Alcaraz put aside a poor start and surged down the stretch to end Djokovic's 34-match winning streak at the All England Club by edging him 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an engaging, back-and-forth final on Sunday, claiming his first championship at Wimbledon second Grand Slam trophy overall. The No. 1-ranked player prevented Djokovic from what would have been a record-tying eighth title, and fifth in a row, at the grass-court tournament. Djokovic also was kept from claiming his 24th career major.
Instead of Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, becoming the oldest male champion at Wimbledon in the Open era, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, became the third-youngest. The age gap between the two 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 at the French Open last month.
Djokovic's record 35th Grand Slam final was Alcaraz's second. Yet it was Alcaraz who won a 32-point, 25-minute mini-masterpiece of a game on the way to taking the third set. And it was Alcaraz who moved out front for good by breaking to go up 2-1 in the fifth with a backhand passing winner. Djokovic, who fell during the point but quickly popped back up, reacted by slamming his racket into the net post, letting go on impact. He destroyed his equipment and earned a code violation from chair umpire Fergus Murphy.
The duo would play on for another 24 minutes, bringing the total to more than 4 1/2 hours, but Alcaraz never relented, never gave way. And it was Alcaraz, not Djokovic, receiving the trophy in the evening.
Alcaraz’s task of defeating Djokovic at Wimbledon, where the 36-year-old was chasing a fifth consecutive title, only became tougher after he was outplayed in the first set. Yet the Spaniard demonstrated his comfort on the big stage by rallying to a famous victory, just the second defeat Djokovic has suffered in 81 Wimbledon matches after winning the opening set.
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