Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in an epic bout at Wimbledon
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final on Sunday that included a 24-minute singles game.
Djokovic took the first set 6-1, but Alcaraz came back to win the next two. But Djokovic forced a fifth set before trailing Alcaraz early in that set before going back to 5-4 in sets. But Alcaraz took the next game, giving him the victory in the match.
In the final, top-seeded Alcaraz faced Djokovic, who won his 23rd Grand Slam title in June, setting a men’s record.
Instead of 36-year-old Djokovic from Serbia, who became the oldest Wimbledon men’s champion in the Open Era, the third among the youngest was 20-year-old Alcaraz from Spain. The age difference between the two was the largest in the men’s Slam finals since 1974.
So there were young people on Alcaraz’s side, which, of course, was also the case during their meeting at the French Open last month. It was extraordinary for two sets before Alcaraz shrunk and disappeared. This time he had enough stamina and punches to get past Djokovic.
Alcaraz is faster and capable of more power – serving at 130 mph, forehand at 100 mph – but Djokovic is blessed with a lot of talent and huge muscle memory. He was there and did it in ways that Alcaraz can only dream of so far.
But if this victory on a windy and overcast day on Center Court, where Djokovic last lost in the 2013 final, was any sign that Alcaraz is on his way to great success himself.
However, all of this is relatively new to him: Djokovic’s record-breaking 35th Grand Slam final was Alcaraz’s second.
However, it was Alcaraz who won the 32-point, 25-minute mini-masterpiece of the game en route to the third set. And it was Alcaraz who took the lead for good, taking a 2-1 lead in the fifth with a winning pass from the left. Djokovic, who fell during the point play but quickly rebounded, responded by hitting the net with his racket, releasing the shot. He destroyed his equipment and received a code violation from Chair Judge Fergus Murphy.
They played another 24 minutes, bringing the total game time to over 4.5 hours, but Alcaraz never gave up, never gave up. And it was Alcaraz, not Djokovic, who got the trophy in the evening.
