Familiar foes all set for mouthwatering rematch
Can a 37-year-old and a 21-year-old create a fierce rivalry? Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz say absolutely yes to that!
The duo will square off for the sixth time in 26 months and the second consecutive year in the Wimbledon final.
Here’s a breakdown of Sunday’s highly-anticipated title showdown.
On a day where Spain is taking on England in the final of the Euros, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has a chance to give his home country an early reason to celebrate when he faces Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
It is a rematch of the title decider at the All England Club from 12 months ago and defending champion Alcaraz will once again try to stop Djokovic from claiming a men’s record-equalling eighth singles trophy at Wimbledon.
There is more than just a Wimbledon record at stake though. Djokovic could also surpass Margaret Court and stand alone as the all-time Grand Slam singles champion should he capture a 25th major on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz is trying to maintain his perfect record in Grand Slam finals, having reigned supreme in all three he has contested so far (US Open 2022, Wimbledon 2023, and Roland-Garros 2024).
Victory would make him just the second man in the Open Era, behind Roger Federer, to win his first four major finals (Federer won his first seven).
Road to the final
Attempting to become just the sixth man in the Open Era to win Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, Alcaraz has dropped a combined five sets in his last four rounds en route to the final.
He hasn’t always played his best but always found a way to win. The No.3 seed enters the final having spent over four hours more than Djokovic on court at these Championships.
First round: Defeated Mark Lajal 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2 in 2hr 22min
Second round: Defeated Aleksandar Vukic 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2 in 1hr 48min
Third round: Defeated Frances Tiafoe 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 in 3hr 50min
Fourth round: Defeated Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in 2hr 58min
Quarter-finals: Defeated Tommy Paul 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in 3hr 11min
Semi-finals: Defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in 2hr 55min
Total time on court: 17hr 4min
Knee surgery right after Roland-Garros has not stopped Djokovic from storming into another Grand Slam final and after a wobbly couple of early rounds, the world No.2 has hit his stride and arrives at the last hurdle playing great tennis.
First round: Defeated Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in 1hr 58min
Second round: Defeated Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in 3hr
Third round: Defeated Alexei Popyrin 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) in 3hr 5min
Fourth round: Defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in 2hr 3min
Quarter-finals: Walkover against Alex de Minaur
Semi-finals: Defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-4 in 2hr 48min
Total time on court: 12hr 54min
Key stats
Djokovic is bidding to become the oldest man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title and the first player in the Open Era to win multiple Wimbledon titles after turning 35.
The Serb is contesting his 10th Wimbledon final and is just two behind Federer’s men’s singles record of 12 finals reached at SW19.
Alcaraz has won his last five tour-level matches against top-five opposition.
The Spaniard is an impressive 12-1 in five-set matches throughout his career.
Djokovic has come back from two-sets-to-love down on eight occasions.
Djokovic has won 94 percent of his service games this fortnight, dropping serve just five times in 85 service games.
Alcaraz has broken his opponents’ serve 36 times and has won 32 percent of his return games.
The defending champion has fired 277 winners through six matches, averaging 46 winners per round. Alcaraz has tallied up 117 forehand winners compared to just 42 from Djokovic.
Djokovic has serve-and-volleyed 52 times this tournament and has won 45 of those points (87%).
Head-to-head
Djokovic holds a slight 3-2 edge over Alcaraz in their previous meetings but they’ve split there two Grand Slam showdowns so far, with Djokovic triumphing in four in the 2023 Roland-Garros semis and Alcaraz avenging that loss a few weeks later in the Wimbledon final.
The Serb won their two most recent clashes, in Cincinnati and the ATP Finals, both on hard courts.
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT What the players said
Alcaraz: “Obviously everybody knows Djokovic. He has played multiple Grand Slam finals, has won a lot of them. Last year it was a really difficult match. He put me in real trouble, I'm going to say. But, yeah, I know how it's going to feel playing against Djokovic. I've played a few times in Grand Slams, final of Masters 1000, multiple times against him. I know what I have to do. I'm sure he knows what he has to do to beat me. It's going to be a really interesting one. But I'm ready to take that challenge and I'm ready to do it well.”
“I try not to think about being the defending champion. I just go into every match thinking that obviously I have chances to lose. Every match, it's a war. The opponent, they are going to put his best tennis to beat you. That's obvious. I'm thinking that I have to play my best tennis if I want to keep going. Honestly, since the tournament began, I didn't think I'm the defending champion.”
Djokovic on Alcaraz: “I'm not sure if I'm going to break his heart. I'm not intending to do that. I think he's so young, but still has three already Grand Slams under his belt and going for his fourth. He surprised I think all of us last year the way he played in Queen's and Wimbledon, which he won back-to-back. You would think that for someone growing up in Spain, as he did, the way he's playing, clay court, Grand Slam win, which happened this year in Roland-Garros, and US Open a few years ago was maybe not as surprising as Wimbledon, but the way he has moved, played the last couple of years on grass has been terrific to watch, to be honest.
“I see a lot of similarities between me and him in terms of ability to adapt and adjust to the surface. I think that's probably his biggest trait, is that he's got skills to play equally well on any surface and to adapt to a given opponent that particular day.
“So he's a very all-around player, very complete player. Impressive what he has done for such a young age. I said on the court, which I think probably all of us share the same opinion, that he's going to win many slams in his career. Hope he's going to give me this one in two days, and let's see (smiling). After that I'll cheer for him.”
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
