"It's tough to see Novak Djokovic losing, but the way he carries himself around on the court is brilliant" - Mats Wilander
Novak Djokovic faced off against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 Wimbledon Championships final on Sunday (July 16).
Although the Serb suffered his first loss on Center Court in over a decade, his humility and conduct in defeat have been hailed by Mats Wilander. Alcaraz beat Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 scoreline in a match that lasted almost five hours.
Touching on the 23-time Grand Slam winner's demeanor while speaking with Eurosport, Wilander said the way Djokovic carries himself is what makes him a great champion.
"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," said Mats Wilander.
Reflecting on Carlos Alcaraz's performance in the Wimbledon final, the seven-time Grand Slam champion claimed that the 20-year-old is a special player that has the qualities of Federer, Nadal and 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," he said.
"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," Wilander added.
Mats Wilander is ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐๐น that we get to see Novak Djokovic's grace in defeat ๐ฃ๏ธ https://t.co/2CsbVFXa4p
Maybe I should have lost a couple of finals that I won: Novak Djokovic
Following the defeat in a five-set thriller against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 Wimbledon Championships final, Novak Djokovic reflected on the highs and lows across his distinguished career.
The Serb feels that some of the finals he won could have gone the other way, and so the defeat to Alcaraz evens things out in some manner.
โObviously, you never like to lose matches like this but I guess when all the emotions are settled, I have to still be very grateful because I won many, many tight and close matches in the past year,โ he said.
The 36-year-old was quick to take the 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer as an example.
โTo name a few, 2019 against Roger in that [Wimbledon] final where I was match points down. Maybe I should have lost a couple of finals that I won. So I think this is even-steven,โ he explained.
After five sets of excellent tennis against Federer in the 2019 final, the Serb saved two championship points to seal his fifth Wimbledon title.