Carlos Alcaraz is the new Wimbledon champion after coming through a thrilling five setter against Novak Djokovic. He hit 66 winners in a stunning performance against the four-time defending champion, taking the match 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 in just under five hours. The Spaniard also holds on to his spot as World No.1 with the win, extending his lead at the top with this title.
Alcaraz had faltered against Djokovic at the French Open and it felt like history repeating itself in the opening set. He just could not get going against a Djokovic set on further history, getting broken twice on his way to losing a lopsided first set. He broke early in the second set but was pegged back immediately, eventually leading to a tiebreak after no further breaks. With an opportunity to take a 2-0 lead and most likely put the match to bed, Djokovic hit a routine backhand into the net on set point. An ill-advised serve-volley attempt didn’t pay off on Alcaraz’s set point, leading to the match being tied up at a set apiece.
Djokovic’s level dipped further in the third set but it was the fifth game of the set that showed the tide and well and truly turned. Already up a break, Alcaraz finally added a second after winning a 27-minute game to go up 4-1. Despite the third set ending 6-1 in the Spaniard’s favour, it still ended up lasting an hour. Alcaraz had the opportunity to move even closer to victory early in the fourth, but failed to take advantage of two break points early on. He would have no more chances for the rest of the set, as Djokovic upped his level a bit more and broke twice to tie things up.
While it was Alcaraz, who hit 66 winners, that had been dictating the match for large parts, two of the biggest moments were Djokovic’s routine misses at big points. The second of those came at the Serbian’s break point opportunity at 1-0 in the decider. Some stunning defence forced him into making a decision on a sliced lob attempt with Djokovic’s overhead troubles plaguing him once again. He waited further for it to come down and would instead hit a forehand into the net.
Alcaraz hit 18 winners to Djokovic’s 3 in the decider, showing who was dictating the match even in the latter stages. He broke for 2-1 and held his nerve from there on out. A stunning stretch volley for 30-15 in the final game ensured he never fell behind, eventually taking the title on his first match point opportunity. A cross-court forehand took Djokovic too wide with this being one retrieval too many, as his shot went into the net.
With this win, the possibility of the final blow being put in the Big Three might be a legitimate prospect. Each iteration of the next generation from Dimitrov, Thiem, Zverev and Sinner had been found wanting but Alcaraz may be the one the finally has the answer as Djokovic ages. “Beating Novak at his best, in this stage, making history, being the guy to beat him after 10 years unbeaten on that court, is amazing for me,” the Spaniard said. “It’s something that I will never forget, that’s for sure. It’s great for the new generation, as well, I think to see me beating him and making them think that they are capable to do it, as well. It’s great for me and I think for the young players, as well.”
Djokovic spoke very fondly of Alcaraz post-match, recognising the extent of the talent by the star who bested him. “I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about [Alcaraz’s] game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically best of all three worlds,” He said. “He’s got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years. And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that he’s got some similarities with my backhands. The two-handed backhands, defence, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too.”
