The Iberian prodigy overthrew the Serbian, undefeated on the London lawn since 2017, to win his second career Grand Slam on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz is the new master of the place in London. The Spaniard overthrew Novak Djokovic (1-6, 7-6 [6]6-1, 3-6, 6-4) after a very high-level final on Sunday July 16, and won Wimbledon for the first time in his career.
The world number 1, badly embarked on the first leg, sublimated himself to dismiss the Serb, yet winner of the last four editions and undefeated on the London lawn since 2017. At just 20 years old, he wins his second Major, after the US Open last September and proves, if necessary, that he is the new boss of world tennis.
If the legendary resilience of Novak Djokovic necessarily requires taking tweezers, it looks oddly like a transfer of power. At 36, the undisputed king of English grass was dethroned by his natural heir, after a crazy intense 4:42 fight. From this marathon which devotes a little more Carlos Alcaraz among the greatest, we will retain an anthology game in the third set, whose scenario sounds strangely like a mirror of the meeting.
26 minutes and 13 draws in an anthology game
The two men each had a sleeve in their wallet, and took… 26 minutes to decide, chaining the high-flying points. It took 12 draws and seven break points for the Murcian to take the service of his opponent, winning a decisive advantage (4-1) in a set easily won (6-1). Carlos Alcaraz then overdoes the dynamics of a first feat, after beating his opponent in the tie-break (7-6 [8-6] in the second round). Novak Djokovic had however made these decisive games a lethal weapon and remained on fifteen rank successes in the Grand Slam exercise.
At the end of these two key moments, the stammering start of the Spaniard seemed far away. The one that saw him drink the cup in a first set quickly dispatched by Djokovic (1-6 in 34 minutes) where, without being dropped, Alcaraz seemed borrowed. After this initial hitch, he raised his level of play and did not fail either in the face of the return of the injured Serbian beast in the fourth set. Refreshed by his traditional temporary return to the locker room, the “Djoker” pulled himself together (4-6), before giving up for good in the decisive set (6-4).
Alcaraz, the next generation is finally here
Even in great shape and not panicked by the extended duels, Djokovic suffered from his inevitable physical deficit, facing an opponent 16 years his junior and therefore more likely to repeat the exchanges until they were worn out. We know his appetite too well not to doubt his immediate thirst for revenge, but the “Djoker” suffered a blow to which he was no longer used to in London. His last defeat – excluding retirement – at Wimbledon dates back to 2016, in the third round against Sam Querrey, and we even have to go back to 2013 to find any trace of a defeat on Center Court. Carlos Alcaraz was just 10 years old.