Wimbledon: Djokovic seeks revenge over Alcaraz, aims to equal Federer’s record

Alcaraz has become just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach multiple Wimbledon finals aged 21 and under

London: The 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia will take on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz with revenge uppermost on his mind in a rematch of 2023 final in another blockbuster summit clash at Wimbledon 2024.

Twelve months ago, Alcaraz lit up the Centre Court where he earned a thrilling five-set victory against the Serbian to clinch his first Wimbledon title and end Djokovic’s run of dominance in west London.

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Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in last year’s final. With his four-hour, 42-minute win, the 21-year-old became just the fourth active male player to lift the trophy at Wimbledon after Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Djokovic, who won four consecutive titles at the grass-court major from 2018-2022.

By advancing to the championship match again in 2024, Alcaraz has become just the fourth man in the Open Era to reach multiple Wimbledon finals aged 21 and under. The Spaniard has never lost a Grand Slam final (3-0) and last month at Roland Garros he became the youngest player in the Open Era to win a major on all three surfaces.

If the third seed overcomes Djokovic on the Centre Court on Sunday afternoon, he will become just the sixth man to achieve the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, joining Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Before the start of Wimbledon 2024, a lot of people had expected Djokovic and Alcaraz to clash in the final.

Former India legend Vijay Amritraj was one of those who had expected it to be a rematch of Wimbledon 2023 in the final. However, he does not expect Sunday’s summit clash to be an epic like the 2023 final. “Could it be a final like we saw last year? I don’t know. That final was absolutely magnificent. Came down to one point in that fifth set where Djokovic missed an overhead and the chance to go up a break of serve in the fifth,” said Amritraj.

On Sunday, Djokovic will seek revenge against Alcaraz and aim to equal Roger Federer’s record eight trophies at The All England Club. If he wins the title, the 37-year-old will become the oldest champion in tournament history and move to a record-extending 25 majors.

Djokovic is relishing the opportunity to test himself against Alcaraz again on the biggest stage. Djokovic takes a 3-2 ATP head-to-head series into their final clash, with little to separate them. The second seed, who is chasing his first title of the season, arrived at Wimbledon having undergone knee surgery in early June.