Novak Djokovic's father hits back over 'loser' dig following Carlos Alcaraz Wimbledon defeat
Novak Djokovic's father has hit back after his son was dubbed a 'loser'
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Novak Djokovic's father has hit back at a journalist that branded the tennis star as the 'loser of all times'.
The 36-year-old was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday's Wimbledon final, missing out on the chance to win a remarkable 24th Grand Slam as a result.
In the aftermath of the defeat, a Montenegrin journalist gave Djokovic the nickname of the LOAT.
The Serb has lost 12 Grand Slam finals, which is the most in the Open Era, even though he's won the most as well.
Carlos Alcaraz was too strong for Novak Djokovic in Sunday's Wimbledon final
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And Djokovic's father, in an interview with Republika, has now hit back with some cutting comments of his own.
"May God help that man. If he can even be helped, and if he really means everything he wrote," he said.
Djokovic lost his first-ever Grand Slam final to Roger Federer all the way back in 2007 at the US Open.
He suffered a defeat to Rafael Nadal at the same stage of the same competition three years later.
Nadal got the better of Djokovic at the 2012 French Open, with Andy Murray beating the Serb in the final of the US Open that year.
Murray also beat the veteran in the final of Wimbledon in 2013, with Nadal then managing successive victories over his rival.
Djokovic was unable to beat Stan Wawrinka to US Open glory in 2016, while he missed out on the French Open in 2020 to Nadal.
And he's since proceeded to lose to Daniil Medvedev and Alcaraz in US Open and Wimbledon finals.
While Djokovic was pained by his defeat to Alcaraz on Sunday, he lavished praise on his opponent following their epic five-set showdown.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself," he said.
“I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically the best of all three worlds.
“He’s got this mental resilience and, really, maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive."
He added: “I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest.
"Roger and Rafa have their own, obviously, strengths and weaknesses.
“Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces.”
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Novak Djokovic has now lost 12 Grand Slam finals after Wimbledon defeat to Carlos Alcaraz
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As for Alcaraz, the 20-year-old insisted tennis fans should enjoy Djokovic while they can as the Serb enters the twilight years of his tennis career.
"Maybe the history has changed a little bit, but I don`t see it that way," he said.
"Because as long as Rafa and Djokovic are around, they will still going to be the inspiration for everyone, they are still legends.
"In the future, when they retire, which I hope will be a long time from now, we'll talk about the new generations or the new era.
"But I think for now we still have to enjoy Djokovic and Rafa as much as we can."
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