LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 16. Winner Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia embrace after the trophy presentations at the Gentlemen's Singles Final match on Centre Court during the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on July 16, 2023, in London, England. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are often referred to as ‘the big three’, and have won 66 of the past 86 Grand Slam titles.
Both Federer and Nadal are now retired, with 2024 being the first year since 2002 that a member of ‘the big three’ was unable to win a major title.
This has been highlighted by Djokovic’s recent drop in form, with the 37-year-old’s last major title coming at the 2023 US Open.
There now appears to be somewhat of a changing of the guard, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz sharing the past five Grand Slam titles.
Novak Djokovic said Carlos Alcaraz was a mix of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and himself in 2023
Heading into the 2023 Wimbledon final, Djokovic had won 34 consecutive matches at the grass court major.
His opponent would be first-time finalist Alcaraz, who had continued his impressive form after winning his first grass court title at Queen’s Club.
Despite this, Djokovic was the overwhelming favorite for the title and even more so after he won the first set, 6-1.
That was not to be the case, with Alcaraz ripping up the script and going onto to end Djokovic’s streak by winning a thrilling five set final after 4 hours and 43 minutes on Centre Court.
In his post-match press conference after the match, runner-up Djokovic waxed lyrical about the game of Alcaraz and described the Spaniard’s game as a mix of ‘the big three’.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that,” said Djokovic. “I think he’s got basically best of all three worlds.
“He’s got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20-years-old. It’s quite impressive. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defense that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years.
“And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that he’s got some similarities with my backhands. Yeah, two-handed backhands, defense, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too.
“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obviously strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for successful career on all surfaces.”
Has Carlos Alcaraz lived up to Novak Djokovic’s claims since then?
It would be hard to argue that Alcaraz has not lived up to his promise, having become the youngest player to win a Grand Slam title on every surface last year at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz also defended his Wimbledon title last year, once again beating Djokovic in the final, but this time in more convincing straight sets fashion.
However, there has been some inconsistency for Alcaraz over the past year, while his rival Jannik Sinner dominated in 2024.
This inconsistency was particularly highlighted by the US Open last year, where Alcaraz was stunned by Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round.
Despite winning the last two Wimbledon finals against Djokovic, Alcaraz has struggled against the Serbian since then.
This includes both the Olympic final and the Australian Open quarter-finals, where Djokovic beat Alcaraz on both occasions.
Although Alcaraz may not be able to match ‘the big three’ in terms of numbers just yet, the 21-year-old has shown that his top level is as good as anyone and with experience should come more consistency.
