"I beat him, but Novak Djokovic is still Superman": Carlos Alcaraz in awe of Serb's 'unbelievable' recovery from knee surgery to reach Wimbledon final

Carlos Alcaraz hailed Novak Djokovic as 'Superman' after defeating the Serb to clinch his fourth Grand Slam at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The Spaniard defeated Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) in two hours and 27 minutes to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles.

Alcaraz and Djokovic hold each other in high regard and despite their fierce on-court rivalry, they share a great relation off of it.

During the post-match press conference, a reporter reminded the Spaniard that he had called the Serb 'Superman' before Wimbledon and then asked him if he thought of himself as Superman after his performance.

Carlos Alcaraz said that he still believed the 37-year-old was Superman considering how he managed to make it to the final of Wimbledon despite having surgery on his right knee just before the tournament.

“Well I still believe Novak is Superman. What he’s done in this tournament with a surgery just a few weeks before the tournament began is amazing. It’s unbelievable."

The Spaniard hailed Djokovic's grit to not only competing in the tournament but also reaching the final. The 21-year-old said that he may have defeated the Serb, but in his eyes, the latter was still Superman.

"As I said on court, I was talking with my team that the work he’s done has been unbelievable. He gave himself the chance to be able to play the tournament. Making the final is something out of this world for me. I beat him today. But for me, Novak is still Superman,” Alcaraz said.

"I feel like I'm not at that level" - Novak Djokovic hails Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as the best players of this year, voices the need to up his game

Novak Djokovic looks on as Carlos Alcaraz raises the Wimbledon trophy (image source: GETTY)

Despite Carlos Alcaraz calling Novak Djokovic 'Superman', the Serb, during his post-match press conference, hailed Carlos Alcaraz as the best player in the world at the moment alongside World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and admitted that he wasn't at their level.

“Being able to reach the final of Wimbledon gives a great confidence boost. But I also feel like in a matchup today against the best player in the world right now for sure, other than Jannik, both of them are the best this year by far… I feel like I’m not at that level."

The Serb said that he needed to up the ante at the Paris Olympics if he had any chance at capturing the elusive Gold medal. He mentioned that he had overcome many situations like this throughout his career and was ready to do it once again.

"In order to really have a chance to beat these guys in the Grand Slam latter stages or Olympics, I’m gonna have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today. It’s not something I haven’t experienced before in my life.. in the face of adversity, normally I rise, learn, & get stronger. That’s what I’m going to do,” Djokovic said.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will both head to Paris for the 2024 Olympics to represent their respective nations. The Spaniard will also team up with his idol and the Serb's longtime rival Rafael Nadal for the men's doubles tournament.