Carlos Alcaraz beating Djokovic 'a changing of the guard' says Boris Becker

July 22, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Tennis News, Wimbledon

Carlos Alcaraz beating Novak Djokovic ‘a changing of the guard’ claims Boris Becker

Carlos Alcaraz has ended Novak Djokovic’s dominant run at Wimbledon, and the Serb’s former coach has labelled it as ‘a changing of the guard’ moment.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic, 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4, to become the first man to beat the 23-time Grand Slam champion at SW19 since 2017.

The smile says it all ?#Wimbledon | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/s9mhueFqOx

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023

Becker coached Djokovic for three years, winning six Grand Slam titles together, but the German has suggested that Alcaraz is taking over the sport.

“I see it as a changing of the guard,” said Becker. “I see it as a game that will go down in history, and we’ll be talking about it in ten years. This is the day Carlos Alcaraz came of age, and we’ve seen a lot of praise now in the last 48 hours. But who did he do it against? Yes, against the most successful of all time, so not just anyone.”

Becker continued, “Certainly, he won US Open last year against Casper Ruud in the final and was already No.1 on the world ranking, even before the tournament.

“But at the end of the day, you have to show it in a Grand Slam final against the best, and that’s Djokovic. And how did he show it!”

Alcaraz has been enlisted by Becker as the player to take over from ‘the big three’, with the Spaniard being described as ‘refreshing’ by the six-time Grand Slam champion.

“This is a next, very important point. Where is tennis going? Roger, Rafa and Novak, there will probably never be such triumphs again. Three players who have won 20 or even more Grand Slams,” claimed Becker.

“In my time, Pete Sampras did the impossible at 14, but now you have three players who have won over 20 majors. And, of course, they have also ensured incredible popularity, worldwide.”

The 55-year-old added, “Who can take the sceptre? We’ve mentioned the name several times. Carlos Alcaraz has taken it over, and I think the world will thank him that we have seen such a likeable, refreshing, almost innocent-looking young player from Spain, who does it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.”

Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic head-to-head

After their incredible Wimbledon final, fans want to see more and more of the budding rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, so we at Tennishead have looked back on their three meetings to date:

Alcaraz vs Djokovic: 2-1