Novak Djokovic‘s Wimbledon defeat against Carlos Alcaraz is a lot deeper than it seems to be. The Serb had a golden opportunity to even his Wimbledon score with former rival Roger Federer, having 7 titles in his bucket already. Although he couldn’t manage to do so, people still approached the Swiss maestro’s former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, to provoke him with the results of the 2019 Wimbledon finals.

When Ivan Ljubicic was reminded about the anniversary of the 2019 Wimbledon finals, the former coach of Federer humorously replied, “I can’t remember it, I wasn’t there, who played?” Djokovic faced Federer in a historic Wimbledon final back in 2019. The match ended with the Serb winning 7–6(5), 1–6, 7–6(4), 4–6, 13–12(3) after 4 hours and 57 minutes, marking it as the longest Wimbledon final in history.

Although Federer outperformed Djokovic in almost every statistical category, he still lost the match. This match was also named the greatest men’s tennis match of the 2010s by Tennis Magazine.

Ljubicic joined Federer’s coaching team in December 2015 and helped him achieve numerous milestones, including the 2017 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships. They also prepared for the 2019 Wimbledon final. However, luck didn’t sit by their side. In fact, Federer had a similar reaction when reminded about the defeat during his 2022 Laver Cup run.

When Djokovic was asked about his favorite matches against the Swiss Maestro, he chose the 2019 Wimbledon final as one of the clashes. When he named the match, Federer was quick to reply, “What happened? I blocked it out.”

While the defeat weighs heavily in his mind, he is sure his life would be the same even if he had won, “I lost that match, but I think that if I had won, my life wouldn’t have changed anything. As a child, I dreamed of one day playing at Wimbledon Central and winning the tournament. I didn’t expect to win it eight times and have so much success around the world.” These words still sounded quite different from what he had said soon after the defeat.

“I will try to forget” Roger Federer expresses dissatisfaction with the defeat

Spectators watched their favorite pick face a defeat back in 2019. Although the disappointment was quite evident on his face, everyone eagerly waited to hear what Roger Federer had to say about the loss, which could’ve added another title to his record.

“I just feel like it’s such an incredible opportunity missed. I can’t believe it,” said Federer, who won 14 points more than the Serb. The Swiss tennis maestro tried hard to keep his calm and expressed that he’s happy to be a part. “Playing so much on clay helped keep me match-fit and match-tough. I’m happy I played as good and felt as good as I did throughout the championships,” he added.

Regardless, disappointment hit him like a boxer’s punch to the face. “I will try to forget. You take it on the chin, move on and try to forget. I will try to take the good things out of this match because there is tons of it,” he said, with a smile on his face.

It has been nearly 5 years since Roger Federer missed the opportunity of a title. Although the record is still in his name, there is a space that still regrets the loss.