Djokovic's Slam dream runs into a familiar obstacle

Novak Djokovic prophesied the Wimbledon finalist. Not from his own battle to become one, but from the other.

- Rutvick Mehta

"If I want to at least go a step further, I have to beat the No.1 in the world, and then eventually play Alcaraz in the final," he said after his quarterfinal.

The statement is less a reflection of the odds of Taylor Fritz beating Carlos Alcaraz in Djokovic's mind, and more of how deeply hardwired Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz are in it right now.

Partly because of what they have done to the 24-time Grand Slam champion. The Serb's most recent memory of Sinner, from this year's French Open semifinal, was a straight-sets loss.

His most recent Wimbledon memory of Alcaraz, from last year's final, was a straight-sets loss. In both, he was largely outplayed, a term seldom used to describe a Djokovic defeat.

While Alcaraz, whom he has since beaten twice, may or may not be for later, Sinner is now. And if that 25th major has to happen for the 38-year-old, the time to step up against his two younger nemesis is now. Djokovic knows that.

"It's going to take the best of me at the moment to beat Jannik," he said.

Good thing for him it's Jannik on grass and at Wimbledon, as opposed to literally anywhere else. That's where the Italian's physical, mental and statistical edge over the Serb gets balanced out.