Djokovic's ex-coach : It was not the real Djokovic who played Wimb 23 Final

ND-13

Legend
As far as Nikola Pilic is concerned, it wasn’t the real Novak Djokovic out there against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz came back from a set down to defeat Djokovic in five sets to win his second career Grand Slam title as well as his first at the All-England Club.

Given the nature of the win — with the Spaniard notably being the first to defeat Djokovic in a completed match at Wimbledon since 2016 — many believe there will be a changing of the guard with Alcaraz spearheading it.

But Pilic, the ex-coach of Djokovic, believes this is nothing more than speculation.

“These are pure speculations by journalists,” Pilic told Meridian Sport (via Tennis 365). “It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s see what will happen at the US Open, where he (Alcaraz) defends 2000 points, and Novak doesn’t have to do anything.

“What will happen in 10 years? Are you going to tell me that Carlos will win 14 Roland Garros titles, or are you going to tell me that he will be number one for 400 weeks? Those are two records for all time.”

As for the match itself, Pilic was left to rue Djokovic’s mistakes and failed opportunities.

He even went as far as saying it wasn’t the real Serbian superstar out there on the day, specifically making note of how Djokovic’s serve appeared to be off.

“That was not the real Novak Djokovic,” he added. “It was not Novak’s day and Alcaraz himself admitted it. He could have won the second set, but he didn’t make those two backhands well [in the tiebreak] and his opponent took advantage of that.

“In the second set he completely fell, but in the fourth he got up and started playing well again. In the fifth, he made mistakes in his service and thus allowed Alcaraz to break. That was a problem in general during the match, the service movement didn’t look right.

“For example, in the [fourth round] match against [Hubert] Hurkacz, he served perfectly, and in the final, he did not make an ace for two whole sets. If only Novak had played as he knows how, he wouldn’t have lost.”

Perhaps there was an injury bothering Djokovic, or perhaps it was a case of Alcaraz simply being the better player on the occasion.

 

Federev

G.O.A.T.
That’s like saying the real Carlos didn’t lose RG.

No one wins or loses in isolation.

Your opponent imposes a response on you to provide - and, depending on the opponent, that response requires more or less effort, more or less sustained mental fortitude, more or less strategic processing, etc.

To some degree Novak and Carlos played how the other let them.
 
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TripleATeam

G.O.A.T.
That’s like saying the real Carlos didn’t lose RG.

No one wins or loses in isolation.

Your opponent imposes a response on you to provide - depending on the opponent that response requires more or less effort, more or less sustained mental fortitude, more or less strategic processing, etc.

To some degree Novak and Carlos played how the other let them.
True. Novak could've served better, yes, but Alcaraz was returning balls in ways I've not seen in years. Djokovic's serving speed and placement was solid for a good portion of the match, but even so his service winners and aces were extremely low. Alcaraz put on a great returning performance.
 

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
4858725.jpg


It is what it is.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
That’s like saying the real Carlos didn’t lose RG.

No one wins or loses in isolation.

Your opponent imposes a response on you to provide - depending on the opponent that response requires more or less effort, more or less sustained mental fortitude, more or less strategic processing, etc.

To some degree Novak and Carlos played how the other let them.
Exactly! It's like a boxing match. A guy can beat up on tomato cans and weaker opposition who have no confidence in themselves.
Then suddenly an elite level fighter comes along and it becomes a real fight, going back and forth.
Novak wasn't beating up on a weak fighter like Rublev, Sinner, or Casper.
It was a real fight against a real fighter!
And Carlos made a lot of mistakes too. Not just Novak. It equaled out. Or as Novak would say "Even Steven!" :cool:
 

daggerman

Hall of Fame
That’s like saying the real Carlos didn’t lose RG.

No one wins or loses in isolation.

Your opponent imposes a response on you to provide - depending on the opponent that response requires more or less effort, more or less sustained mental fortitude, more or less strategic processing, etc.

To some degree Novak and Carlos played how the other let them.

Exactly. Novak hit plenty of high-quality shots that would've been clean winners or forced errors against just about any other opponent, but Alcaraz consistently handled those shots and reset the point. I never got the impression when watching the match that Novak wasn't at his best. In fact, I thought he was really locked in compared to his previous three Wimbledon finals. His opponent was just too good this time.

