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| Spain's Carlos Alcaraz holds the winner's trophy after beating Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their men's singles final tennis match on the last day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 16, 2023. AFP |
Carlos Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, shattering the Serb’s dream of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown.
World number one Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first
set and saving a set point in the second to win 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre Court.
It was a second major for the 20-year-old Spaniard following
his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s
champion.
The result will also spark feverish speculation over the
start of a generational shift, with 36-year-old Djokovic carrying the torch of
the ‘Big Three’ now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is
sidelined, perhaps permanently.
Australian Open and French Open champion Djokovic had been
bidding to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and match Margaret
Court’s all-time mark of 24 Slams.
When he won his first major at the Australian Open in 2008,
Alcaraz was still three months shy of his fifth birthday.
Djokovic was playing in his ninth final at Wimbledon and
35th at the majors, while for Alcaraz it was just a second in the Slams
following his US Open triumph.
The Serb went into the match not having lost on Centre Court
since his 2013 final defeat to Andy Murray and he hit with relentless precision
in the first set.
Alcaraz, who had been crippled by body cramping in his loss
to Djokovic in the French Open semi-final in June, was unable to settle and let
a break point slip away in the seven-minute opening game.
Golden Chance
Djokovic took advantage and raced into a 5-0 lead on the
back of a double break before the Spaniard got on the board.
It was too little, too late as Djokovic claimed the opening
set with a smash.
But Alcaraz finally freed himself of his shackles and broke
for 2-1 in the second set.
Djokovic hit straight back in the third game before saving a
break point in the fourth, coming out on top of a 29-shot rally.
The Serb was hit with a time violation in the tie-break
before seeing a set point saved.
Alcaraz needed no second invitation when he carved out and
converted a set point to level the contest with a backhand winner.
The marathon set had taken 85 minutes as Djokovic’s run of
15 tie-breaks won in a row at the majors ended.
Alcaraz broke in the opening game of the third set and again
after an exhausting 26-minute fifth game, which went to 13 deuces and saw
Djokovic save six break points before he cracked on the seventh.
Alcaraz backed it up with a rapid-fire service game which
took just two minutes in comparison and broke again against the dispirited
defending champion to move two sets to one ahead.
Djokovic argued with umpire Fergus Murphy over his
monitoring of the shot clock and did little to endear himself with the crowd by
taking a lengthy toilet break before the fourth set.
However, the break worked wonders as the Serb broke twice in
the set, levelling the final courtesy of Alcaraz’s seventh double fault of the
final.
Djokovic wasted a golden chance to break for 2-0 in the
decider with a wild smash and Alcaraz made him pay, breaking for 2-1.
A frustrated Djokovic collected another code violation for
destroying his racquet against the net post before he slipped 3-1 down.
Alcaraz was not to be denied and he claimed a famous victory
when Djokovic buried a forehand in the net. AFP