Carlos Alcaraz has won Wimbledon by defeating Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller that will go down as one of the best finals we have ever seen. The 20-year-old came back from a hammering in the first set to win 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 on Centre Court.
In a game played in front of one of the most vocal crowds we’ve seen at Wimbledon, we saw absolutely everything. A single game lasted 26 minutes, Djokovic wrapped his racquet around the net post and Alcaraz repeatedly produced incredible drop shots in the most unlikely circumstances.
"You inspire me a lot," the first time champion said to Djokovic after the win.
"I started playing tennis watching you. Since I was born you were already winning tournaments. It is amazing."
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The first set, 6-1 to Djokovic, took just 34 minutes as the Serbian hit top gear early on and Alcaraz, just 20, seemed to struggle with the occasion. The Spaniard has a bucketload of quality however and in the second set, came out fighting. There were early breaks on both sides, a 29 shot rally on a break point, and Djokovic whipped the crowd up to support him.
The Serbian doesn’t usually have the crowd against him as they were here, and it seemed to trouble him at times as he vented his frustration on more than one occasion. It went all the way to a tie-break and Djokovic went 3-0 up but Alcaraz brought it back to 3-3. At 5-4 down in the tie-break, Djokovic was finally pulled up for a time violation, taking too long on his serve. Two missed ground strokes from the champion gave the Spaniard his own set point, and he responded to Djokovic’s serve with a stunning backhand to level the final.
Then Alcaraz broke Djokovic in the very first game of the third set as the seven-time champ grew frustrated. He whined to the umpire, still aggrieved about that time penalty, but he would play his part in one of the greatest single games of tennis we have ever seen. Certainly at Wimbledon.
With Djokovic 3-1 down in the third set, the pair embarked on one epic game. 13 deuces, some of the best tennis you will see. It lasted 26 minutes before eventually, after 32 points, Alcaraz made the breakthrough to put himself in full control of the set. From that point, Djokovic faded as Alcaraz won the third set 6-1 in emphatic fashion.
Before the fourth, the reigning champion went for a change and a small break to allow him to reset. It was a moment of respite that allowed him to focus, and he was back to his best in set four. He finally broke Alvarez in game five and then again on his way to a 6-4 success and given Djok has won ten and lost one five-set match at Wimbledon, that defeat coming back in 2006, it felt like the pendulum had swung back in his favour.
We headed to five and Djokovic had an early break point, but his smash to the delight of the crowd. It’s rare to hear Centre Court this vibrant and vocal, and there was genuine delight when he eventually held his serve. Then, he pulled off a spectacular passing shot to land the first break of the deciding set, one that caused Djokovic to smash his racquet into the wooden net post in frustration.
If the crowd were against him before, they certainly were now. Yet in that moment he’d actually done himself more damage, as he tended to his now sore wrist while Alcaraz won his next service game to love. The pair continued to hold serve as the challenger went 4-3 up and continued to flummox Djokovic with his relentless drop shots. They held again.
Now Alcaraz was serving for the match. He produced more sensational tennis - in fact both players did as the Spaniard moved to match point at 40-30. Then he took his chance and collapsed on the floor as Djokovic’s return could only hit the net.
The celebrations, not only from his own box, but for the entire crowd were incredible. Alcaraz climbed up to his box to embrace his nearest and dearest, screamed to the crowd, and then gave a nod to Djokovic’s box. We have witnessed one of the very best Wimbledon finals, and now just perhaps, the crowning of a new king. Alcaraz now adds Wimbledon to the US Open title he won last year, and he’s the world number one.
Djokovic has given Wimbledon so much in the past, and he played his part in this truly great final. But Alcaraz at 20 has just beaten the king on his own patch. Now that’s a statement.
