There he lay, the young king, face in his hands, overwhelmed by the importance of this moment. He had run, he had fought, he had suffered and he had rejoiced. Now he had reached his goal: Wimbledon winner, 1: 6, 7: 6 (8: 6), 6: 1, 3: 6, 6: 4 in the final against Novak Djokovic. Carlos Alcaraz, the new star in the tennis sky, had also conquered the sanctuary of his sport.
It was a grand final, a rousing one, one of the best to be seen on the famous Center Court in recent years. With spectacular rallies in a row, spectacular turns, great emotions and in the end with the youngest Wimbledon champion since Boris Becker – the first in 20 years who is not called Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray.
“A dream come true”
In this duel of generations, between the 36-year-old Djokovic and his 16-year-old challenger, there were a number of moments in which fate could have turned. But Alcaraz kept freeing himself from pressure situations with world-class shots. Since 2017, Djokovic had not left the “sacred lawn” at Wimbledon as a loser, had won 34 matches and four titles in a row. Now he found his master in the young Spaniard.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Alcaraz, who won his second Grand Slam title at the age of 20 after last year’s US Open. “I would have been happy if I lost because I played a great final against a legend in our sport. Now I’m incredibly proud.”
A little over a month ago, Djokovic and Alcaraz had faced each other at Grand Slam level. At the French Open, that was supposedly Alcaraz’s best tennis surface, on sand. Although it was only the semi-finals, many suspected that the winner of this encounter would have an easy time in the final. That’s how it happened. Djokovic first won against Alcaraz and then safely against the Norwegian Casper Ruud.
Alcaraz had been plagued by cramps from the third set in this duel. In Wimbledon he has now said that this was probably due to his extreme nervous tension. He keeps saying that smiling while playing is the key to success for him. But how should that succeed in the Wimbledon final of all places, where the pressure is so much greater because the reward is so much sweeter?
A shock to start with
In fact, Alcaraz didn’t seem tense in the early minutes of the match. But no matter what he tried, Djokovic always had the better answer. It’s usually the opponents who have to play every point two or three times to the end against Alcaraz, because “Carlitos” with the big fighter’s heart plays back even the best attacking ball. But this time it was he who despaired of Djokovic’s human ball wall.
And so the view of the scoreboard on Center Court after 27 minutes was a bit of a shock, and not just for the spectators. White on black it was 5-0 for Djokovic, although Alcaraz hadn’t even disappointed. But Djokovic played almost flawlessly. That only changed in the second set. Also because Alcaraz now drastically reduced the error rate themselves and also dosed their attack shots better.
It was an electric atmosphere at the most famous tennis stadium in the world. Although the majority of the spectators seemed to support Alcaraz, Djokovic also had part of the audience on his side. When the situation came to a head at the end of the second set, both camps got into a good mood in the stands. Djokovic had won 15 tiebreaks in a row at Grand Slam tournaments. This time he lost. And the match tipped in the other direction for the first time.
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Big tennis for everyone: The secrets behind the strokes of the stars Image: picture alliance, editing: FAZ
It was by no means the case that everything went by itself after that for the new champions Alcaraz. But rally after rally, game after game, the Spaniard seemed to wear his opponent down from then on. The fifth game in the third set alone lasted 26 minutes, it was the longest ever in a Wimbledon final. In the end, Alcaraz made the break. It was one of three that got to him alone in this passage.
The next turn came in the fourth set: Suddenly it was Djokovic again who had the momentum on his side. And as the match descended into its home stretch in the fifth, it was impossible to tell who would prevail in this fascinating slugfest.
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There were also a few moments in the final section when Djokovic, who fell behind early with a break, worked on a comeback again. But after 4:42 fascinating hours, a forehand from the Serb landed in the net. And Wimbledon had a new king.
