Moment of pride, history re-written, Wimbledon has a new hero.
The prestigious trophy from London will have a new name, and the All England Club will have a new member, for the first time in five tournaments.
Novak Djokovic, chasing a record 24th Grand Slam, against Carlos Alcaraz, fighting for just his second Grand Slam title, were facing off for the first time since the Serbian beat Alcaraz in the French Open semi-final, and after the first set, many might be forgiven for thinking that the previous encounter between the two was definitely on Alcaraz's mind.
Djokovic was in fine form as he completely dominated his much younger opponent in the first set. He broke the serve early in the game, and despite giving up the advantage in the fourth game, he kept the pressure on the Spaniard. He lost just one point and sealed an impressive 6-1 lead in the first set. But it went downhill from there for the Serb.
Showing the comeback king how it's done
Alcaraz countered the eight-time Wimbledon champion in brilliant fashion in the second set. In what was a completely lop-sided set, the Spaniard started with two straight points, which was quickly equalised by Djokovic. The more animated Djokovic got, the more calm the Spaniard was. He took the game into the tie-breaker after playing ping-pong with the points and then equalled the score with an impressive 8-6 victory in the tie-breaker.
The set of a lifetime for both players
After two sets of keeping up with the defending champions, it was in the third set that the youngster truly displayed his credentials as the world no. 1.
He took an easy 3-1 lead as Djokovic tried his best to unsettle his opponent. In the fifth game, there was a tough fight between the two players as they gave their everything for the point.
The game saw a total of seven break points on Djokovic's service, while the match went to deuce 13 times. The end of this tennis marathon was Alcaraz, as the game lasted 26 minutes and 2 seconds. After this, Djokovic could not return back into the set and lost it set 1-6, losing the service for a third time.
Controversial moment which might have been the game-change… but not to be
There was slight controversy after this set, as Djokovic went to the washroom to return after more than 6 minutes.
After an almost 8-minute strategic break, Djokovic used the mind games to his advantage and piled the pressure on Alcaraz. Djokovic, as usual, presented a sample of his fitness in the fourth set and broke Alcaraz's service twice to win the fourth set 6-3.
Alcaraz keeps his cool
Losing the fourth set after Djokovic's break, Alcaraz again maintained his focus and fitness on the grass court. Djokovic won the first game on serve. After this, Alcaraz won the second game of his own service, but in the third game, when Alcaraz broke Djokovic's service and took the point, Djokovic hit his racket on the net's pole in frustration.
After Djokovic's racket broke, Alcaraz took a 2-1 lead. Alcaraz once again won the fourth game of his serve as Djokovic won the 5th game on service. Then Alcaraz won the 6th game on his serve. In this way, after the score of 4-2, Djokovic won the 7th game to make the score 3-4. But this did not deter Alcaraz.
The moment Alcaraz knew what he did!
The 20-year-old fought back from 0:15 to make it 5-3 and just a point away from making history. But not so soon!
Djokovic, being the master of comebacks, made it 5-4. But the ball was in Alcaraz's court, and he had a chance to rewrite history. And he did it with some style.
Novak Djokovic's stranglehold on the Wimbledon championship was finally broken by Carlos Alcaraz and also became just the second finalist in 11 years to beat the Serbian in a five-set final.
Alcaraz will retain the world no. 1 ranking after this match, but more importantly, he will have a good night's rest before waking up to take his time and bask in the glory of the All England Club.
