Picture : Twitter/ Wimbledon
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz said he wanted another shot at Novak Djokovic. Said it would make winning a Wimbledon championship more special. Well, Alcaraz got his chance to face Djokovic. And he beat him.
In report by AP, 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 , claiming his first title at Wimbledon and second Grand Slam trophy overall.
The smile says it all 😁#Wimbledon | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/s9mhueFqOx
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023
The No. 1-ranked Alcaraz prevented No. 2 Djokovic from collecting what would have been a record-tying eighth title, and fifth in a row, at the grass-court tournament. Djokovic also was kept from earning a 24th career major.
“Playing a final against a legend of our sport — for me, it’s incredible,” said Alcaraz, who was competing in just his fourth career event on grass.
“I have to congratulate Novak. It’s amazing to play against him. What can I say about him? It’s unbelievable. You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis watching you,” Alcaraz said, then joked: “I mean, since I was born, you already were winning tournaments.”
That’s not exactly accurate. Still, 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. That one was extraordinary for two sets before Alcaraz cramped up and faded. This time, he had the stamina and the strokes to get past Djokovic.
“You never like to lose matches like this. I guess when all the emotions are settled, I have to still be very grateful because I won many, many tight and close matches in the past here,” said Djokovic, whose last loss at Wimbledon was in 2017. “I lost to a better player,” said Djokovic, who paused to wipe away tears, “so I have to congratulate him.”
