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WIMBLEDON — Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are at opposite ends of their careers.
One has dominated tennis for the better part of the last 15 years; the other is just getting started; one has accomplished just about everything possible in the sport; the other is at the start of what may be a 20-year mission to achieve even more.
They have one thing that is eerily similar: they are both so much better than most other players that they often get motivated by something more than winning matches or titles. They embark on quests that most other players would never even think about.
Sometimes, there are small ones too.
During his semifinal win over Daniil Medvedev on Friday, Alcaraz left every option open, attempting a thoughtless drop smash with two set points in sight. It didn’t work, as the ball bounced in front of the net on his side of the court, but attempting that shot and many other trick shots like it is part of Alcaraz’s strategy to stay relevant.
Djokovic will single out a crowd or even an entire stadium cheering for his opponent, as he did in the final moments of his win over Lorenzo Musetti on the same day, turning them into avatars for the collective foes he has overcome throughout his career and feeding off what he perceives as attacks on his character.
On Sunday, Djokovic and Alcaraz will take to Centre Court for the second consecutive Wimbledon final, facing two more dueling challenges, both of which are bigger challenges than hitting trick shots or battling perceived cheating. And they’re ridiculous.
Alcaraz beat Djokovic in five sets in last year’s final (Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images)
Alcaraz won the French Open five weeks ago. On Sunday, he could become one of a handful of players — all of them all-time greats — to win on the clay of Roland Garros one month and on the grass of Wimbledon the next.
The Spaniard still has a long way to go to catch up with Djokovic, but if he wins on Sunday he will join the very rare club of those who have won the French Open and Wimbledon double.
The group could all sit around an average-sized dining table.
In tennis’ modern era, which began in 1968, Rod Laver has achieved it once, Bjorn Borg three times, Rafael Nadal twice, Roger Federer once and Djokovic once – the only men to do so.
On the women’s side, Margaret Court, Yvonne Goolagong, Billie Jean King and Chris Evert have each achieved the feat once. Martina Navratilova has achieved it twice, as has Serena Williams. Steffi Graf has achieved it four times. That’s it.
Many players say this is the toughest challenge in tennis, and maybe one of the toughest in any sport: mastering the technique of bouncing the ball high in conditions that tennis most closely resembles playing on quicksand, and then, quickly, mastering playing on a slippery, soft surface that’s not quite an ice rink, but where the ball sometimes just barely lifts off the grass blades.
Alcaraz played at Roland Garros for the first time five weeks ago. (Emmanuel Dunant/AFP via Getty Images)
“The switch from clay to grass is hard, to be honest,” Alcaraz said after beating fifth-seeded Medvedev in four sets 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday.
“There are no secrets. Like I say, you have to put in the hours, work and trust that the outcome will be good.”
Going deeper
‘Joy in pain’: How Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open
Djokovic is on an entirely different kind of quest, one he never would have chosen for himself.
On June 5, 25 days before the tournament began, Djokovic had surgery on a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. Nearly everyone told him it would be a while before he even had a shot at an eighth Wimbledon singles title, or 25th overall. They said he shouldn’t get his hopes up, and with the Olympics coming up in late July, his top priority this season would be to win the gold medal that has eluded him.
Djokovic enjoys nothing more than a challenge, especially if it involves his favorite tournament, Wimbledon, and doing something no one has ever done before.
“I wanted to see how quickly I could recover,” he said on the eve of the tournament. “Can I really get myself in shape to play in the top five on grass against the best players in the world?” These are the questions that get the greatest modern athletes out of bed in the morning. He ticks almost every other box.
Djokovic has been slowly working his knee back to 100 percent throughout the tournament. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
How difficult is the transition from grass to clay courts?
“Usually in the first tournament you play on grass you can’t hit your forehand,” Medvedev said after his loss to Alcaraz on Friday.
“It’s so fast. It glides along on the court, but on clay it bounces up. It’s totally different.”
Dominic Thiem, a two-time French Open finalist, recently told The Athletic that he was amazed that Djokovic, Federer and Nadal followed their strong showings at Roland Garros with runs at Wimbledon and then went on to win it. After two final appearances, Thiem retired in the first round one year and lost in the opening round the other. “I was empty in the tank,” he said.
Even Alcaraz struggled to adjust at the year’s first grass-court tournament at London’s Queens Club last month, when he beat fellow transitional clay-court star Francisco Cernudolo before being easily defeated by Britain’s Jack Draper. (A few days in Ibiza celebrating his first French Open title may have had some influence on this result.)
Alcaraz and Djokovic on the practice court at Wimbledon (Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images)
He considered returning home after the defeat at Queen’s, but instead decided to stay in London and train on the grass every day with top players who had no other plans.
“I decided to play on grass after the loss because I need to play on grass for hours to get better and to be as comfortable as possible,” he said. “There’s no secret.”
By the time he faced Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz was floating around the court, catching balls early, smashing them into the far corners and smacking them off the lines. He was so comfortable playing that he later said he felt like he was playing on the clay courts where he grew up in Spain.
“It just didn’t feel like a clay court for me,” Paul said. “It wasn’t a fun situation.”
“The way he’s played and moved on grass over the last few years has been incredible to watch,” Djokovic said of Alcaraz. “He’s fair game on any surface and has the skill set to adapt to any opponent on any day.”
Djokovic has no fun unless he overcomes his recent and long-standing critics, and the knee injury not only added new ones but also more who think he’s lost his mind, including some in his inner circle.
He had many doubts of his own. He arrived in London eight days before the tournament with no idea whether he would play, and he didn’t make a decision until the day of the draw, 72 hours before the first point at the All England Club.
Two weeks later, few doubters remain – and Musetti, who said he never considered the possibility of Djokovic being restricted, is certainly not one of them.
“I never thought he was struggling with movement,” said the Italian 25th seed, who was pleased with his effort despite losing in straight sets.
Djokovic celebrated by playing the violin for his daughter Tara after beating Musetti (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
He watched Djokovic play last week and took into account the extra rest he took after his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew with a hip injury. He expected to see Djokovic play very similar to when he was sprinting, and that’s exactly what happened, even though the Serb played every match with a gray brace on his right knee.
The seven-time All England Club champion said he made a special effort not to miss Wimbledon with what is likely to be the short time he has left in life.
He says he wasn’t thinking about competing for the title in his first two fights; he was just focused on how well he could move while avoiding injury. Now, with another championship on the line, those days seem like a distant memory. He insists he didn’t do anything reckless or go against medical advice; he just worked hard to get to where he wanted to be.
There is only one match left. May the best quest win.
(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)