Is Novak Djokovic's one-sided loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon 2024 final the real 'Change of Guard' away from the Big-3?

Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the just-concluded Wimbledon final to win his second title there, which was also his fourth Grand Slam title overall. The 21-year-old from Spain has thus established himself as the best player in the world by winning the Channel Slam as he had also won the title at Roland Garros a month ago.

However, more than Alcaraz's win, the Wimbledon final was probably more momentous because of the way Djokovic surrendered in the first two sets. He performed better in the third set, but it also went to a tie-break only because Alcaraz had wasted three championship points in his own service game.

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Djokovic's aggressive strategy did not work on the day

Djokovic tried to be overly aggressive in the initial stages of the match by rushing the net often. However, on most occasions, his approaches and volleys were not powerful enough, which gave Alcaraz the chance to hit his passing shots with aplomb.

Alcaraz was also in his element while attacking, as his down-the-line forehand won him a lot of points by making Djokovic stretch towards his left. Djokovic, meanwhile, hit a number of his own down-the-line shots out to gift a number of points to his opponent. There were a lot of uncharacteristic errors by the Serb that made the Spaniard's job easier.

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Djokovic is still without a title this year

Djokovic is yet to win a title this year. At his age, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were already experiencing a decline in their skills, making it quite natural for the 37-year-old Serb to find himself at the receiving end against younger opponents, as he did against Sinner and Alcaraz at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.

However, quite surprisingly, only Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner seem to have the requisite skillset and mentality to beat the Serb. Other youngsters in tennis still appear to be short of confidence while facing Djokovic, as was evident in the way Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti capitulated against him at this year's Wimbledon. Both the youngsters went down to Djokovic in straight sets.

Hence, one can conclude that although Alcaraz seems to be taking over as the predominant force in men's tennis, especially in Grand Slams, Djokovic's skill and experience cannot be discounted. He should remain a contender for at least another year or so. It means that, despite yielding to Alcaraz's rapid rise, Djokovic is not going to fade away from the scene just yet.