16 July 2023 , 17:53
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Carlos Alcaraz is the new king of Wimbledon after ending the reign of defending champion Novak Djokovic in an epic final to announce a new era in men’s tennis.
The Serbian superstar had been unbeaten on Centre Court since 2013 and the Australian and French Open champion was seeking the third leg of the calendar Grand Slam.
And the seven-time champion won the first five games and raced to the first set in only 34 minutes in his record 35th Grand Slam final. But the world No.1 showed he has courage as well as unlimited skill as he fought back to win an epic contest 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes.
Wills and Kate and family, Daniel Craig and Brad Pitt were among the Centre Court crowd, but the charismatic Alcaraz was the real star as Djokovic once again played the bad guy by smashing his racket in frustration on the net post.
Alcaraz won the US Open last September when Djokovic was barred from entering the USA for refusing to get a COVID vaccine. The Spaniard was injured at the Australian Open and then succumbed to nervous cramp in the French Open semi-finals before the Serb went on to win his male record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.
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Djokovic had won his last 34 matches dating back to 2017 and was seeking to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight titles. But the ultra-fit 36-year-old, who appeared troubled by a left groin strain, was ultimately outlasted by the vibrant the 20-year-old.
Alcaraz becomes the third youngest male winner in the Open era after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg - and the third Spaniard after Manuel Santana and Rafa Nadal.
Novak Djokovic blew a kiss to the crowd in frustration (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The royals loved what they saw on Centre Court (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)But it looked very different at the start. If the first set had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped. After slipping and then saving a break point in the opening game, the aggressive Djokovic raced into a 5-0 lead and Alcaraz needed 32 minutes to win his first game. The Serb took his first set point after 34 minutes with a clean overhead in a set where Alcaraz won on 14 per cent of points on his second serve.
At this point there only looked like there would be one winner as Alcaraz was pressurised into going for big shots and making mistakes by the brilliant Djokovic defence. On a windy day, he was getting blown away.
In the biggest age gap between finalists since the 1974 final between Jimmy Connors (21) and Ken Rosewall (39), it looked like a man against a boy.
Alcaraz finally broke the Serb serve to lead 2-0 after 48 minutes when Djokovic pulled a forehand into the tramlines. But the defending champion immediately broke back when the Spaniard missed a forehand - and Djokovic looked defiantly into the crowd before the set went to a tiebreak.
Djokovic had won his last 13 tiebreaks dating back to April - and his last 15 in Grand Slams since the second round of the Australian Open in January.
Carlos Alcaraz dropped to the floor after winning (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic was very animated on Centre Court (Julian Finney/Getty Images)He led 3-0 but was finally hit with a time violation by Irish umpire Fergus Murphy at 5-4. He lost the next point but then had a point for a two-set lead at 6-5 before a backhand error caused the arena to erupt in chants for both players at 6-6. Alcaraz handled the atmosphere better as Djokovic committed another backhand error before the Spaniard hid a backhand winner as the Serb served and volleyed on set point. Alcaraz cupped his hand to ear at the eruption of applause.
He continued his momentum by breaking in the first game of the third set. But the set and the match was decided in an extraordinary 26-minute fifth game which saw 32 points and 13 deuces before Alcaraz took his seventh break point when Djokovic netted a forehand.
The first 34-minute first set had seen only 13 more points. Djokovic checked out of the rest of the set - he was broken for a third time - before both players then took a toilet break. But Djokovic took much longer and he strolled back onto Centre Court to mild boos after seven minutes. His left groin already taped, he looked like the injury was now troubling him more.
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Kate had to explain some of the goings on (Karwai Tang/WireImage/ Getty Images)Yet after losing six consecutive points from 0-30 in the opening Alcaraz service game, Djokovic re-found the length of his groundstrokes and his mojo.
At 2-2, the Serb took his third break point when Alcaraz netted a half volley at the net and turned and blew a kiss to the crowd. An Alcaraz double fault saw the match level at two-sets all after three hours and 54 minutes.
Djokovic had not lost a fifth set since the 2019 French Open semi-final against Dominich Thiem - and had won five of his six Grand Slam finals that went the distance.
At 0-1, Djokovic had a break point but netted a forehand swing volley after an Alcaraz backhand lob.
In the next game, he got up off the floor on a break point to Alcaraz before the Spaniard flashed a backhand pass down the line - and Djokovic smashed his racket on the net post in frustration.
He received his second code violation - this time for racket abuse. Serving for the match at 5-4, Alcaraz produced a stunning lob and brilliant stretch volley winner before taking his first match point when Djokovic’s forehand hit the net.
Djokovic broke down in tears during his post-match interview (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Djokovic leaves the court in tears after his interviewDjokovic broke down in tears after the match, as he praised Alcaraz and sent a message to his son.
Djokovic said: "I have to start with praises to Carlos and his team. What quality at the end of the match, when you had to serve it out. You came up with some big plays in the big situation and you absolutely deserve it. Amazing.
"As for me, you never like to lose matches like these but I guess when all the emotions are settled I'll have to be very grateful. I won many tight and close matches in the past here. Maybe I should have lost a few finals that I won so maybe this is even stevens.
"I've been blessed with so many incredible matches throughout my career. I'm really grateful. I lost to a better player and I have to move on stronger."
Asked to give a message to his team, he said: "It's nice to see my son still there, still smiling. I love you, thank you for supporting me and we can all have a big hug, and love each other. Thank you."
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain kisses the Men's Singles TrophyAlcaraz himself declared: “It’s a dream come true for me. I said before it would be so good to win but even if I would have lost I would be really proud of myself.
"Making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of the sport. It’s a dream come true. It was unbelievable to play. It’s amazing for a boy – 20 years-old - I didn’t expect to reach this situation really fast.
"I am really proud of myself, I am really proud for the team and the work we put in every day to be able to lift this. After the first set I thought ‘Carlos, increase the level'.
Tim Henman, speaking on BBC TV, labelled it "an extraordinary final" and declared: "I am really confident this will not be his only Wimbledon title."