Tomorrow's Wimbledon Final Rematch Between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic Is Set Up To Be An Epic, Must-Watch Clash

Tomorrow morning we've got ourselves an all-time clash of titans to witness. You'll be waking up and tuning in for the rematch of last year's Wimbledon Final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Let's catch you up. 

Why does this matter?

Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time. He's earned that title and there's very little you can do to dispute it at this point, even if Federer holds a special place in your heart like the guy typing these words. He's won a men's record 24 grand slam titles, and is tied with Margaret Court for the most of any man or woman in the history of the game. He's the only tennis player ever to reach 10 finals across 3 separate slams. Dude is straight up one of the best athletes to ever walk the Earth. 

Carlos Alcaraz is the anointed chosen one to finally dethrone Novak and push him off the pedestal that he's occupied for so long. Many young guys have tried and failed to establish themselves as the new guy to beat. For years Djokovic has chewed them up and spit them out with no problem. Carlos Alcaraz is different. At just 21 years old he's already won three slams, one on each surface (the youngest ever to do that). His highlights go viral in an instant as he pulls off the impossible with his insane bag of tools. For a few years now he's been one of my favorite athletes in any sport.  

To apply an overused term here, he's an electric factory and a really humble, nice fella on top of it. Last year Alcaraz took down Djokovic in the Wimbledon Final, an event that Novak has owned since he got up and running with his career. He simply doesn't lose there. Carlos disrupted that in an epic five setter and soared to the top of the sport as a result. 

The super short version? We're witnessing a living legend seek vengeance against the future of the sport. 

Context?

Carlos Alcaraz just came off winning his first ever French Open. Oddly enough that was the slam and surface that many believed would be his best surface, yet it took him the longest of the three to conquer. We all quickly learned his game is built for everywhere because he can do everything. Carlos is back here at the Wimbledon Final trying to defend last year's title. He's the first male player outside of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Murray to make the final of the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year in 25 years. 

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Novak Djokovic has nothing left to prove. Zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch. The sicko in him is probably ecstatic Carlos came along because it gives him someone to chase. Since Federer walked away that someone just hasn't been there. Of course Jannik Sinner is here as well, but Carlos took Wimbledon from Novak. That makes Djokovic the hunter this time around. He's 37 years old and back in the Wimbledon Final for a 10th time. Even crazier, this guy had knee surgery right after Roland Garros in May. Now how severe that surgery was is up to your imagination, but at his age this is next to impossible what he's doing. It was kinda assumed he'd miss this tournament and gear up for the Olympics, but here he is in the final. What a sicko.  

Crazy Darren Rovell tweet that's kinda bullshit:

Jaw-dropping set of words that stop you in your tracks, right? Well, a lot of the tickets for Wimbledon have been bought already and very few are available to be bought on the secondary market. When you tune in Sunday it's not like everyone paid $10k to get in there. 

That all aside, the star power in the crowd should be sick. Just today for the women's final you have people like Kate Beckinsale, Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, and Zendaya. I'm expecting big names tomorrow. 

So what's going to happen?

Carlos Alcaraz is currently sitting around a -150 favorite to win the match. While Novak has breezed to the final there is definitely concern about how much he's been battle tested to this point with that knee. We don't really know how good of shape he's in because the level of opponent just hasn't been challenging. Holger Rune offered him nothing in their match and compared himself to a shadow. Alex De Minaur would have been interesting if he didn't have to withdraw before the match even started due to injury. Lorenzo Musetti was never going to actually threaten winning their semifinal match on grass, even if the scoreline shows the sets were close. Djokovic is playing well, but playing Carlos Alcaraz is a whole different animal. 

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Carlos has been through some tough matches to get here. Tiafoe had him on the brink, requiring a five set war to pull through. Ugo, Tommy Paul, and Medvedev after that were no cupcakes either. While Alcaraz hasn't necessarily peaked with his own level, at least he's experienced some adversity to challenge himself. I wonder how Novak would have faired against any of those guys. 

Prediction:

I think Alcaraz is in the driver's seat and I have him winning in four sets. Weather looks to be good so the roof should be open and give Alcaraz an advantage. The first set will be imperative for Djokovic to start strong given his physical situation. I just hope the level is as good as it was last year because that blew everyone away. 

Every now and then I'll go back and watch Carlos serve out that final game last year. All the pressure of dethroning Novak there against the best returner ever and he drops in six first serves. Ice in his veins. Fucks up the first drop shot only to go right back to it the next point followed by a perfect lob. The next point Djokovic ripped a running cross court backhand passing shot only for Alcaraz to stab at it and get it just back over the net. The kid didn't get handed the trophy last year, he took it. 

And if you want an extra tuneup of what's to come, just dial it back to their final at Cincy last year which was unbelievable. 

Whenever these two face off for a final it's special. Who knows with Novak's age how many more we have left, but Sunday should be incredible. Epic vibes heading into first ball. See you at 9am EST. 

P.S. I hope they have Kyrgios in the booth for the match because he's so good at commentating. I wish he was still playing because he gave me a ton of bloggable moments, but he's a very, very good with commentator and brings a breath of fresh air to the game.