Bill Simons
Wimbledon
DANIIL COMPARES CARLOS WITH ROGER, RAFA AND NOVAK: Inside Tennis asked Daniil Medvedev, “You are one of the few people who’ve played Carlos Alcaraz as well as the Big 3 – Roger, Rafa and Novak. Can you compare him to those icons?”
Here, edited for clarity, is what he said. “I played the Big Three when they were over 30, so it’s a bit different. They’re all different in their own way, in their game. I feel like you can’t take something from one and compare to another.
“So Roger plays on the line. He has beautiful technique and shots and goes to the net. Novak plays also on the line, but is completely different. He has amazing defense. He’s like a pinball player where the ball comes back faster to you. Rafa is completely different. He can stay ten meters behind the baseline, but he is going to run to every ball and hit a banana shot – lefty.
“Carlos, I don’t think he has anything from them. It’s a different game style. Carlos is different from many players. We all have our preferences – someone prefers defense, someone prefers counterattack, someone prefers to be super aggressive. He can do all of it.
“He can sometimes slice, even a bad slice, and then run and try to win. When you hit easy shots sometimes…they don’t want to attack, but that’s not Carlos. If you hit him an easy shot, you know it’s over for you. That what makes it tough.
“Probably in my career he’s the toughest opponent I have faced. But I have time to try to do better.”
THE BOUNDING BRILLIANCE OF ALCARAZ: Yannick Noah once said tennis has its different characters:, “All the court is a stage and players are characters: the serious one, the one who screams at the ump, the one who never says a word, the one who is a clown. I’m the clown.”
Daniil Medvedev is the disrupter.
Who else would put a raucous US Open crowd in its place? Earlier in the year he admitted his behavior was crazy. When Djokovic was on the cusp of creating history, winning a Grand Slam in 2021, Daniil countered, “No way!”
In the quarterfinal this year at Wimbledon he faced No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Jannik had beaten Daniil five straight times, but Medvedev prevailed in five sets.
And today the Russian was aiming to reverse a splendid Spanish storyline. Alcaraz was trying to continue his run to defend his title and seeking to win the Channel Slam (winning the French Open and Wimbledon back to back). He was hoping to have a repeat of last year’s final against Djokovic, and he wanted to play his part in what could be a glorious sporting weekend for his nation. Spain plays England in the Euro Cup final on Sunday.
But today Carlos came out flat. His nerves kicked in and his forehands went out. He ran into a wall – Medvedev, the great wall of tennis.
The Russian sprinted out of the gate. His play was creative and full of power. Charging the net, blasting second serves, alert to Carlos’s dropshots, his backhand was on fire. He served big and grabbed the momentum. Yes, he offered an x-rated Russian commentary to the ump, and may have come close to being defaulted. He nonetheless ran away with the tiebreak 7-1.
But Alcaraz, who’s suffered a few wobbles at Wimbledon, is a fabulous game manager, with great nerves and a high tennis IQ. There’s a reason he has a 12-1 record in five-set finals. Wednesday, he’d dropped the first set of his quarterfinal match to Tommy Paul, but then marched his way to victory. He knows how to step up his game. And BTW he signed a $200 million contract with Nike.
Now, as he had against Paul, Carlos raised his aggression, served better, sliced less and cut down on his forehand errors. He broke early in the second set and never looked back. “The defending champion is doing defending champion things,” commented Wimbledon Radio.
Soft hands, cool head, butterfly dropshots, gasp-inducing anticipation, unfailing corner-to-corner effort – what can’t Carlos do? If you go to an Alcaraz match and don’t see a beaming smile and a miracle circus shot, ask for your money back.
Plus, the kid has an “It’s just a game” perspective. When he looked like a beginner and muffed an overhead, he jokingly mocked himself and put his hands over his head. Even Picasso suffered an errant stroke now and then. But in the end, Daniil couldn’t disrupt him.
Alcaraz doesn’t quite have the feathery, balletic beauty of Federer. His forehand is not quite at Nadal’s singular level. He has 21 fewer Slams than Novak. But Carlos in full flight is a sight to behold. He exudes confidence.
Fleet and exuberant, his bounding brilliance delights. Whether you call him a generational talent or an athletic savant, one thing is clear, tennis is blessed to have this 21-year-old.