Part of being a great player is making your opponent look worse than they are. Novak's done it for 15 years. Alcaraz is doing it now, too.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
True. Novak could've served better, yes, but Alcaraz was returning balls in ways I've not seen in years. Djokovic's serving speed and placement was solid for a good portion of the match, but even so his service winners and aces were extremely low. Alcaraz put on a great returning performance.
Maybe because it wasn't Anderson, Berretini, Kyrgios, Rublev, or Casper Ruud on the other side of the net who Djokovic has a field day with and beats their butts like it's just another Sunday? :laughing:
 

Vanilla Slice

Professional
I thought it was more like 20mph for stretches of the match or at least according to the forecast. The commentators talked about the wind a lot when he kept catching his toss, making some errors wide into the alleys etc.

It was definitely strong and swirling in Centre Court.
Probably has some gusts up to 20, cause the shirts were moving in the wind. Still, all the wind talk makes Djokovic look weak imo.
 

DogInSpace

Semi-Pro
I think it's obviously true that some of Novak's issues were caused by the wind, but the opponent has to deal with the same wind. Wind is never a good excuse.
well you can always put the roof on and make the conditions dead and sterile just like he likes it :cool: **** the logic
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
All this disrespect and excuse-making by Djokovic's people is just going to fire up Alcaraz even more now and make him hungrier to destroy Novak again.
The only reason Alcaraz struggled is because he was nervous. Not gonna happen again.
 

DogInSpace

Semi-Pro
Yeah it seemed that Alcaraz needed those first 30 minutes or so to shake off the stress because it was clear that he felt overwhelmed as **** by the fact that he is playing Wimbledon Final. Djokovic made the most out of it and create quick 5-0 lead. Once Alcaraz settled in things became problematic for Djokovic. I don't expect Alcaraz to be so tense next time they play. Fun times :cool:
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
If if if doesn’t exist. Someone needs to tell that to djok’s coach . It’s over. Wimbledon boat has sailed. Time to move on
 

Weirdo

New User
As far as Nikola Pilic is concerned, it wasn’t the real Novak Djokovic out there against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz came back from a set down to defeat Djokovic in five sets to win his second career Grand Slam title as well as his first at the All-England Club.

Given the nature of the win — with the Spaniard notably being the first to defeat Djokovic in a completed match at Wimbledon since 2016 — many believe there will be a changing of the guard with Alcaraz spearheading it.

But Pilic, the ex-coach of Djokovic, believes this is nothing more than speculation.

“These are pure speculations by journalists,” Pilic told Meridian Sport (via Tennis 365). “It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s see what will happen at the US Open, where he (Alcaraz) defends 2000 points, and Novak doesn’t have to do anything.

“What will happen in 10 years? Are you going to tell me that Carlos will win 14 Roland Garros titles, or are you going to tell me that he will be number one for 400 weeks? Those are two records for all time.”

As for the match itself, Pilic was left to rue Djokovic’s mistakes and failed opportunities.

He even went as far as saying it wasn’t the real Serbian superstar out there on the day, specifically making note of how Djokovic’s serve appeared to be off.

“That was not the real Novak Djokovic,” he added. “It was not Novak’s day and Alcaraz himself admitted it. He could have won the second set, but he didn’t make those two backhands well [in the tiebreak] and his opponent took advantage of that.

“In the second set he completely fell, but in the fourth he got up and started playing well again. In the fifth, he made mistakes in his service and thus allowed Alcaraz to break. That was a problem in general during the match, the service movement didn’t look right.

“For example, in the [fourth round] match against [Hubert] Hurkacz, he served perfectly, and in the final, he did not make an ace for two whole sets. If only Novak had played as he knows how, he wouldn’t have lost.”

Perhaps there was an injury bothering Djokovic, or perhaps it was a case of Alcaraz simply being the better player on the occasion.

I remember a quote from Djokovic's dad two years ago, it said something around the lines of Djokovic only loses because he lets his opponents win. While Djokovic occasionally has a terrible match (and he certainly made his mistakes in this final), it's a pretty stupid idea, since the same excuse can be made for basically everyone that loses. Nadal only lost to Djokovic 7 times at majors because he "let his opponent win."
 

