Alcaraz and Co. never at Djokovic’s level?: Maybe we are all fooling ourselves

Motivated down to his fingertips, the young Spaniard goes to work and creates two break opportunities, which he cannot take advantage of. I happily nibble on the peanuts I put down: what a start!

But unfortunately this starting shot is also the highlight of the match. What follows is a show of power from the Serb. He only plays five games. When Alcaraz won the US Open last year – becoming the youngest number 1 of all time – there was almost a collective sigh of relief in the tennis world. Finally there will be a new Federer, Nadal or Djokovic. Someone who reaches new heights, is even more athletic, hits even harder and plays even better tennis than the three superstars born before the first smartphone existed.

And now this! How can Alcaraz go down like this? Perhaps the young person cannot handle the pressure of expectations. Maybe he’s just a little exhausted since his Wimbledon win. He may need a breather before he can play Djokovic in Australia again next year. Everything is conceivable – even a combination of everything.

But there’s another possibility: maybe we all like to fool ourselves. People want everything tomorrow to be better than yesterday. That’s what drives him. Anyone who believes that the best times are over is at risk of falling into nostalgia and depression. The devices we use are getting better and better. After the iPhone 13 comes the iPhone 14. The camera has a better resolution, the processor is faster and the screen is brighter.

Tennis is difficult to measure – luckily!

But are we humans getting better? Are we smarter than before, faster, stronger? Does modern science also get more performance out of us? Does Homo sapiens 2.0 exist?

Tennis is difficult to measure. A faster stroke does not automatically mean a better stroke. In the end, only victory and defeat count. That is why different eras are difficult to compare with each other. Are Federer, Nadal and Djokovic the best of their time or the best of all time? Is Novak better today than five years ago?

“Of course Novak plays even better every year and that is why he is still at the top,” is what you hear almost like a mantra from the tennis scene. Real?

The alternative, that the best tennis matches of all time have already been played, would also be bad for business. Fortunately, in tennis we can pick together what we like. No one can prove otherwise. Athletics does not have that luxury. Everything is measurable there and certain records make you think. Jarmila Kratochvilova set her world record in the 800 meters in 1983. Florence Griffith Joyner ran her best times in the 100 and 200 meters in Seoul in 1988. The world record in discus throwing was set by Jürgen Schult in 1986. By comparison, Usain Bolt’s 100 and 200 meter records, which were set 15 years ago, feel like they were set last week. This list is certainly not complete and can be expanded considerably.

The best of all time?

So it is quite possible that Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are not the best of their time, but actually the best of all time. Maybe one person simply can’t play better tennis than these three at their best. Have the three perhaps pushed each other to heights that no one can reach? Higher, faster, stronger!

One day Novak will be too slow because of his age. Or lose motivation. Or having to give up injured. Then comes a new number 1 – the best number 1 of all time.