“He was a better player from beginning to the end”– said Novak Djokovic in the press conference, as he congratulated Carlos Alcaraz. Certainly, he was the best and the last one standing with the Wimbledon trophy in his hand. However, when it comes to the Serb, the headlines that describe Djokovic’s Wimbledon journey mostly revolve around heartbreak and miracles, and end with: is he in the last stage of his tennis career? But disheartened Djokovic fans are thinking, could some changes in his strategies during the final have made any difference in the outcome? Maybe not, but what could have contributed to a better fight? Tony Nadal may have an answer for it.

From Djokovic’s perspective, he thinks nothing would have made any difference in the match altogether. But Nadal’s uncle somewhere differs in it. He thinks that the day before the final, Djokovic’s team was strategizing his final run to the title. And given Alcaraz’s form and run on grass, they were faced with two choices- “Do we face it with our usual weapons and our own style or, on the contrary, do we try to neutralize our rival by looking for other solutions, moving away from our characteristic game? “

How to proceed, tickling their brains. Though Uncle Toni would have preferred, “always chose the first.” As in this state, Djokovic was, with a sleeve around his knee, coming straight out of surgery to the Grass Slam and playing the final. If his usual style was creating difficulty for him. What would be the case if he tries new things which are not his habit? The body is accustomed to its instincts, hence ruling the instincts for a day just to counter the ‘superior’ Alcaraz would have been extremely difficult.

Uncle Toni expressed the same thought, he said, “If it is already difficult to play well doing what one is accustomed to doing, it has always seemed much more difficult for me to do well, and even more so in a final, which is not my habit.”

However, according to him, Djokovic went for a second alternative, fully aware of his fitness and his capacity to tackle the Spaniard in his contemporary form. He said, “Djokovic opted for the second alternative. Knowing that neither his legs nor the precision of his blows are what they used to be and that a long and physical match would not favor him either, he tried a tactic that, in the end, proved su*cidal.” And that proves do be his undoing against Alcaraz.

According to Uncle Toni, the strategy was to play a high pace and aggressive game, shorten the exchanges from the back of the court, and at the slightest opportunity, close the points on the net. However, all proved to be fruitless as the Spaniard cruised away with the trophy! And back to Murcia to get ready for the Olympics.

What could have made a difference in Novak Djokovic’s game at the Wimbledon finals?

Uncle Toni thinks playing his usual style would have been the best bet for the Serbian ace. However, when Djokovic was posed the same question by a journalist during his post-match conference, the 24-time Grand Slam was firm in giving credit to Carlos Alcaraz for his terrific game and strong form. And accepted that nothing would have changed the outcome of the match score.

It’s normal for players to sit with their team and analyze the game to brainstorm what could have been done right. However, Djokovic is past that, as he thinks that keeping analysis aside, he would have done the same with no changes in his game plan. He said, “I don’t think so. You can always analyze the match after and can say “I could have done this or that”. But overall the way I felt on the court today against him. I was inferior”

Hopefully, the Serbian ace would sit with his team to figure out new strategies and come back stronger than ever. It would be too soon for all the Big 3 to depart from the tennis scene together without dominating again. Djokovic should rise like a Phoenix!