What an exchange of blows: Alcaraz was crowned Wimbledon champion

Margaret Court, who holds the world record for tennis Grand Slam successes across genders with 24 titles, received a gift from Carlos Alcaraz (20) on her 81st birthday. Because the Spanish youngster defeated his 16-year-old opponent Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, the Serb (for the time being) has 23 major trophies.

The setting of the court record has been postponed, a calendar Grand Slam for Djokovic, who previously triumphed in Melbourne and Paris, is no longer possible before the final US Open. In addition, Roger Federer (Sui) remains the “benchmark” for men with eight Wimbledon victories, Djokovic has seven and currently has a lot to digest. The grandiose unbeaten run in his living room, Center Court on Church Road, has come to an end after ten years.

“It’s awesome”

Alcaraz kept the upper hand after 4:46 hours with 1: 6, 7: 6 (6), 6: 1, 3: 6 and 6: 4 and not only collected 2.75 million euros, but also 2000 points for the world rankings , which he will continue to lead ahead of Djokovic.

“It’s fantastic, it’s a dream come true for me. I’m incredibly proud of myself and grateful. It’s special to be here on this stage and compete against a legend of our sport,” said the man from El Palmar, for whom it was the second Grand Slam title. He got the first one in the summer of 2022 at the US Open – mind you in the absence of Djokovic, who was prevented from entering New York due to a lack of corona vaccination.

Success tastes particularly sweet. In this high-class and super-exciting duel over long stretches, Djokovic got off to a good start (6: 1), in the tie-break of the second round the Serb missed a set ball for a perhaps decisive 2-0 lead. Alcaraz knows how to take advantage of something like this despite his youth, after the set was equalized he took command and seemed to be heading towards victory after a clear 6:1. Djokovic wobbled, but he didn’t fall at first, even though he faced two break chances from the Spaniard in the “fourth” when the score was 0: 1.

Suddenly Alcaraz began to weaken, he gave up his service twice to make it 3: 6 – and went into an all-important fifth set with a decent count.

Sweet revenge

In contrast to the French Open semifinals in Paris, where Alcaraz – plagued by cramps – ultimately had no chance, this time he looked dewy to the end. Djokovic missed a huge chance (forehand from the air into the net) on the first break, which Alcaraz was supposed to make 2-1. That was the sticking point in retrospect.

The 15,000 fans in the completely sold-out stadium could hardly stay in their seats, they got a lot for their money – also on an emotional level.

After Alcaraz converted his first match point, he dropped onto the “sacred lawn” and held his hands in front of his face in disbelief. Then the path led him to his family and to his support team around coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was once also number one in the world.

“What a quality! You just deserve it. I thought I would have problems with you on clay or hard court, but not on grass. That’s remarkable. I lost to the better player,” Djokovic congratulated sincerely. The sting of disappointment is still deep: “It’s hard to swallow when you’re so close.”