On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz won a historic match at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, winning his first Wimbledon title against seven-time winner Novak Djokovic.
The 20-year-old defeated the Serbian 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the final to dethrone the 36-year-old in an entertaining five-setter.
Djokovic dominated the first set of the final, breaking the young Spaniard early and marching to a 6-1 victory.
But Alcaraz found his rhythm in the second set when the players matched each other’s shots and hard running to force a tiebreaker, which Alcaraz won 8-6. Given the Serbian’s track record in crucial situations, it was surprising that the Spaniard took a set from the 36-year-old in a tiebreaker.
Alcaraz built up his confidence as the match progressed, winning the third set 6-1 against the Serbian and beating him twice. However, after a lengthy bathroom break of over six and a half minutes, Djokovic returned to the court to a strong reception and started demonstrating the characteristics of the champion we have seen over the years, winning the fourth set 6-3 to force a fifth set in the summit fight against the 20-year-old.
Djokovic began the fifth set by saving a break point and completing his service game on the second advantage point before allowing Alcaraz to levelled it up at 1-1.
Alcaraz broke Djokovic and followed it up with a hold to take a 3-1 lead, which Djokovic cut down with a hold, but Alcaraz went on to win 4-2.
Djokovic’s experience came to the fore as he clamped down on the gap and pulled off an astonishing service hold, but he was a breakdown in the final set and was unable to recover as Alcaraz served out well to pick the championship as he sank to the grass.
