Wimbledon has a new king: world number one Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz cemented his status as a 20-year-old tennis star by defeating Serbian Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the final.
The 20-year-old Spaniard from El Palmar, Murcia, defeated the only remaining active member of the “Big Three” in a titanic final lasting more than four and a half hours – in five sets – on the Centre Court grass. In doing so, he ushered in a new era in world tennis. It’s time for the younger guard, confirmed the true prophet of the Next Gen, who solidified his position at the top of the world rankings with this victory. After Manolo Santana (1966) and Rafael Nadal (2008 and 2010), Alcaraz is the third Spaniard to win Wimbledon.
Alcaraz, winner of the 2022 US Open, thus nestles himself at the top of the ATP rankings and begins to write his own legend in tennis history with his second Grand Slam victory.
Djokovic grabbed next to his eighth Wimbledon title – which allowed him to match Roger Federer as the top Wimbledon winner – and next to his 24th Grand Slam title, although he remains the tennis player with the most Grand Slam titles, currently 23. Furthermore, it was Djokovic’s first defeat at Wimbledon since 2017. At that time he had to give up in the quarterfinals.
Five setter
Alcaraz had no answer to Djokovic’s play in the first set. He tried to overwhelm Djokovich with attacking play but lost the first set. However, Alcaraz got better and better in the match and was able to cheer after five sets and many beautiful rallies.
12 titles for Alcaraz
Alcaraz’s title is special in more ways than one. He is the youngest ever Wimbledon winner after Björn Borg (1976) and Boris Becker (1985) and handed Djokovic his first loss at Wimbledon since 2017.
Alcaraz made his professional debut in February 2020 in Rio de Janeiro and rose rapidly in the rankings: just a year later he won his first title in Umag (Croatia).
In 2022, he began his inauguration in Rio de Janeiro and then caught everyone’s attention by winning in Miami, Barcelona and Madrid. The big break came in the United States with his first Grand Slam, the US Open. After overcoming an injury that prevented him from playing the Australian Open, he won in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells in 2023, repeated in Barcelona and Madrid and then began preparing in Queens to win the title at Wimbledon.
