Toni Nadal has questioned Novak Djokovic’s approach against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final and described the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s tactics as “suicidal.”

The legendary coach feels Djokovic’s decision to play a highly aggressive style was a mistake and suggested the Serbian would have been better served using his “usual weapons.”

Djokovic delivered arguably one of his worst performances in a Grand Slam final as he fell 2-6, 2-6, 6-7(4) to an outstanding Alcaraz in the 2024 Wimbledon championship match.

From the start of the final, Djokovic was reluctant to engage in extended rallies as he looked to shorten points at every opportunity, often by rushing the net.

The 37-year-old’s volley execution let him down badly against an inspired Alcaraz as he won just 27 of 53 (51%) net points, having won a stellar 143 of 184 (78%) en route to the final.

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Djokovic was playing in his 10th Wimbledon final and was seeking a record-equalling eighth title, but was denied by Alcaraz for the second consecutive year, having lost to the Spaniard in an epic five-set 2023 championship match.

In a column for El Pais, Nadal recognised Djokovic faced a dilemma over how to play against Alcaraz, but assessed that the tennis great chose the wrong option.

“I imagine, as I wrote the day before the final, the doubts of Novak and his team as the match approached,” wrote the Spaniard.

“The decision was not easy to make. How to approach the match, with our usual weapons and our own style, or try to neutralise the opponent by looking for other solutions and moving away from our characteristic game?

“Personally, I have always opted for the first solution. If it is already difficult to play well by doing what you are used to doing, it has always been much more difficult in my opinion to play well, especially in the final, by doing what you are not used to doing.

“Djokovic opted for the second solution. Knowing that neither his legs nor the precision of his shots are those of yesteryear, and that a long and physical match would not favour him either, he tried a tactic that ultimately proved suicidal.

“He wanted to impose a high pace, play aggressively, shorten rallies from the back of the court and, at the slightest opportunity, close points at the net.”

Toni Nadal coached his nephew Rafael Nadal from his childhood until 2017, helping the tennis legend win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles. He is the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.

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