FATHER TIME catches up with Novak Djokovic

For those who have watched years and years of tennis at The Championships in SW 19, London, it is hard to comprehend or accept the change of guard. Yet, despite the seeming disbelief, what is clear, the change of guard has happened. For Novak Djokovic (yes, injured) to once again be tripped by a younger and fitter Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals at Wimbledon is a clear sign of his struggles in 2025. Accept it, a 3-6, 3-6, 4-6 loss for Novak to the Italian maestro is finite proof that his battles are now turning into losses. The dream of him winning a Major is becoming more like a fantasy.

The message is clear, tennis fans who have romanced Novak Djokovic the icon have to move on and accept, Grand Slam finals will now be competed by fitter players who have more energy and are younger. Ladies and Gentlemen, on Sunday, Jannik Sinner, the young man who himself played his quarter-final with his right arm taped and in a ‘sleeve’ will challenge Carlos Alcaraz, who is on an incredible streak. For the defending champion to face Jannik Sinner is not about pressure but how he will go for a hat-trick of titles at the biggest Grand Slam in the calendar.

Tennis is very personal for fans. You and I grew up watching tennis at Wimbledon many years, rather decades ago. Memories of Bjorn Borg winning five titles from 1976 to 1980 with the wooden racquet are still fresh in memory. The same Swede now shows up at Wimbledon, dressed in a jacket and tie. He looks romantic, still, viewed from the type of tennis he produced in an era where there was scope for playing without this fierce launch of strokes which can nowadays define speed, strength and the power surge.

Yes, the initial tennis viewing for this writer in the era gone by was on TV, before the real viewing at Centre Court as a journalist with a verified media badge showed how much tradition is respected. The debut of sorts for me in 1998 was an eye-opener, how much more real Wimbledon is than just whites and strawberry and cream. After Borg, more famous men have dominated, though for sheer romance, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer will stay etched in memory as all-time greats.

To have watched the winning streak of Sampras snapped at Wimbledon by RF (2001) was defining. It showed, the Pistol Pete era of dominance was also coming to an end. And so then, to watch Sampras exit and Federer dominate was nice. Federer, too, is now a spectator, and will be smiling, how younger boys are stirring it up. He knows, to see Novak Djokovic being hunted like this by the Young Turks is a sign of change. Accept it.

Yes, Novak has promised, this is not his last sortie to Wimbledon, he will be back next year. This is the problem really. At 38, despite all the hard work he puts in and shows that he has preserved his body well, to lose to Carlos or Jannik is no shame. Fact is, his injuries are becoming a habit, which is due to wear and tear. See the difference today, nobody is abusing or being nasty to the Italian Sinner after his infamous doping ban earlier this year. The guy is playing mind blowing tennis which only detonates the opponent. That one has to witness Novak, a winner of 24 Grand Slam titles lose, is sad. In 2023 and 2024, Novak had lost to Carlos Alcaraz. This time, it is to Jannik Sinner, so there is no escape route, really for the Serbian.

Having watched legends in the ladies’ section also dominate, from Martina Navratilova to Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, you can be sure, Novak winning a Grand Slam again will be near impossible. Yes, he can produce the classic stuff. But when an opponent is going to step up, accelerate, on his feet and produce shots where he (Carlos or Jannik) get to the ball a split second earlier, visible to the naked eye, it is clear, Novak will be ‘out-stepped.’ Movement on grass, still a slick surface, is very different from hard courts and clay. Novak had said that his best chances are on grass. Even on this surface, to lose is now a certainty, since these two younger men leave no stone unturned.

If Jannik Sinner was steam and spice, Carlos Alcaraz was methodical to a point of being ruthless. He literally killed it, the semifinal, as he trounced Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. Over to Sunday, where the contest will indeed be a headbangers ball. Pity the tennis ball, which will be belted, without mercy.