PA MediaCarlos Alcaraz stamped his authority on Wimbledon by beating Novak Djokovic for the second year in a row to retain his men’s singles title.
After a five-set classic 12 months ago that saw Djokovic dethroned as the king of Centre Court, here it was all over in just two hours and 27 minutes as Alcaraz overcame a late wobble to claim a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (4) victory.
The 21-year-old Spaniard becomes just the second man in the open era after Roger Federer to win his first four grand slam finals, while he has outdone the great Swiss, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal by reaching that landmark before his 22nd birthday.
Astounding Alcaraz 🤩
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024
The Spaniard defends his #Wimbledon title with a stunning straight sets victory over Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/bEbT9HwMZh
With Jannik Sinner having won the Australian Open and Alcaraz going back-to-back at the French Open and here, it finally appears that men’s tennis belongs to the new generation.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is still agonisingly short of an all-time record 25th slam singles title, and remains one behind Federer’s tally of eight Wimbledon crowns.
Djokovic has relished holding the fort for the old guard, consistently denying his young rivals on the grand slam stage.
Last year was a wobbling of the foundations but it took everything Alcaraz had to wrest the title from a man 16 years his senior, and Djokovic promptly dominated the rest of the season.
But the 37-year-old has had a dreadful 2024 by his own exceptional standards, losing heavily to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open quarter-finals and failing to reach a final at any level.
Then came the meniscus tear in his right knee at the French Open that forced him to withdraw, but which also seemed to give him back his customary fire, another challenge to overcome.
While he has appeared at times to be superhuman, there is no doubt it was a hugely impressive feat for Djokovic just to make the start-line, and his movement had improved through the fortnight.
But he had been lucky with the draw, not facing another top-10 player and seeing his scheduled quarter-final opponent Alex De Minaur forced out through injury.
The big question mark was therefore whether Djokovic was playing as well or in as good shape as he appeared, and the answer soon became all too clear.
Great to be back at @Wimbledon!
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) July 14, 2024
There's nothing quite like The Championships 🎾 pic.twitter.com/uFkI6baNfL
The match began in dramatic fashion with a 13-minute first game where Djokovic saved four break points before sending a forehand wide on Alcaraz’s fifth chance.
If the crowd, including the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte watching from the Royal Box, had hoped that would set the tone for another close match, they were to be quickly disabused of that notion.
Alcaraz was simply playing at a different speed to his opponent, his forehand too hot to handle for the Serbian, who betrayed a lack of confidence in his ability to live with his young opponent from the back of the court by repeatedly rushing to the net.
He was winning only a third of the points there, though, dropping serve again on a double fault after Alcaraz had sent down a serve at 136 miles per hour, his fastest of the tournament.
And the Spaniard was not about to be distracted by a shout of ‘Come on England’ as he served for the opening set.
Alcaraz’s dominance continued in the second set, the 21-year-old breaking Djokovic in the opening game then again at 4-2 when for the second time in the match he double-faulted on break point.
He needed something to spark him into life and it came in the third game of the third set when he saved four break points, yelling as he walked back to his chair.
Djokovic has been the villain of the Wimbledon crowd again this tournament but here they were chanting his name, willing the classic match they had expected to break out.
He had a chance to move ahead at 3-2 but it was snatched away with an Alcaraz serve, and it seemed all but over when the second seed played a stunning game to break at 4-4.
Moments later Alcaraz was up 40-0 with three match points but he froze dramatically at the finish line, serving a double fault and making a succession of errors, one after an ill-timed scream from a woman in the crowd, to allow Djokovic to break back.
Alcaraz steadied himself, though, and completed the job in the tie-break to successfully defend a slam crown for the first time.
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