2023 Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic Preview, Odds, Predictions

It’s Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon finals. For many, the two present the top of the elite of today’s tennis, and judging by their recent results, that’s really the case here. Alcaraz is the world’s No.1 and, with only 20 years, the future of tennis. Novak is a living legend, a man who destroyed all the previous records and defied the odds in every possible aspect of play. The two met less than a month ago in Paris at the French Open semis. 

Preview

Carlos Alcaraz (+145) is in perfect shape here in London, where he already won one title previous to Wimbledon. Alcaraz was the best at the Queens, erasing the pain from an unexpected loss against Djokovic in the semis. That would be unexpected for his fans because the Spaniard stood as a massive favorite against Novak.

For the moment, he has 11 straight wins, five of them in Wimbledon, where he defeated Chardy and Muller without a dropped set in the first two meetings, then Jary and Berrettini, both 3-1, before rolling over Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev in the quarter and semifinals in straight sets.

He was fantastic against the Russian, holding his first serve at a very high level, 71% of success and 73% of points won on the same. He felt comfortable against Medvedev, not allowing him to enter his mode at any given moment of the event.

Novak Djokovic (-175) was equally impressive in his semis, where he beat Jannik Sinner 3-0. Apart from the final set in which the two had to go through a tiebreak, Jannik was never close to Novak. Djokovic’s first serve was awful, only 58%, but he managed to win despite that. 

He had a challenging road to the finals. Pablo Cachin and Jordan Thomspon were defeated in the opening two rounds, then a three-time Grand Slam champion, the veteran Stan Wawrinka, all 3-0. After that, Djokovic faced Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev, defeating the two 3-1 each.

Novak struggled with his first serve over the past few events, yet he still managed to hold 97% of his serving games. Other than that, Novak perfectly adjusts to the rivals’ style of play and finds various solutions on how to solve the problems. 

Head to Head

Alcaraz and Djokovic met twice before, and each player has a victory and a loss so far. Alcaraz was better in the first meeting, last year in Madrid, where he won 2-1. The majority of the fans expected to see him triumphing in Paris as well, but Nole ripped apart the Spaniard 3-1, advancing to the finals and later on winning the Roland Garros, which would be his 23rd title. 

Prediction

Djokovic’s experience in playing Wimbledon finals is enormous, and despite the opinion of many that he has to lose at Central Court sometime, we don’t believe that would happen now. Defeating Novak in three sets on grass is a hell of a task, especially if he manages to disturb Alcaraz, who is already wounded following the Roland Garros semis. That’s why we give an edge to Nole here. 

Pick: Novak Djokovic wins -175