“It’s no time to be tired. No time to be afraid. I’ll try it.”
Production on the long-awaited ‘Gladiator’ sequel halted this week after the Hollywood Actors’ Union called a strike over pay and working conditions. But if they need someone to fill in for big, stirring speeches, they could call Carlos Alcaraz.
However, not on Sunday. Then he is busy. Alcaraz has reached his maiden Wimbledon final and with just two players left, the No. 1 seed most people thought would be their best hope is to stop Novak Djokovic from clinching his fifth title in Consecutive win is actually the best hope of preventing Novak Djokovic from winning his fifth consecutive title.
If you want to know how good an athlete is, you usually ask your opponents. It was therefore instructive to listen to Daniil Medvedev just after he lost to Alcaraz 6-3 6-3 6-3 in the semifinals on Center Court.
“I didn’t do my absolute best,” he said, “and you have to do your absolute best against people like Carlos, Novak, Roger.”
It was no coincidence that the Russian paired Alcaraz with Djokovic and Federer. He’s only 20, he’s only won one Grand Slam, he’s only reached one final so far, but it feels like he’s already part of that society.
Medvedev really didn’t play that bad in this game. He made 19 unforced errors in the three sets: As a comparison: Djokovic made 21 on the way to defeating Jannik Sinner in his semifinals. Sinner made 35.
But Medvedev had absolutely no chance. Alcaraz blew him away with a series of whipping forehands, graceful drop shots and implausible backhands that should come with a ‘don’t try this at home’ warning to avoid a thousand broken wrists.
You knew it was going to be quite a long afternoon for Medvedev in game two as Alcaraz lunged for a return so quickly he was basically past him before he had finished the second serve after serving.
Alcaraz has much, much more to offer than strength and tireless running, but there is something suffocating about a player who is so physically dominant. No slacking. No escape. Think you can get your foot in the door? bang. I’m sorry your toes are bruised now.
The crowd on Center Court was excited for an overtime and was excited when Medvedev broke serve in the third set. Alcaraz broke back in the next game. Ah, but then Medvedev collapsed again! Alcaraz broke back in the next game.
On a few occasions, Medvedev stopped halfway on points, apparently because he couldn’t imagine Alcaraz going to get the ball, only to then see him get the ball. You can’t blame him: this kid has no respect for the laws of physics. After a particularly violent serve, Medvedev shrugged his shoulders towards his coaches. On another occasion he said, “What should I do?” What could he do? What could anyone do?
(Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Perhaps there is only one man who could have lived with Alcaraz in this form. And the good news for the rest of us is that he’ll be there on Sunday too.
It’s a game of contrasts. The boy versus the veteran. The strike versus the counterstrike. The guy who doesn’t make mistakes versus the guy who doesn’t have to rely on you to make them to win.
The two men have already met twice: Alcaraz won in the semifinals of the 2022 ATP Masters in Madrid, Djokovic won in the semifinals of this year’s French Open when Alcaraz tensed up, partly because he said he was so tense before the duel with his opponent.
Djokovic has won the last four finals here. The only real fight was against Roger Federer in 2019, an epic that literally went as far as it could go. Djokovic won a tie break 12-12 in the fifth set after Federer had two match points. Kevin Anderson showed courage in 2018 but was eventually overpowered. Matteo Berrettini and Nick Krygios clinched the opening set in 2021 and 2022 respectively, but did anyone really think either of them could pull through?
It will be different if Alcaraz wins the first set of this final. That will signal real competition and not just delaying the inevitable.
“Everyone knows what a legend he is,” said Alcaraz and later referred to Djokovic as a “lion”. “It’s going to be really, really difficult. But I will fight. I’ll believe I can beat him here.”
It will be particularly interesting to see whether the Wimbledon audience really supports Alcaraz. They were definitely behind him against Medvedev. How could it not be when they are faced with a display of skill and intoxicating power? After a particularly sensational point in the second set, the audience stood up together. There were frequent shouts of “Vamos Carlito”. It felt like Wimbledon fully realized that this is the next man who could not only beat Djokovic but also become one of the sport’s dominant players for years to come.
And earlier in the day it felt like Wimbledon was poised for victory for anyone other than Djokovic after all those years of dominance.
That showed the general mood in the semifinals. At one point, Djokovic pretended to cry, apparently in response to the idea that the crowd wasn’t quite behind him. “Love,” he said with a small smile on his face when asked about it afterwards. “It’s all love. All love and acceptance.”
When someone like Djokovic does something like that, it’s always hard to say what the real motivation is. Was he really upset? Was it a childish overreaction to a relatively mild crowd preference? Was it a weird way to cheer up? Did it even mean anything?
Djokovic needs to know that the Wimbledon crowd, not known for their fanatical partisanship, didn’t suddenly take action against him personally. Maybe he’s not as popular as Andy Murray, Federer or Rafael Nadal but the truth is they probably just want a little variety.
You’ve seen Djokovic carve his way to titles before. You saw him fall flat on his back at the final point. you know this song
In that sense, he’s a victim of his own dominance: you can get all the trophies and stuff yourself with as many records as you want, but you have to accept that sometimes people want someone else to succeed.
So how will he react when the audience at the final expresses his fondness for Alcaraz? Will it throw him off course? Will it motivate him further?
It’s just one of the reasons this finale will stay with you forever. No time to be tired. No time to be afraid. Both men will try.
(Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)