadal's serve was difficult to counter from the Ad side as it had an angle which was difficult for anyone to be aggressive against.
Federer's play at the net was better. If you compare passing shot quality in these matches to Nadal/Federer, Djokovic passing shots were substandard this year. Usually, if you hit a good passing shot, no matter how good the opponent volleys, they won't get a chance put racket on it as the shot would be very close to the line.
The most important thing is the ability to handle pressure. Federer and Nadal had so much pressure to deal with as they were expected to beat Djoko but Alcaraz right now is similar to Federer 04-05 when he was young and non of his weaknesses were impacting his results.
When Nadal and Djokovic grew and they constantly poked and exposed, Federer's lack of ability to handle pressure points and consistency on his backhand was brought up.
Alcaraz does have a complete game and I am sure none of his matches would have been straight set wins for Djokovic of 2011 but I still think the end result would go in Djoko's favour.
As its impossible to have that match, I think a good barometer would be Alcaraz's matches against Sinner as Sinner is more of the similar age and plays well.
If Alcaraz is able to consistently beat Sinner and play the pressure points well on a "consistent" basis (like he did at the French this year), he can be compared.
I couldn't help but notice lot of similarity between this time and Federer's 04-05 season. At that time, even though Federer just had 4-5 GS, people, pundits, former players all were calling Federer the greatest of all time already.
But Djokovic and Nadal turned it around. Right now its too early to call anything on Alcaraz. He sure has made better start than the Big 3 but its still early days.
2024 Alcaraz will still win against 2011 Djokovic, tennis has evolution, today’s game is stronger. The current game require multiple weapons like dropshot and not so much rallies. Federer and Nadal both have much more weaknesses.
@@markfish1113 I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Djokovic has one of the best drop shots in the game.
And when we are comparing to the best version of Djokovic, we need to also assume that Djokovic will perform his best as he actually did throughout 2011.
Federer and Nadal lack few of the skills that Alcaraz has today but they also have strengths that neutralise Alcaraz's game.
Federer, Nadal used to volley well, hit passing shots on the lines, winners on the line. We can say that Alcaraz is also doing those things but is he doing those things better than them? That's difficult to confirm.
I mean would Alcaraz beat Nadal at the French when Nadal is playing well? Answer is No.
Would Alcaraz beat Roger when he is playing well at Wimbledon? No. The reason being Federer will not allow Alcaraz to play his game. Federer has a great serve, adept play at net and a huge forehand. When he is playing well, these things alone keep him in the match.
Lets not forget Alcaraz of this year struggled against multiple players to win both at French as well as the Wimbledon.
It normal for us to look at the present and think that this has never happened before, I agree that Alcaraz is easy on the eyes, fun to watch and hits extraordinary shots. But does he have the competition like Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka, Federer, all playing well and meeting each other at every tournament, I am afraid not.
I will come back two years later to this very comment to tell you how wrong you are. Thanks