Martina Navratilova has made a rather startling observation about Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic last night, and how she saw the former usurp his elder opponent.
It was always going to be an uphill task for the 38-year-old to overcome the 2022 US Open champion, but many felt that, with the way the draw had gone, this was certainly his best chance.
And yet, even with things in his favour, he did not come close to the man 16 years his junior.
To add insult to injury, Navratilova has even suggested that Carlos Alcaraz took one of Novak Djokovic’s crowning traits from his prime and used it against him.
Martina Navratilova explains how Carlos Alcaraz has stolen key Novak Djokovic trait
Speaking live on Sky Sports last night, she reviewed the game by noting: “It was intense, but it was a lot more intense than it needed to be.”
Navratilova then explained why: “Carlos had love-thirty a bunch of times in the second set. It could have been a 6-2 set, but Novak kept hanging in there; the ball was hit really hard, but there weren’t that many great rallies.
“So I think Novak just didn’t… the backhand wasn’t quite cutting it. And I think he’s not used to not being able to win more points on the first serve of Carlos. He was like 85% points when he got the first serve in, and so he just kept pushing.
“Normally, it’s Novak that doesn’t give people room to breathe, and now it’s Alcaraz, and the tables have turned; he doesn’t give you room to breathe.
“So I think Novak was feeling stressed and that he just couldn’t really find an opening.”
Following the clash, John McEnroe predicted when he felt Djokovic might retire after yet another failure to win that coveted and ever-elusive Grand Slam title.
Could Carlos Alcaraz surpass Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam record?
Whilst it is still so early to start making such comparisons, it is worth wondering whether Alcaraz could actually equal or surpass Djokovic’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
After all, when he was 22, Djokovic had just a single major title.
Not to mention that he was breaking into an era that had previously been dominated by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two of the greatest to ever play the sport.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, is head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, with only Sinner left to challenge him.
It really feels like, unless something completely unexpected occurs, and injury-permitting, that these two will trade Grand Slams for the foreseeable future.
If nobody steps up to challenge them, Djokovic’s record could be under siege by both of them come the end of their careers.
