Pas de revanche pour Novak Djokovic. Battu au terme d'un énorme bras de fer par Carlos Alcaraz l'an dernier en finale à Wimbledon, le Serbe retrouvait l'Espagnol au même stade de la compétition ce dimanche. En grande difficulté en début de partie, Nole a été largement dominé par "Carlitos" dans les deux premières manches. La troisième a été plus serrée et l'homme aux 24 titres du Grand Chelem n'était pas loin de faire un mauvais coup à Alcaraz en sauvant trois balles de match consécutives mais il s'est finalement incliné au jeu décisif, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4). Le joueur de 37 ans n'a toujours pas remporté le moindre titre cette année.
Vidéo : @Wimbledon
Vidéo : @Wimbledon
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00:00Novak, obviously not the result you were looking for today, but just give us your thoughts on that match.
00:07Yeah, huge congrats to Carlos. Deserved this win today. He was a better player from the beginning to the end.
00:16I've tried to fight my way in the third and come back, saving three match points and extending really the match a little bit,
00:27but it was inevitable for him to win today because he was just coming out on the court with better quality tennis.
00:36That's as simple as it is.
00:40Is there anything you could have done differently tactically today against Carlos to affect the outcome of the match?
00:48I don't think so, honestly. You can always analyse the match after and say I could have done this or that,
01:00but just overall the way I felt on the court today against him, I was inferior on the court.
01:09He was a better player. He played every single shot better than I did.
01:15I don't think I could have done something much more, trying to pump myself up maybe, get the crowd involved.
01:25That's what was happening in the third that got me going a little bit, but he wasn't also allowing me to have much of a free point on my serve.
01:36He was reading the serve. He was playing with a lot of variety. I've never seen him serve that way, to be honest.
01:43I mean, 1.36. Maybe I was missing something this tournament, but I've never seen him serve that fast.
01:51He must have had a really good serving practice yesterday, but just overall he really outplayed me.
02:03Just comparing today's match to the final you played here last year, how different did you feel and how different did he feel as an opponent?
02:12I don't know how he felt, but he's going to answer that. Obviously, I felt better last year.
02:19I started 6-1 and it was the first five Wimbledon finals for him and for me it was the ninth.
02:27I felt like I got a better start, had a set point, missed a relatively easy backhand in the rally in the second set tiebreak.
02:36If I won that set, maybe things could be quite different in the end of the match.
02:43But again, I lost in an epic five-set match that we went toe-to-toe.
02:52This year it was nothing like that. It was all about him. He was the dominant force on the court and deserved to win.
03:02Does it feel different? Like Carlos, it feels like he's come and ripped these matches away, like last year's final and this year's final more generally.
03:11Does that make it different rather than feeling it's because you haven't played well?
03:17No. As I said in the previous answer, I really think he was better than me in every aspect of the game.
03:27In movement, in the way he was striking the ball beautifully, serving great, everything.
03:33I did all I can to prepare myself for this match and this tournament in general.
03:39If someone told me I would play Wimbledon finals three or four weeks ago, I would take it for sure.
03:46Where I was three or four weeks ago and where I am now, of course, I do feel disappointed and it's a bitter taste to lose the finals the way I did today.
03:54But it has to be a success in the end of the day for me and my team playing Wimbledon finals.
04:03Losing to the best player of the tournament, without a doubt, that's all I can say.
04:10I can always be self-critical, which I am. I can always find the flaws, which I can already see.
04:18The things that I maybe should have executed better, but I don't think that would change too much the course of the match, to be honest.
04:28From the very beginning, you could see he was at least half a step better than I am in every way.
04:36How much did that first game of the match, the 20-point 14-minute epic, set the tone for what followed?
04:43Can I just ask you what you said at the end? You said to your family and your coaches,
04:47I love you guys, let's keep it going, I think you said. Is your hope and intention to be back here next year?
04:54The first game was incredible. One of the longest first games I've ever played.
05:00Yeah, you're right. That set the tone. He was coming out from the blocks, ready to battle and ready to play his best level right away.
05:12Which wasn't the case last year, where I started better and had a comfortable first set win.
05:18But today, from the first point, he was there. He was ready.
05:22So that's what I can say in terms of that. Let's keep it going, because I still keep going.
05:29I still have intentions to play Olympic Games and hopefully have a chance to fight for a medal for my country.
05:40On a completely different surface, obviously. Going back to the place where I got injured some weeks ago.
05:48Let's see how physically and mentally I'm going to feel. Hopefully I can find the right tennis,
05:58because I'm going to need all I have and more to go to the final of the Olympic Games.
06:07As far as coming back here, I would love to. I don't have anything else in my thoughts right now that this is my last Wimbledon.
06:18I really want to play at least whatever. I don't know. I don't have any limitations in my mind.
06:26I still want to keep going and play as long as I feel like I can play on this high level.
06:35Neil?
06:37Novak, just a month after the knee surgery, how fit are you out there today?
06:42Is that the first time that even the lack of preparation time affected you out on court today?
06:47I mean, it could be, really. Of course, my preparation for Wimbledon wasn't as high as I would have it normally or usually
07:00or commonly to prepare myself. There was hindrance, obviously, because of the injury,
07:06so I had to create a hybrid program of training between the rehab-specific exercises for the knee
07:16and the actual pre-Grand Slam fitness training and tennis training.
07:24That probably had an effect, particularly in the opening rounds, but as the tournament progressed,
07:34I felt better and better. I reached the finals. Some matches, I played some really good tennis.
07:42Some matches, I kind of battled my way through. Today, I saw that I was just, as I said,
07:52half a step behind him in every sense. That's the reality that I have to accept at the moment.
08:01Hopefully, things can be different the next time I play him.
08:05Matt?
08:07Given that this all happened 39 days after the operation, how does it make you feel about the rest of the summer
08:17and what's coming in terms of what you might be able to accomplish?
08:21The Olympic Games and the US Open are the two big goals for the rest of the year for me, really.
08:27I'm hoping I can be at my best in those two tournaments. That's all I can say right now.
08:35Being able to reach the finals of Wimbledon, of course, it's a great confidence boost,
08:43but I also feel like in a matchup today against the best player right now in the world, for sure,
08:53other than Yannick, both of them are the best this year by far, I feel like I'm not at that level.
09:03In order to really have a chance to beat these guys in the Grand Slam ladder stages or Olympics,
09:13I'm going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today.
09:19I'm going to work on it. It's not something I haven't experienced before in my life.
09:24I've had so many different experiences throughout my career.
09:28In the face of adversity, normally I rise and I learn and I get stronger, so that's what I'm going to do.
09:37I just wondered what it meant to you to have the Princess of Wales there today,
09:43because obviously it was the first time you've seen her in Wimbledon, given that she's got this health battle.
09:48I just wondered what you said to her and what she said to you,
09:51because obviously you've spoken to her so many times in the past.
09:53Yes, it was of course a privilege to be in her presence again.
09:58I've said to her that it is very nice to see her in good health.
10:05She seems to be in good health, so that's obviously very positive news for everyone in this country,
10:12but also for Wimbledon, for the Championship, to have Her Royal Highness here,
10:20of course with her family members, it's amazing.
10:23It's incredible support that they've been giving over the years to this tournament.
10:29I know that she and her sister have played tennis for a very long time,
10:34so they truly respect and admire the game.
10:42They also understand tennis, which is great.
10:46It's wonderful to have that kind of support from the Royal Family.