Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday overpowered seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title in a brutal statement that the new era of men’s tennis has arrived.
The Spanish third seed produced a performance combining awesome power with delicate touch to win 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), collecting the fourth Grand Slam of his young career.
Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at age 21 or under, joining Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander, and is just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back.
Photo: AFP
Djokovic, 37, who had knee surgery just weeks ago, was aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam — which would have been a record in the men’s and women’s game.
However, he had no answers in the Centre Court sunshine as the electric Alcaraz pounded him from the back of the court and treated the crowd to an array of his trademark drop shots.
“Honestly, it is a dream for me winning this trophy,” the Spaniard said. “I did an interview when I was 11 and I said my dream is to win Wimbledon.”
“For me this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and the most beautiful trophy,” he added.
Alcaraz paid tribute to his beaten opponent, who only found his range in the third set.
“Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he was going to have his chances,” said Alcaraz who had needed five sets to defeat the Serb in last year’s final. “It was difficult, but I tried to stay calm going into the tie-break and tried to play my best tennis. I was glad at the end I could find the solutions.”
Alcaraz described Djokovic as “Superman” before the tournament started and said he had no reason to change his mind afterward.
“I’m still believing that Novak is Superman because what he has done this tournament with a surgery just a few weeks before the tournament began,” Alcaraz said. “It is amazing. It is unbelievable. Honestly, as I said on court, I was talking to my team that the work that Novak has done has been unbelievable.”
Alcaraz seized the initiative in a first game of breathtaking quality lasting 14 minutes, taking advantage of his fifth break point.
The Spaniard settled quickly into his routine on serve and went up a double break when Djokovic double-faulted in the fifth game.
The shell-shocked Serbian, playing in his 10th Wimbledon final, held serve to love to close the gap to 5-2, but dumped the ball into the net to hand the Spaniard the first set.
Alcaraz was immediately on the front foot in the second set, forcing a break in the first game and fending off pressure on his own serve to take a 2-0 lead.
A Djokovic backhand into the net in the seventh game handed Alcaraz another break point and a double fault put the defending champion 5-2 up and on the cusp of a two-set lead.
The Centre Court crowd, including Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales, looked on in disbelief as their hopes for a titanic tussle evaporated.
The under-par Djokovic fended off another of clutch of break points early in the third set to stay alive and showed signs that he was finding his rhythm.
Alcaraz broke for a 5-4 lead and moved to 40-0 on his own serve, only to suffer a wobble as Djokovic saved all three championship points, breaking for the first time in the match.
He recovered his composure quickly and the set went to a tie-break.
Djokovic went wide with a forehand to give Alcaraz a 5-3 lead and the Spaniard won the title with his fourth championship point, clambering up to the players’ box to celebrate with his family and coaching team.
The champion struck 42 winners to Djokovic’s 26 over the course of the match.
Catherine, patron of the All England Club, handed over the trophy.
Last month, she tentatively returned to public life for the first time since her cancer diagnosis.
Djokovic, still without a title this year, now turns his attention to the Paris Olympics as he seeks to win gold for the first time.
“It obviously was not the result I wanted, but of course in the first couple of sets the level of tennis wasn’t up to par from my side,” he said. “But credit to Carlos for playing elite tennis, especially from the back of the court, he had it all today.”
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