Too ‘goooood’ to be true: Testy Djokovic gets a Wimbledon rematch with Alcaraz

Wimbledon, England

Here we go, here we go, here we go.

Novak and Carlos, pitted again.

Sunday delivers an epic tennis rematch, and only the cold and dead won’t be compelled to check out this doozy when it begins at 2 p.m. local, 9 a.m. Eastern:

Djokovic vs. Alcaraz—at Wimbledon.

It’s a revenge reprise of 2023, which Alcaraz won. Wise man against the Wunderkind. Tennis history against tennis next. Age against aggression. Elasticity vs. Electricity. Testy legend versus crowd darling.

So good. Better yet, as Djokovic says: So goooood.

That’s how the 37-year-old Serbian said it after a match in which he claimed he heard some uncouth booing.

(He may have heard “Ruuuuune”-ing, but no matter. Novak’s on a roll.)

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Djokovic is barely weeks removed from a meniscus operation he had after dropping out of the French Open.

At the time, Wimbledon was a long shot. The Olympics in Paris were a maybe.

To get back to another final, Djokovic’s 10th at Wimbledon? A chance to win a 25th major and add to an already staggering record?

You gotta be Djoking me. It’s another stunning bounce back in a career full of them.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, won the French and is soaring again, outswatting Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. If he prevails Sunday he’ll have won four majors by the age of 21, an outrageous start to a tennis career just getting started in the wake of the “Big Three” of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

By now, Alcaraz is a known quantity, but it hardly matters. Everyone knows the righty from Spain wins with relentlessness, feeling his opponents out early, then wearing them down and out with his aggression. Versus Medvedev he dropped a casual first set, took a breath, recalibrated, and then chased the fifth seed straight off the court.

He’s a thrill to watch. The crowd loves him here, even forgiving Alcaraz for rooting for the enemy in Sunday’s other major sporting event: the Euro Cup final between England and Spain.

Alcaraz owns majors on all three surfaces, and here’s the wild part: he’s getting better. He still suffers from occasional lapses in focus and takes too many high risk shots when modest ones would suffice. He has the world’s greatest drop shot and sometimes relies too much on it, forking over easy points.

Shorter version: He’s 21, and can play like he’s 21.

But he’s an outrageous talent who doesn’t really have a pronounced weakness. It’s honestly…Djokovic-like.

Djokovic admires the kid, it’s clear. Relentlessness recognizes relentlessness. He holds the 3-2 lifetime edge but Alcaraz took the match that mattered most: last year’s Wimbledon final, a five-setter which Alcaraz outlasted tennis’s king outlaster and drove a frustrated Djokovic to crack a racket on a net post.

Djokovic has yet to maul a net post at this Wimbledon, but there has been an edgy energy to this run, too. It climaxed in a fourth-round match against Holger Rune in which an annoyed Djokovic took issue after the match with patrons he believed were giving him a nasty Bronx cheer.

“To all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player—in this case me—have a goooood night!” He said it lushly, with a twinkle, like a cartoon villain.

He didn’t buy that the “booing” might have been “Ruuuuune-ing.”

“Listen, I’ve been on the tour for more than 20 years,” he said. “Trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It’s fine. I focus on respectful people that have respect that paid the ticket to come and watch tonight and love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort they put in.”

“I have played in much more hostile environments. Trust me, you guys, you guys can’t touch me.”

Ha. Welcome to WWEimbledon. Djokovic also introduced a victory violin solo—is it a tribute to his string-playing daughter, as claimed, or a theatrical troll of his critics?

Honestly, I enjoy Djokovic when he’s like this, leaning into the heel part, drawing motivation from a perceived lack of public respect. To his defense: it isn’t really perceived. He’s tried the softer touch, playing nice, and it’s done little to swing the audience. He’s an active legend who is met like a nemesis in most arenas.

That tension has detracted from the brilliance of his tennis, including at this tournament, where he has been excellent. Djokovic may have had an easy road to the final, getting a walkover from an injured Alex de Minaur in the quarters, but he’s also playing with a chunky knee brace against talent nearly half his age.

He was steady and impressive in Friday’s semi over Lorenzo Musetti, staring down the Italian up-and-comer in a second-set tiebreak and winning in straight sets. The Djokovic formula is the same as always: attack your weakness, force you to hit multiple shots, move you back and forth, and wear you down.

Winning a 25th major on a leg and a half would be an outrageous achievement, and tie Djokovic with Federer with eight Wimbledons. Still, the likely dynamic on Sunday will be familiar. Alcaraz will be the merry audience darling, with Djokovic the wily wizard standing in the way of everyone’s new favorite tennis star.

Can’t wait. It’s going to be goooood.