Alcaraz wins the first Wimbledon title by defeating Djokovic in five sets

The 20-year-old Spaniard won his second major after winning the US Open last year, becoming the third-youngest male champion at Wimbledon.

On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz overcame seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon championship, ending the Serbian’s hopes of capturing a Grand Slam record-tying 24th victory.

After spending four hours and forty-two minutes on Centre Court, world number one Alcaraz overcame losing the first set and saving a set point in the second to triumph 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

The 20-year-old Spaniard won his second major after winning the US Open last year, becoming the third-youngest male champion at Wimbledon.

The outcome will also lead to hysterical conjecture about the beginning of a generational change, with 36-year-old Djokovic taking up the ‘Big Three’ mantle now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is possibly out of commission for good.

Djokovic, the winner of the French Open and the Australian Open, had been aiming to match Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Slams and match Federer’s milestone of eight Wimbledon victories.

Alcaraz was still three months away from becoming five years old when he captured his first major title at the Australian Open in 2008.

Djokovic was competing in his ninth Wimbledon final and 35th major final, while Alcaraz was competing in just his second Slam final after winning the US Open.

The Serb entered the contest unbeaten on Centre Court since losing to Andy Murray in the final in 2013, and he blasted with unrelenting accuracy in the opening set.

In the seven-minute first game, Alcaraz, who had been hampered by body cramps in his loss to Djokovic in the French Open semifinal in June, was unable to focus and allowed a break point to slip away.

Best Opportunity
Before the Spaniard could respond, Djokovic pounced on the opportunity and quickly built a 5-0 lead thanks to a double break.

It was too late; Djokovic had already won the first set with a smash.

But in the second set, Alcaraz broke to take a 2-1 lead and finally broke free.

In the next game, Djokovic immediately answered. Then, in the fourth game, he saved a break point and won after a 29-shot rally.

Before a set point was saved in the tie-break, the Serb received a time violation.

When Alcaraz created and won a set point to tie the match with a backhand winner, he didn’t require a second invitation.

As Djokovic’s streak of 15 straight major championship tie-break victories came to an end, the marathon set had gone 85 minutes.

Alcaraz broke in the third set’s opening game and again after a gruelling 26-minute fifth game that went to 13 deuces and saw Djokovic repel six break points before finally giving way on the seventh.

Alcaraz followed it up with a lightning-quick service game that, by contrast, took just two minutes, broke again against the defeated defending champion, and extended his lead to two sets to one.

Djokovic quarrelled with referee Fergus Murphy about keeping track of the shot clock, and he did little to win over the audience by taking a protracted bathroom break prior to the fourth set.

The Serb broke again in the set, squaring the match thanks to Alcaraz’s ninth double fault of the match, but the break worked wonders.

With a reckless smash, Djokovic blew a fantastic opportunity to break for 2-0 in the decider, and Alcaraz made him pay by breaking for 2-1.

Before he fell behind 3-1, a disgruntled Djokovic received another penalty violation for smashing his racket into the net post.

Alcaraz was unstoppable and won the match famously when Djokovic’s forehand sailed into the net.

AFP