Before the Spanish king, a new Spanish king.
With a performance full of courage and charisma, Carlos Alcaraz ended Novak Djokovic’s five-year reign as Wimbledon champion, won a second grand slam title and ushered in a new era in men’s tennis.
Watched by King Felipe VI of Spain, Alcaraz prevailed 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to become the first men’s singles winner at the All England Club from outside the quartet of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray or Djokovic since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.
He did it over the long haul, too, coming through a final that was, at four hours and 43 minutes, the third longest in Wimbledon history. It was the perfect riposte to those who questioned the 20-year-old’s mentality and resilience after he was overcome by anxiety in his first grand-slam meeting with Djokovic at Roland Garros last month, suffering a debilitating attack of cramp.
“I am a totally different player than [at the] French Open,” said Alcaraz. “I grew up a lot since that moment. I learned a lot from that moment. As I said before the final, I took lessons from that match.
“I prepared a little bit different mentally before this match. I could deal with the pressure, the nerves, better than I did at the French Open.
“Making history [as] I did today, it’s the happiest moment of my life.
“Beating Novak, winning a Wimbledon championship, is something that I dreamt about since I start to playing tennis. [It’s] the biggest moment of my life.”
Coming from anyone else, the idea of undergoing wholesale transformation in the space of a month would seem preposterous. In Alcaraz’s case, the evidence has been there to see. Since making a faltering start to the grass-court season at Queen’s, where he arrived having played just six matches on the surface in his life and went on to win the title, he has looked more accomplished with every win.
At Wimbledon, he lost just two sets on the way to the quarter-finals, from which point emphatic victories over Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev suggested he might push Djokovic close. Few, however, predicted that Alcaraz would actually dethrone the defending champion, let alone in the manner that he did. Here was a match for the ages, a contest that will be remembered for years to come for its drama, intensity and wider significance. For years, we have wondered when a new generation would rise to challenge the traditional order; here was the first evidence of such a moment.
“Beating Novak at his best, on this stage, making history, being the guy to beat him after 10 years unbeaten on that court, is amazing for me,” said Alcaraz. “It’s something that I will never forget.
“It’s great for the new generation as well, I think, to see me beating him and making them think that they are capable to do it.”
Predictably, it required a monumental effort to prevent Djokovic from equalling Roger Federer’s record tally of eight titles. The Serb had not lost on Centre Court since 2013, when he was beaten in the final by Andy Murray, an interested onlooker here. When Djokovic raced through the opening set in just 34 minutes, making just two unforced errors in the process, the odds were stacked against Alcaraz altering that remarkable statistic. The 36-year-old had only lost five times in his career after winning the opening set at a major – and never at Wimbledon.
With the chance to complete the third leg of the grand slam at stake, following his victories at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, as well as the opportunity to match Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slam titles, it was a dream start for Djokovic. And as he recovered from an early break down in the second set to force a tiebreak, it seemed likely to get even better. Djokovic came into the match on a winning run of 15 consecutive tiebreaks in grand slam play, and when Alcaraz made a tentative approach to the net at 5-5 in the shootout, allowing the Serb to slot away a precise backhand pass, the match was effectively a point away from being over.
“If I would have lost that set, probably I couldn’t lift the trophy,” said Alcaraz. “I probably would have lost in straight sets.”
Crucially, though, Alcaraz didn’t lose it. Instead, Djokovic made two unforced backhand errors to bring up a set point for the top seed, who gleefully converted the opportunity with a thumping backhand pass.
“Just two very poor backhands,” said Djokovic. “That’s it. The match shifted to his side.”
The reality was a little more complicated than that. A break early in the third set put Alcaraz ahead for the first time in the match but, even as he finally began to find his rhythm and range, Djokovic continued to press hard. In the fourth game, the Spaniard boldly fended off the second of two break points with a 112mph second serve to maintain his lead. Then came a monumental game on Djokovic’s serve, a match within a match that lasted for 26 minutes and spanned 13 deuces before Alcaraz finally converted his seventh break point.
That setback temporarily knocked the stuffing out of Djokovic, who retreated to the sanctuary of the bathroom at the end of the set and did not return for seven minutes. Booed on his return, Djokovic immediately set about his task with renewed relish, pushing hard against the Alcaraz serve and final making a breakthrough in the fifth game when the Spaniard, attempting to fend off a third break point, missed an attempted dink at the net. It was all Djokovic needed to force a decider.
On to the fifth we went, where Alcaraz was denied an early break point by a typically precise serve down the centre-line from Djokovic. In the third game, however, an extraordinary display of defensive resilience from Alcaraz culminated with the Spaniard drilling a backhand pass down the line to secure a break he would not relinquish. Djokovic obliterated his racket against the net post after that point, earning a code violation for his troubles. It was a rare loss of equilibrium from the Serb, but then he has rarely faced a challenge like Alcaraz.
“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest,” said Djokovic. “Roger and Rafa have their own strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is very complete player, [he has] amazing adaptive capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for successful career on all surfaces.”