Novak Djokovic felt 'outclassed' in Wimbledon 2024 finals, says Carlos Alcaraz coach Juan Carlos Ferrero

Juan Carlos Ferrero, coach of world number three Carlos Alcaraz, believes that Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic felt ‘outclassed’ in the final of Wimbledon 2024. The third Grand Slam of the year ended on Sunday, and in the men’s singles category, Alcaraz defeated the former world number one in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 to lift the title.

Alcaraz’s coach, Ferrero, was recently quoted in a report expressing surprise after seeing Djokovic struggle in the final. The former world number one stated that the Belgrade-born star struggled from the beginning "I was a little surprised by Djokovic's level today. I think he felt outclassed from the start. It was hard for him to keep up with Carlos' pace and ball speed. It's true that last year he was better, maybe this year, not being at 100%, it was a little harder for him.”

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Djokovic has gone through a difficult campaign. The 37-year-old, often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles before Sunday, did not play in a final of any event this year. Things went from bad to worse as the Belgrade-born star also suffered a knee injury during the French Open, which forced him to withdraw from the competition just before the start of the quarterfinal against Norway’s Casper Ruud.

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After that injury, Djokovic underwent knee surgery, which cast doubts about his appearance in mega-events such as the Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics. On the other hand, Sunday's win, where Alcaraz defended his title after beating the same opponent at the same venue, was his second Grand Slam this year. The Spaniard also won the French Open after beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in a five-set thrilling contest with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2.