WIMBLEDON, England — A poor start left Carlos Alcaraz a single point from a two-set hole against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
That sort of deficit is daunting for anyone, let alone a 20-year-old in his second major final, and against anyone, let alone Djokovic, someone who hadn’t lost at Centre Court in a decade, someone seeking a fifth consecutive championship, and record-tying eighth overall, at the All England Club. Someone who won the year’s first two Grand Slam tournaments and 23 over his career.
Ah, but Alcaraz, last year’s U.S. Open champ, wanted this shot at Djokovic, someone he called “a legend of our sport.” Said it would make winning Wimbledon that much more special. And so Alcaraz managed to come through in that tiebreaker as choruses of “Car-los! Car-los!” from the stands competed with cries of his older, more experienced, more accomplished foe’s two-syllable nickname, “No-le! No-le!” And then Alcaraz came through in a 32-point, 25-minute masterpiece of a game soon thereafter. And, crucially, the Spaniard came through in the crucible of a fifth set, too.
Add it all up, and the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz marked himself as the star people have been predicting he would be, transforming potential into triumph and putting an end to Djokovic’s 34-match winning streak at the All England Club all in one fell swoop by edging him 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an engaging, back-and-forth final on Sunday. Alcaraz claimed his first title at Wimbledon and second Grand Slam trophy overall.
“Didn’t get down, didn’t give up,” said Alcaraz, the third-youngest man to win the grass-court major in the Open era, which began in 1968, after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg. “We made great rallies, great points. It was a long, long match. Long sets. It was the mental part that allowed me to stay there.”
He is the first man outside the elite quartet of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to win Wimbledon since 2002 and, to many, this symbolized a transfer of power in men’s tennis.
“I haven’t played a player like him. Ever,” said Djokovic, quite a statement from a guy who competed against Federer and Nadal for so long and in so many remarkable matches.
“He’s proven,” Djokovic said, “that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt.”
The age gap between Alcaraz and the 36-year-old Djokovic, who wiped away tears during the trophy ceremony, was the widest in any men’s Slam final since 1974.
So Alcaraz had youth on his side, which he also did, of course, when they met in the French Open semifinals last month.
That one was extraordinary for two sets before Alcaraz cramped up and faded. This time, he had the stamina and the strokes to get past Djokovic — and the belief that he could win.
After Alcaraz made nine unforced errors in the opening set to Djokovic’s two, showing signs of the nerves that hit him in Paris, things began to shift Sunday.
At 4-all in the second set, Djokovic slipped on a worn patch behind the baseline under the Royal Box, flinging his racket away as he fell. At the next changeover, Djokovic flexed one leg by bending it over the other, then plopped his left heel on the net for additional stretching.