Breaking: Alcaraz beats Djokovic in thriller for his first Wimbledon title

 

 

• Spaniard’s second major title in 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win
• Djokovic endures first Centre Court defeat in over 10 years

Over the past few years of men’s tennis, as his great rivals have retreated from view, Novak Djokovic has spent his time destroying the hopes and dreams of nearly all younger challengers at the major tournaments. Not only has continued to hold off the next generation, but he has relished his supremacy over them.

It has been clear for a long time, though, that Carlos Alcaraz is just different. Both in terms of his on-court talents and the supreme mental strength that underpins his success. A month after his body crumbled under the sheer tension of facing Djokovic at a major, Alcaraz recovered from a set deficit to perform at a remarkable level for five sets as he toppled Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to win his first Wimbledon title.

 

It was a victory that took every ounce of self belief and determination from Alcaraz along with sustained shotmaking of the highest quality while performing at a level of intensity he has never experienced across best of five sets. The two best players in the world imposed relentless pressure on each other until the end, yet Alcaraz had the fortitude to see it out.

 

Alcaraz’s career was already clearly on a trajectory that few 20 year olds have ever matched, yet the top seed’s performance at Wimbledon has somehow outpaced all of the deafening hype. Having started the grass court season still unsure of his footing and how to produce his best tennis on the surface, he has blitzed the entire field, learning with every match as he has established a 12 match winning streak across Queen’s and Wimbledon. Alcaraz is the first player to beat Djokovic on Centre Court in a full decade, since Andy Murray in the 2013 final.

At 20 years old, Alcaraz is the third youngest player to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title, behind only Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg. His second grand slam title means he is the first new male player to win multiple major titles since Stan Wawrinka in 2015. By halting Djokovic’s four-year dominance at Wimbledon, he has denied the Serb the chance of equalling Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles.

 

In another chapter of the most highly anticipated match-up in the sport right now, experience initially led. While Djokovic sometimes starts slowly, he was sharp from the beginning, returning spectacularly well, refusing to offer up any mistakes and deflecting Alcaraz’s enormous forehands to within inches of the baseline. As Alcaraz struggled with his timing, he quickly found himself down 5-0 lead as Djokovic closed off a near perfect set with just two unforced errors.

After taking his first game, Alcaraz finally began to find his range. Throughout the second set, the intensity skyrocketed. Between them, they both attacked without hesitation, they covered every blade of grass through intense, high-octane rallies and they both swept to the net and made difficult volleys.

As they converged in a tie-break, Alcaraz stayed with Djokovic. He served well, unloading on his forehand while mixing in drop shots. It was Djokovic who blinked, making two quick unforced errors from 6-5. On his set point, Alcaraz played an incredible backhand return, slotting the ball past a helpless Djokovic who had tried to serve and volley, to take the set. As the Centre Court exploded in glee, Alcaraz stood rooted to the spot, soaking up the cheers.

Having been fighting to remain level with Djokovic, Alcaraz suddenly took the upper hand. He suddenly found more free points on his serve, more nuclear forehands failed to come back. Djokovic looked visibly frazzled as his unforced errors finally began to flow, arguing with the umpire over the shot clock and gesturing to the crowd. As Alcaraz continued to impose sustained pressure, at 3-1 an absurd 26 minute game with 13 deuces and seven break points ended in Alcaraz snatching a decisive double break en route to a two sets to one lead.

The inevitable retort from Djokovic came quickly. After Alcaraz badly missed a simple volley in his 2-2 service game, Djokovic pounced. He produced some of his best returning of the match, breaking to take a 3-2 lead before blowing a kiss towards the crowd. Energised and alert, Djokovic forced blitzed through the remainder of the set, his spectacular returns eliciting a double fault from Alcaraz on set point.