Wimbledon 2024 men's final preview and prediction: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic
By Lee Vowell
Last year's Wimbledon men's final was a classic. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic went five glorious sets with the Spaniard winning his first title at the grass-court major. The final set went to Alcaraz 6-4 but had either player been playing anyone else, they might not have lost more than two games. The match was played at that high level.
Flash-forward to a year later and here we are again, only each player has taken different routes since they last played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Spaniard was ranked No. 1 on the ATP after beating the Serb, but he would not win another title for the rest of 2023. Meanwhile, Djokovic would not lose an ATP tournament he entered. Djokovic finished the year as No. 1 yet again.
Then 2024 happened and everything changed again. Both players have dealt with injuries. Alcaraz suffered a couple, the most serious being a forearm issue that required rest and made him miss a couple of events. Djokovic tore his meniscus during the French Open and he needed surgery. His run at Wimbledon has been miraculous as he was less than a month from having surgery when the tournament began.
Predicting who wins the 2024 Wimbledon men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic
Besides injuries, the Serb had shockingly not made a final in any tournament until Wimbledon. He remains No. 2 and will stay that way even if he loses to Alcaraz in the final again. The Spaniard has won just two titles this year and suffered a shock loss to Jack Draper in the second round at the Queen's Club, the lead-in tournament to Wimbledon.
If Djokovic wins on Sunday, he will take home his 25th Grand Slam victory, a record for either the men's or women's side. If Alcaraz wins, the 21-year-old will already have four major victories with a good chance of one day getting closer to the Serb's current number.
The question comes down to whether Alcaraz plays in his best form. If he does and Djokovic is also in his top form, tennis fans will get another match for the ages, though the Spaniard will likely win as he has played better over the last six months. Each has had inconsistent serves of late so if one player struggles in that aspect, that could turn the major. The guess here is that both play well but that Alcaraz once again wins in five sets.