Goodness, we don’t know what stratosphere he’ll be in five or six years from now. We do know that in two days he’ll be playing his fourth Slam final – and he is yet to lose one. Carlos knows the taste of victory. He noted, “I feel like I’m not new anymore.”
Now the only question is whether he’s a good fortune teller. He’ll be going for glory Sunday just before his beloved soccer team hopes to win the Euro Cup. He told the English crowd, “It’s going to be a good day for the Spanish people.”
We’ll see.
MUSETTI NO MATCH FOR NOLE: No. 2 Novak Djokovic took out No. 25 Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4, to again reach the final, where he’ll face Alcaraz, as he did last year. Goodness, Nole is into his sixth straight Wimbledon final and tenth final overall. Plus, he’s going for his eight title which will equal Federer’s record and a 25th Slam to break what is probably the most coveted record in tennis, Margaret’s Court mark of 24 major singles titles. But Alcaraz won Wimbledon last year.
After his win, the Serb recalled being a 7-year-old boy watching the “bombs fall over my head and being in love with Wimbledon.” He said he then constructed Wimbledon trophies with whatever materials he had and noted that the visualization has been very important.”
Nole called Carlos “the greatest 21-year-old we’ve ever seen.”
IN SEARCH OF THE REAL NOVAK DJOKOVIC: There’ve been plenty of lively superstars in tennis. Shall we review? Ilie Nastase called Arthur Ashe a Negroni. John McEnroe made a career out of his rage. Nick Kyrgios will not be fenced in. At times, other elite players, like Ivan Lendl and Martina Navratilova, couldn’t buy an ounce of adoration.
But few are more complex and controversial than Djokovic. So what’s the skinny on Nole? Is he, as his fans claim, a curious, relentless seeker, who, as bombs fell, emerged from an impoverished tennis outback and sought out some of the most spiritual and provocative places in the world? A pioneer in nutrition and fitness who’s not afraid to experiment and does the hard yards to take care of his body, mind and spirit?
Is he a reflective, misunderstood thinker who refuses to run with the herd, a brave individualist who speaks his truth? A master craftsman who’s one of the finest athletes in the world and the best player to ever pick up a racket, who bravely emerged in the shadow of the two most beloved players in the sport?
Or, as his critics insist, is Novak a thin-skinned whiner who time and again sees himself as a victim? Is this a man who cannot avoid controversy? Does he have a self-destructive streak? Why can’t he just follow the rules?
He hosted an ill-conceived exhibition at the height of Covid. He bashed a ball that flattened a lineswoman at the US Open. He ferociously whacked a netpost at Wimbledon. He dissed the crew and a supervisor at the French Open in June, and Monday seemed tone deaf when he chewed out the Centre Court crowd for supposedly booing him.
So, Nole is a complex fellow – yes. What other top athlete so stirs the milkshake? This is a man who in his early years desperately wanted to be loved. He’d bow to the crowd, all the while wondering, “Why can’t I get some of the adoration everyone pours on Roger and Rafa?”
Outside Serbia, where he’s a hero, he’s endured ridicule and loveless responses. Andy Roddick mocked him savagely at the US Open. And when Wimbledon crowds screeched, “C’mon, Roger!” Djokovic told himself they were shouting, “C’mon, Novak!”
All the while, he’s tough. The other day, he told the crowd, “You can’t touch me.”
COURT UPDATES: Iva Jovic, who trains with Peter Smith at LA’s Jack Kramer Club, is through to the girls semis. American Taylor Townsend and her Czech partner Katerina Siniakova (who won the French Open doubles with Coco Gauff) are through to the women’s doubles final. Fremont’s Giuliana Olmos, who played at USC, will play in the mixed doubles final with Santiago Gonzalez.
POIGNANT HEADLINE OF THE DAY: Donna Vekic in Floods of Tears
JASMINE PAOLINI – LIVING THE DREAM: Jasmine Paolini said, “Two Grand Slam finals in a row was crazy to believe, I think, no? I’m also surprised how in this moment, how I’m living this. I feel maybe Saturday I will be so nervous, I don’t know. But I feel also relaxed. I’m the same person. I’m doing the same things. I’m surprised a little bit how I’m managing this…Maybe Saturday I’m going to be shaking. I’m surprising myself to live this with a really relaxing mood, you know?”
