Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic: Wilander and Robson want 'another 10 years' of rivalry after Wimbledon final
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Published 17/07/2023 at 07:14 GMT+1
Mats Wilander and Laura Robson remarked on the 16-year age gap between 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and the Serbian veteran Novak Djokovic after they played out a brilliant five-set match in the final of Wimbledon on Sunday evening. Wilander wants another decade of the pair duking it out, while Robson hopes they can both stay fit enough to keep it up.
'I wish Novak was 10 years younger' - Alcaraz/Djokovic rivarly excites Wilander
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mats Wilander and Laura Robson both hope to see a potential famous rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz endure for more years yet after their memorable Wimbledon final.
The pair played out a brilliant five-set final at the All England Club on Sunday afternoon - and evening - as for almost five hours they demonstrated some brilliant tennis and put on a stunning show.
Alcaraz edged this Grand Slam final, and while he is 16 years younger than his Serbian opponent, the Spaniard is likely to see more of Djokovic, at least for the next couple of seasons.
Wilander told Eurosport that he was hoping for even more from the superstar pair.
He said: “I would love to see Novak stay in our sport for another three, four years if he can, just so I can see this match again.
"I wish Novak was 10 years younger, because then we would see this rivalry for another 10 years.
“There’s a contrast of styles between these two, even though they’re both baseliners. Carlos Alcaraz has so much flair and so much explosiveness in his arm, and he can hit these forehands and then can massage these little drop shots.
“Then you have the other style, which is the relentless defensive game of Novak Djokovic, who sometimes pushes himself to be more aggressive than maybe he wants to, but he does it at the right time.
"The defensive skills, and then against Alcaraz, is absolutely incredible. Throw on top of that the defensive skills of Carlos Alcaraz, because he’s got those as well.”
Robson hoped that the duo could match some of the great matches between the Big Three - Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - provided they can both remain fit.
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'I'd love it!' - Robson hopes Alcaraz/Djokovic rivalry develops
Video credit: TNT Sports
She said: “I’d love it to develop into a bit of a rivalry. Obviously, there’s a bit of an age gap, but Djokovic has been so healthy the last few years, playing better tennis than ever.
"Coming into the tournament, and especially in the whole of 2023, he played the best in the world across the level at the events he played.
“It definitely has potential as a rivalry, but we don’t want to go too soon on it yet because fingers crossed they stay healthy enough to play matches like the top guys have for the last 15 years.”
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