"Wanting to beat him by speed is practically impossible": Toni Nadal calls Novak Djokovic's Wimbledon final tactics 'suicidal'

Toni N`adal has slammed the tactics utilised by Novak Djokovic in trying to defeat Carlos Alcaraz in the final of 2024 Wimbledon with the Serbian falling 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 in favour of his rival.

Nadal lauded Alcaraz saying that he has no weaknesses and that he hasn't seen a quicker player on the court than the Spaniard in his career. He also said that in his view there is only one player that can match him and that is Jannik Sinner.

As a result, he has christened the future rivalry as being between Alcaraz and Sinner and that as Djokovic proved taking on the Spaniard at a speed match proved to be 'suicidal'.

"Technically it is very difficult to see any weakness in him, in the physical aspect he is the fastest player I have ever seen on a court. To beat him is only within the reach of the most complete tennis players and only if they have their best day," said Nadal to El Pais.

"This time he was unbeatable throughout the match and overwhelmed Djokovic in both speed and solidity. He was at all times far superior and the feeling he gave us from the start of the match was that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for victory to escape him.

"The match was always in his hands and he was extraordinary in all facets of the game. His forehand groundstrokes, especially from the baseline, were devastating. He easily won the first two sets by a resounding double 6-2 and only a mistake of his, when he was serving to close the match with a clear 5-4, 40-0 allowed the Serb to harbour some little hope about the outcome of the match. At no time, in fact, did Nole give the impression that he had the weapons to intimidate his opponent decisively. His strokes lacked the precision and power needed to disrupt the game of the present winner."

He spoke about what he would've done if he was Djokovic's coach and how he would've neutralised Alcaraz but that in his view, Djokovic did the opposite.

"I can imagine, as I wrote the day before the final, the doubts that Novak and his team had when approaching the match. The decision was not easy. How do we approach the match, do we approach it with our usual weapons and our own style, or do we try to neutralise our opponent by looking for other solutions and departing from our characteristic game? Personally, I have always chosen the former. If it is already difficult to play well doing what you are used to doing, it has always been much more difficult for me to play well, especially in a final, which I am not used to doing."

"Djokovic opted for the second alternative. Knowing that neither his legs nor the precision of his strokes are those of yesteryear, and that a long and physical match would not favour him either, he tried a tactic that in the end proved suicidal. He wanted to impose a high pace, play aggressively, shorten the exchanges from the back of the court and at the slightest opportunity, close the points at the net."

"In my opinion, the only chance the Serb had was to try to slow the game down. Waiting for him to be totally successful and trusting that Carlos would not have his best day. Wanting to beat the player from Murcia by speed is practically impossible nowadays. Perhaps only Jannik Sinner can play one-on-one with the Spaniard. And, in fact, Sunday's final confirms that the real rivalry in the coming tournaments and, probably, in the coming years will be between the two of them: the Italian and our great Spanish champion," he concluded.