According to coach Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic felt ‘outclassed’ in the Wimbledon 2024 finals. Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero, the coach of world number three Carlos Alcaraz, feels Serbia’s great tennis player Novak Djokovic felt ‘outclassed’ in the Wimbledon 2024 final. The third Grand Slam of the year concluded on Sunday, when Alcaraz won the men’s singles title after defeating the former world number one in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.
Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach, was recently reported in a newspaper as being surprised to see Djokovic struggle in the final. The former world number one said that the Belgrade-born talent battled from the start. “I was astonished by Djokovic’s performance today. I believe he felt outclassed from the outset. It was difficult for him to keep up with Carlos’ pace and ball speed. It’s true that he was better last year, but this year, not being at 100%, it was a little more difficult for him.”
Djokovic has endured a tough campaign. The 37-year-old, widely recognized as the best player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category during the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam championships prior to Sunday, did not compete in any finals this year. Things went from bad to worse when the Belgrade-born player had a knee injury at the French Open, forcing him to quit just before the quarterfinal against Norway’s Casper Ruud.
Following the accident, Djokovic underwent knee surgery, casting uncertainty on his participation in major competitions including as Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics. On the other side, Sunday’s victory, in which Alcaraz defended his championship after defeating the same opponent at the same location, was his second Grand Slam of the year. The Spaniard also won the French Open after defeating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in a tense five-set match with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6
