World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic to win maiden Wimbledon title

Carlos Alcaraz defeated seventime champion and fourtime defending champion Novak Djokovic to claim his maiden Wimbledon title on Sunday shattering the Serbs dream of a recordequalling eighth Wimbledon and 24th Grand Slam crownWorld number one Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first set and saving a set point in the second to win 16 76 86 61 36 64 after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre CourtIt was the second major for the 20yearold Spaniard following his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledons third youngest mens championA new name A new reign carlosalcaraz your 2023 Gentlemens Singles championWimbledon pictwittercom3KNlRTOPhxmdash Wimbledon Wimbledon July 16 2023The result of the ultimate showdown between the top two seeds will also spark feverish speculation over the start of a generational shift with 36yearold Djokovic carrying the torch of the Big Three now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is sidelined perhaps permanentlyAlso Read Itrsquos the ultimate showdown Novak Djokovic on Wimbledon 2023 final with Carlos AlcarazAustralian Open and French Open champion Djokovic had been bidding to equal Federers record of eight Wimbledon titles and match Margaret Courts alltime mark of 24 SlamsDjokovic was playing in his ninth final at Wimbledon and 35th at the majors while for Alcaraz it was just a second in the Slams following his US Open triumphThe Serb went into the match not having lost on Centre Court since his 2013 final defeat to Andy Murray and he hit with relentless precision in the first setAlcaraz who had been crippled by body cramping in his loss to Djokovic in the French Open semifinal in June was unable to settle and let a break point slip away in the sevenminute opening gameGolden chanceDjokovic took advantage and raced into a 50 lead on the back of a double break before the Spaniard got on the board It was too little too late as Djokovic claimed the opening set with a smashBut Alcaraz finally freed himself of his shackles and broke for 21 in the second setDjokovic hit straight back in the third game before saving a break point in the fourth coming out on top of a 29shot rallyThe Serb was hit with a time violation in the tiebreak before seeing a set point savedAlcaraz needed no second invitation when he carved out and converted a set point to level the contest with a backhand winner The marathon set had taken 85 minutes as Djokovics run of 15 tiebreaks won in a row at the majors endedAlcaraz broke in the opening game of the third set and again after an exhausting 26minute fifth game which went to 13 deuces and saw Djokovic save six break points before he cracked on the seventhAlcaraz backed it up with a rapidfire service game which took just two minutes in comparison and broke again against the dispirited defending champion to move two sets to one aheadDjokovic argued with umpire Fergus Murphy over his monitoring of the shot clock and did little to endear himself with the crowd by taking a lengthy toilet break before the fourth set However the break worked wonders as the Serb broke twice in the set levelling the final courtesy of Alcarazs seventh double fault of the finalDjokovic wasted a golden chance to break for 20 in the decider with a wild smash and Alcaraz made him pay breaking for 21A frustrated Djokovic collected another code violation for destroying his racquet against the net post before he slipped 31 downAlcaraz was not to be denied and he claimed a famous victory when Djokovic buried a forehand in the netWith AFP inputs