Djokovic Still 'A Great Champion' in Defeat, Wilander Believes

| by Alex Waite

Novak Djokovic's professionalism on the court has been praised by seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander, who believes the Serbian has done wonders for tennis.

Djokovic's dominance at Wimbledon came to an end in the 2023 final as the Serbian's run of four successive title wins at the All England Club was halted by an inspired Carlos Alcaraz. To add to the 36-year-old's disappointment, his run of 46 consecutive wins on Centre Court, which spanned more than a decade, also ended.

Despite the agonising defeat across five sets, Djokovic was gracious in defeat and heaped praise on Alcaraz in his post-match interview on the court. As a result, when talking to Eurosport, Wilander applauded the 23-time Grand Slam winner's approach to a tough defeat and said the 36-year-old is a credit to tennis.

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"We get to see him losing, which is tough, but at the same time, the way he carries himself around on the court is brilliant. So he's a great champion and he's pushed our sport to the next level,"

Wilander told Eurosport

Despite his glowing admiration for Djokovic's approach to defeat, Wilander also commended Alcaraz for the victory and said the Spanish world number one is a one of a kind talent. Although, Wiander also explained that the 20-year-old had elements that were inspired by all of the 'Big Three' players, including his 2023 Wimbledon final opponent Djokovic.

"But I think it's really important that we have a new champion, a new Wimbledon champion, and it's even more important that it's Carlos Alcaraz because he is something so special, that we might have never seen something like that in our sport before,"

"And I include Federer, Nadal and Djokovic because he has the touch of Federer, the passion of Nadal and he's got the movement and defensive skills of Novak Djokovic."

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