Rick Macci, a former coach of Serena Williams, believes that, rather than pressure, what affected Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final was “the Carlos Alcaraz effect.”
The 36-year-old Djokovic was competing in his ninth Wimbledon final and was going for his eighth championship to tie Roger Federer’s record at The Championships.
But 20-year-old Alcaraz, who was competing in his debut Wimbledon championship match, challenged Djokovic and defeated him at the All-England Club.
Rick Macci talked about Djokovic’s Wimbledon loss to Alcaraz: “He’s definitely human, but no, the pressure did not get to him. The Alcaraz effect got to him. You gotta remember, Carlos made a bunch of great saves during that rally, he got back two or three balls that most guys on the tour will not.”
Macci further praised Alcaraz for his impressive performance: “And he’s played everybody. And that’s a 20-year-old kid we’re talking about. First time Wimbledon finals. I mean, you gotta give credit to Alcaraz and not take anything away from Djokovic. But that being said, I think the best is still yet to come.”
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWWWWLWW Now ranked no.2, Djokovic played his last encounter on the 16th of July when he capitulated to world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final in Wimbledon (draw).
At the moment, during this season Djokovic has managed to achieve a compiled 33-5 match record. Novak has won 3 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open and French Open. Novak was the finalist in Wimbledon.
Djokovic has scheduled to play next in Toronto (National Bank Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 7th of August.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
WLWLLWLWWW Currently ranked no.1, Carlos played his last match on the 16th of July when he defeated world no.2 Novak Djokovic 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final in Wimbledon to win his 12th career title.
Currently, during this year Carlos has achieved an overall 47-4 record. Alcaraz clinched 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. The Spaniard was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro.
He is also scheduled to play in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 13th of August and U.S. Open (U.S. Open) on the 28th of August.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz squared off 3 times. Their record is 2-1 for Alcaraz. The last time they played, Carlos Alcaraz won 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final in London (Wimbledon) on the 16th of July 2023.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz |
| Embed from Getty Images |
