However, as far as McEnroe is concerned, the dominant defeat might’ve spelled the end of Djokovic’s Wimbledon career. Speaking on the BBC’s coverage, the American said: “We’re going to pay our respects obviously for the great Novak Djokovic, who battled despite being somewhat limited. He’s going to have a lot of thinking to do over the course of the next month or so.
“Does he look at it like ‘Look the reason I wasn’t at it is because I was injured?’ Or is it just a combination [of injury and ability].” McEnroe paused as the crowd roared the 24-time Grand Slam winner off Centre Court, before adding: “It’s the first time ever I’ve looked at him and thought ‘I’m not sure if he’s going to come back’. That’s obviously a decision that’s up to him and he can play for as long as he wants. I don’t know if he can accept being a notch or two below these guys.”
Continuing the analysis in the studio, McEnroe added: “He’s finally joined the crowd of older players and champions, who realise their best is behind them and have to deal with that unfortunate fact. I don’t know how much of it was an injury, how much was an accumulation of the difficult matches that he played leading up to the semis.
“As I said, Father Time is undefeated… honestly, it’s amazing he’s got this far and been this good. Crazy, phenomenal, beyond belief. You could tell for most of the match, there were a lot of points where he just gave up, that’s not him.”
At the end of it all, it’s the final that many predicted before a ball was hit and a repeat of last month’s French Open epic. For Alcaraz, the back-to-back champion, it’s 20 Wimbledon wins in a row, with the last person to have beaten him at the All England Club being Sinner himself back in 2022.