"The one thing that stands out is how poorly Novak Djokovic played" - Tennis broadcaster on Serb's 'mortifying' tie-break  errors in Wimbledon final

Former player and tennis broadcaster Robbie Koenig recently provided an analysis of Novak Djokovic's performance in the crucial second-set tiebreak in his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 Wimbledon Championships final.

Djokovic made a strong start in the final against Alcaraz, racing away to a 5-0 lead before claiming the opening set 6-1. However, the Spaniard remained unfazed as he bounced back to snap the 36-year-old's 15-tiebreak-winning streak in the second set.

The World No. 1 then put on a dominant display to claim the third set before the 23-time Grand Slam champion forced a decider by taking the fourth. However, the Serb was unable to clinch his men's record-tying (with Roger Federer) eighth Wimbledon title as Alcaraz secured a crucial break in the fifth set to claim a 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

In his analysis of the clash, Koenig highlighted the one-sided nature of the opening set before lauding the entertaining display in the second. However, he also criticized Djokovic's performance during the crucial moments of the second-set tiebreak.

"It was a very good match. I thought the first set was one-sided, I thought Alcaraz was bang average. The second set, it was highly entertaining and the number one thing that stands out for me in that whole match is how poorly Djokovic played at the tail-end of that second set tiebreaker," he said on the Tennis Channel Inside-In.

The 52-year-old made a special mention of the uncharacteristic unforced errors by Djokovic in the tiebreak which enabled Alcaraz to level the scores.

"The two unforced errors on the backhand on set point and then to give set point on his own set point, the backhand that he missed. And then the very next point, the unforced error on the backhand was mortifying. I couldn’t believe he had made those kind of mistakes. Obviously the backhand return on set point from Alcaraz was an absolute beauty," he added.

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"If Novak Djokovic goes 2-0 up, I don't think Carlos Alcaraz comes back to win" - Robbie Koenig

Carlos Alcaraz defeated the Serb in the Wimbledon 2023 final

Robbie Koenig described Novak Djokovic losing the second set tiebreak as the most critical moment of the Wimbledon 2023 final, claiming that Carlos Alcaraz wouldn't have been able to recover from a two-set deficit.

"But for me, the whole match rests in that moment right there. If Djokovic goes up 2-0, I don’t think Alcaraz comes back to win. He might win a set but I don’t think he wins his first Wimbledon," he said.

Koenig then expressed his admiration for Alcaraz's ability to navigate past the challenging tiebreak. He also emphasized the significant mental boost the win would provide for the Spaniard.

"But to navigate that period as well as he did and of course that long game in the early stage of the third set was quite extraordinary for a young man. But for me, what this gives to Alcaraz from a mental perspective, after what happened at the French Open, that is almost immeasurable," he added.

Alcaraz will be in action at the 2023 Canadian Open next, which is scheduled to commence on August 7. Djokovic, meanwhile, has withdrawn from the ATP Masters 1000 event due to fatigue.