The next generation of men’s tennis officially has arrived.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to win his second consecutive Wimbledon singles title on Sunday in London. He also defeated Djokovic last year — that one in five sets — who has won Wimbledon seven times in 10 tries.
Sunday’s dominant effort showed Alcaraz could become the new king of English tennis, despite a blip on the way to his coronation.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, the third seed, was cruising toward victory in the third set, serving up a break at 5-4. But Djokovic, the second seed, saved three championship points, then pulled off his only break of the match, to get back on serve and send the match to a third-set tiebreaker.
“It was 40/0 but I was seeing (the trophy) so far away,” Alcaraz said. “Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter and I knew he was going to have his chances again, so I had to stay there. I tried to win the point with the serve, but I couldn’t.
“It was difficult for me. I tried to stay calm, I tried to stay positive at that situation, going into the tiebreak, and I tried to play my best tennis. That’s all I was thinking about. I’m really glad that at the end I could find the solution and I’m happy to be in this situation.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic, five weeks removed from knee surgery, couldn’t muster his usual precision against the spry and feisty Alcaraz.
“Obviously not the result that I wanted and especially the first couple of sets, the level of tennis wasn’t up to par really from my side,” Djokovic said. “Credit to Carlos for playing some amazing tennis, very complete tennis. He had it all today. I tried to push him for three match points, but it wasn’t meant to be. He was absolutely a deserved winner today.”
Alcaraz converted five of 14 break chances, hit 42 winners to 26 for Djokovic, and won 84 percent of his first serves with the Serbian successful just 66 percent of the time in the two-hour, 27-minute match.
Alcaraz moved to 3-3 all-time against Djokovic, who was trying for his 25th Grand Slam title. Djokovic has played in every Wimbledon final since 2018 and won four straight until Alcaraz defeated him in 2023.
The Spaniard now joins the all-time greats in Wimbledon lore. Last year, his name became the first outside the “big four” of Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to appear on the champions roll since Australian Lleyton Hewitt won in 2002.
With Federer retired, and Nadal and Murray winding down their careers, the next generation is taking over at Wimbledon. And that’s led by Alcaraz, who received the trophy Sunday from the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, who made a rare appearance as she undergoes cancer treatment.
“I think an interview when I was 12 or 11 years old, I said that then my dream is to win Wimbledon,” Alcaraz said. “I’m repeating my dream… This is the most beautiful tournament the most beautiful court and obviously the most beautiful trophy.”
–Field Level Media
