By Marc McGowan
Carlos Alcaraz might have finally broken a men’s tennis monopoly that started months after he was born.
The 20-year-old Spanish prodigy’s titanic five-set Wimbledon title triumph – 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 – over arguably the sport’s greatest-ever player, Novak Djokovic, had all the elements of an era-shifting success.
Alcaraz’s ascent to world No.1 followed his grand slam breakthrough at last year’s US Open, but Djokovic was not in New York and earned zero ranking points for his seventh All England Club victory mere months earlier.
In other words, it lacked authenticity. Men’s tennis spent much of the past 12 months, effectively, with two world No.1s: the one on paper (Alcaraz), and the one almost everyone believed still led the sport (Djokovic).
Djokovic, riding a 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon that started in 2018, could have snatched back that status at the grasscourt grand slam – but Alcaraz instead changed the course of history across nearly five hours of breathtaking theatre.
The Serbian legend, at age 36, will have to wait at least one more year to add the calendar Grand Slam to his bulging resume, as well as to match Roger Federer’s record eight Wimbledon championships (the first of them in 2003, the year Alcaraz was born).
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after his five-set win over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.Credit: AP
Given Alcaraz’s rise, Djokovic may never do either.
This result seems far more seismic than Daniil Medvedev’s US Open defeat of Djokovic in 2021, when the latter was even closer to the calendar slam.
Alcaraz is the player destined to succeed where countless others failed, the man capable of dethroning the Big Three rather than just waiting for Rafael Nadal and Djokovic to join Federer in retirement.
Djokovic summed it up perfectly in a gracious runner-up speech, when he admitted aloud that he thought Alcaraz was only a threat to him on clay and hardcourt. But everything changed on Sunday night.
Alcaraz’s body, as much as his mind, let him down under the crippling pressure of trying to beat Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals barely a month ago. He then told anyone listening before Wimbledon started that Nick Kyrgios had a better chance than he of upsetting Djokovic.
Alcaraz went on to beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the final of the traditional lead-up event at the Queen’s Club to hint at what he could do. The grasscourt novice has now graduated to master.
He stumbled in the opening stages of the Wimbledon final and risked being humiliated, but rose from the canvas to gain a foothold in the match in the second set, saved a crucial set point, then won an epic tiebreaker to officially lodge his challenge.
What followed in the third set was only believable to those who witnessed it. Alcaraz blitzed Djokovic with a combination of thunderous forehands, excellent serving, his newly acquired slice and a barrage of drop shots.
Then, with Alcaraz on the precipice of his greatest achievement, Djokovic did as he always does and stubbornly refused to lose, forcing a deciding set and looking the more likely winner.
The brilliant pair traded blows in an absorbing start to the final set before the point that almost certainly changed the result.
Djokovic menacingly brought up break point in the second game and dominated the ensuing point, only for Alcaraz to somehow hang in, then watch as his legendary rival unexpectedly dumped a forehand into the net.
Alcaraz never looked back. He smoked a forehand winner to knot the set at one-all, then broke Djokovic in the next game with a superb backhand pass that caused the incensed Serbian to smash his racquet on the net post.
The toughest hurdle was to come, when Alcaraz stepped up to serve for the title. At 30-all, the final was still in the balance – but he was a dumbfounded, maiden Wimbledon champion two points later.
Tears flowed, on both sides, as Alcaraz, his team, and Djokovic, after spotting his son in the stands, came to terms with what had happened.
Djokovic is far from done and could be world No.1 again by year’s end, given Alcaraz has a bucketload of US Open points to defend, but he knows a worthy challenger has arrived.
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