(Tennis news) Novak Djokovic has spent the past few years of men’s tennis destroying the hopes and dreams of nearly all younger challengers at the major tournaments, not only continuing to hold off the next generation, but relishing his supremacy over them as his great rivals have faded from view.
But it’s been obvious for a while that Carlos Alcaraz is just unique. He stands out for both his unmatched abilities on the court and the exceptional mental toughness that drives him to victory. Alcaraz overcame a set disadvantage to play at an amazing level across five sets as the No. 1 seed defeated Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to win his maiden Wimbledon title, a month after his body gave up under the intense pressure of playing Djokovic at the French Open.
It was a tremendous encounter, and Alcaraz had an unbelievable performance. To win, he had to have unwavering self-confidence and consistently execute shots of the highest calibre throughout the course of five sets.
“It’s great to win but even if I had lost, I would be really proud of myself with this amazing run, making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport,” Alcaraz said. “It’s incredible, it’s a dream come true, to be able to play in these stages. It’s amazing, for a boy of 20 years old, I didn’t expect to reach this kind of situation really fast. I am really, really proud of myself.”
Few 20-year-olds have seen Alcaraz’s career trajectory before, but despite the deafening hype, the top seed’s performance at Wimbledon has somehow surpassed it. His capacity for growth, learning, and adaptation astounds. Alcaraz started the grass-court season less than four weeks ago by merely attempting to learn how to play tennis on the court without being so distracted by his balance and movement. At Queen’s Club, he came very close to losing to No. 83 Arthur Rinderknech.
Since then, he has swept the competition, improving with each victory as he builds a 12-match winning streak at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon. Since Andy Murray in the 2013 final, Alcaraz is the first player to defeat Djokovic on Centre Court in a full decade. Alcaraz confessed, “I’ve fallen in love with grass right now.
After Boris Becker and Björn Borg, he is the third-youngest winner of the Wimbledon men’s singles crown at the age of 20. He is the first new male player to win multiple major championships since Stan Wawrinka in 2015 thanks to his second grand slam victory. He has prevented Djokovic, 36, from tying Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon championships by ending Djokovic’s four-year dominance at Wimbledon.
“I guess when all the emotions are settled, I have to still be very grateful because I won many, many tight and close matches in the past years,” Djokovic said. “To name a few, in the 2019 final against Roger, when I was match points down. Maybe I should have lost a couple of finals that I won. I think this is even-steven.”
Early on, it appeared that experience would win as second seed Djokovic suffocated Alcaraz with his relentless depth and retrieving prowess. Djokovic had a 5-0 lead after just 27 minutes and comfortably wrapped up the set. The second set was amazing as they tussled in high-octane rallies, Alcaraz forcing as Djokovic responded, with two of the best athletes in the game covering every blade of grass. But Alcaraz gradually started to find his range, and the intensity increased.
In the second set tie-break, Alcaraz first revealed his emotional state. It was Djokovic who faltered with clumsy unforced errors, serving well and attacking without hesitancy. On set point, Alcaraz beat Djokovic with a lovely backhand return winner while the audience cheered.
The Spanish player’s game started to really take off after securing a set. More undefended nuclear forehands failed to return as he unexpectedly found more free points on his serve. He breezed through the set, taking a gruelling 26-minute game at 3-1 with 13 aces and seven break points to the point when Alcaraz broke Djokovic’s serve to earn a crucial double break.
In the tie-break of the second set, Alcaraz first revealed his attitude. Djokovic was the one who faltered with ugly unforced errors, despite his strong serving and unafraid approach. Alcaraz beat Djokovic with an exquisite backhand return winner on set point, earning the cheers of the audience.
The Spanish player’s game really got going once he secured a set. As a result, more nuclear forehands that were intended to come back failed and he unexpectedly discovered more free points on his serve. He swept the set, winning a taxing 26-minute game at 3-1 with 13 aces and seven break points that resulted in Alcaraz breaking Djokovic’s serve to earn a pivotal double break.
In set four, Djokovic broke serve to take a 3-2 lead and, as was predicted, answered with some of his finest returning of the match. He then blew a kiss to the audience. He forced a fifth set, feeling energised and focused.
Alcaraz refused to cower when facing the greatest player of all time in a fifth set. He soon saved a breakpoint himself after missing one in the first game with his spectacular, desperate defence, which resulted in a drive volley blunder from Djokovic. A breathless exchange on Djokovic’s serve at break point resulted in the Serb falling down, getting back up, and then watching as Alcaraz hit a backhand down-the-line passing shot winner to break as the tension in the match increased once more. Djokovic banged his racket on the net post as Alcaraz celebrated gaining a 2-1 lead.
Alcaraz continued to advance while facing the greatest returner in history, who is renowned for his capacity to come back from any deficit. Every time he needed them, he found huge forehands and tremendous serves. Alcaraz then served out the match of his life in a magnificent game that featured a daring drop shot and a lunging volley victory at 5-4 without showing any signs of anxiety or jitters.
Also read: Carlos Alcaraz will play Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon 2023 finals