Kralingen

Bionic Poster
Djokovic always gives top opponents a chance to be the hero and reach out and take the match.

Alcaraz did this time. But people haven’t done it for so long that it feels like a shock.

I did think he was below par due to the wind tho.
 

Weirdo

New User
Yeah it seemed that Alcaraz needed those first 30 minutes or so to shake off the stress because it was clear that he felt overwhelmed as **** by the fact that he is playing Wimbledon Final. Djokovic made the most out of it and create quick 5-0 lead. Once Alcaraz settled in things became problematic for Djokovic. I don't expect Alcaraz to be so tense next time they play. Fun times :cool:
I feel it was the opposite. Alcaraz remembered his tension from the Roland Garros match that he basically tried to play with as little pressure as possible and went for every single shot, which is the the complete other end of the spectrum compared to R.G.. He then realized that his strategy was too extreme and honed in a bit so he could stay in the match.
 

Federev

G.O.A.T.
Exactly. Novak hit plenty of high-quality shots that would've been clean winners or forced errors against just about any other opponent, but Alcaraz consistently handled those shots and reset the point. I never got the impression when watching the match that Novak wasn't at his best. In fact, I thought he was really locked in compared to his previous three Wimbledon finals. His opponent was just too good this time.

Part of being a great player is making your opponent look worse than they are. Novak's done it for 15 years. Alcaraz is doing it now, too.
100%
 

Federev

G.O.A.T.
Exactly! It's like a boxing match. A guy can beat up on tomato cans and weaker opposition who have no confidence in themselves.
Then suddenly an elite level fighter comes along and it becomes a real fight, going back and forth.
Novak wasn't beating up on a weak fighter like Rublev, Sinner, or Casper.
It was a real fight against a real fighter!
And Carlos made a lot of mistakes too. Not just Novak. It equaled out. Or as Novak would say "Even Steven!" :cool:
Novak had a great response to the match. Very classy and accurate. At presser: "he showed he's the best player in the world."
 

jackson vile

G.O.A.T.
Novak lost because of Novak, there’s nothing that Carlos did to pressure or force Novak into hitting the ball into the net repeatedly along with all the other odd and strange mistakes Novak made.

Same for Carlos and the FO after the first set, except for the fact that Carlos is not a proven player. Some day he will be, but as of now he isn’t.

Novak looked and played 100% burned out, he’s already won two slams and almost completed the Chanel slam which is the most difficult part of the calendar slam.

Carlos is still an amazing rising player and there’s no doubt his own legacy is imminent, but the hype has been just that.

With that said the USO will be a huge indicator for how imminent that emergence really is.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Novak lost because of Novak, there’s nothing that Carlos did to pressure or force Novak into hitting the ball into the net repeatedly along with all the other odd and strange mistakes Novak made.

Same for Carlos and the FO after the first set, except for the fact that Carlos is not a proven player. Some day he will be, but as of now he isn’t.

Novak looked and played 100% burned out, he’s already won two slams and almost completed the Chanel slam which is the most difficult part of the calendar slam.

Carlos is still an amazing rising player and there’s no doubt his own legacy is imminent, but the hype has been just that.

With that said the USO will be a huge indicator for how imminent that emergence really is.
You off your medication today?
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
Djokovic always gives top opponents a chance to be the hero and reach out and take the match.

Alcaraz did this time. But people haven’t done it for so long that it feels like a shock.

I did think he was below par due to the wind tho.
Wind was a non factor. Alcaraz was all over Novak and didn't let him breathe.
 
"Perhaps" there was an injury?? Clearly there was an injury in one of those first 2 tumbles Djoker took. you could see him laboring the leg. Mix the wind (Which Djoker has always struggled with anyways), yes it wasn't Djoker's day. But there will be other days. If Fed was playing at 38, so will Djoker be
 

Holmes

Hall of Fame
"Perhaps" there was an injury?? Clearly there was an injury in one of those first 2 tumbles Djoker took. you could see him laboring the leg. Mix the wind (Which Djoker has always struggled with anyways), yes it wasn't Djoker's day. But there will be other days. If Fed was playing at 38, so will Djoker be
I wouldn't be so certain. Novak was playing against and beating significantly greater competition throughout his 20s than Federer was. That takes a toll on the body.
 
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