Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic in the epic Wimbledon match

He defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Novak Djokovic Sunday’s epic Wimbledon final included one 24-minute match.

Djokovic took the first set 6-1 but Alcaraz came back to win the next two sets. But Djokovic forced the fifth set before dropping behind Alcaraz early in that set, before only coming back at 5-4. But Alcaraz took the next match, giving him the victory in the match – and the Gold Cup.

The final between top seed Alcaraz and Djokovic took place in June He won his 23rd Grand Slam titlesetting the men’s record.

Instead of Djokovic, the 36-year-old from Serbia becoming the oldest male Wimbledon champion in the Open Era, Alcaraz, the 20-year-old from Spain, became the third youngest. The age gap between the two was the widest in a men’s slam final since 1974.

So Alcaraz had a guy on his side, which he did, of course, when they met at the French Open last month. That set was unusual for two sets before the Alcaraz narrowed down and faded away. This time, he had the stamina and strokes to get past Djokovic.

Alcaraz is faster and capable of more power — he serves at 130 mph, and his forehand tops out at 100 mph — but Djokovic is equipped with an abundance of talent and plenty of muscle memory. He’s been there, and done that, in ways Alcaraz, for the time being, can only dream of.

But if that victory on a windy and cloudy day in Center Court, where Djokovic last lost in the 2013 final, is any indication, Alcaraz is on his way to achieving a lot of his own.

However, this is all relatively new to him: Djokovic’s record-breaking 35th Grand Slam was Alcaraz’s second.

However, it was Alcaraz who took a 32-point, 25-minute mini-masterpiece from a match en route to winning the third set. And it was Alcaraz who pulled the lead for Good by breaking in to take a 2-1 lead in the fifth game on a backhand pass winner. Djokovic, who fell during the point but quickly bounced back, responded by hitting his racket against the goal post, letting go of the impact. He destroyed his equipment and obtained a law violation from Chief Fergus Murphy.

They would go on for another 24 minutes, for a total of over 4 1/2 hours, but Alcaraz never backed down, never gave up. And it was Alcaraz, not Djokovic, who covered his face and rolled onto the grass after the final point, then took home the Gold Cup.

“What quality at the end of the match,” Djokovic told Alcaraz during the post-match ceremony. “You deserve it, for sure.”

Alcaraz wields a sledgehammer of a forehand, one which he fires in such a way as to make the observer believe that every ounce of force, in fact every part of his being, is invested in every swing. Slap the racquet and “Ahhhhhh!” The labored exhales – along with the gasps of dazzled spectators – reverberated throughout the arena on Sunday.

This does not mean, of course, that the Alcaraz’s traits end with that big front end. He is so much more than that, showing as wide a variety of playground games as possible, which is why stardom can be expected from him. He does everything well, including well-concealed shots that helped him get back to his depth in the second and third sets.

Djokovic, of course, has already achieved greatness, spending more weeks at No. 1 than any man or woman in the half-century history of the computerized rankings and amassing 23 Grand Slam victories — once more than Rafael Nadal and three more than Roger Federer, the only man to have He won eight titles at Wimbledon.

More often than not on Sunday, Djokovic would jam, stretch and almost slide into the splits to return Alcaraz’s clear shots by the end of the points across the net in ways no one else could.

Things started to turn around, though, at 4-all in the second set. Djokovic slipped on a worn-out patch behind the baseline under the royal box, and threw his racket wide as he fell. At the next changeover, Djokovic flexed one leg by bending it over the other. Before returning to the court to resume play, he placed his left heel against the net for further stretching. Soon, his legs were no longer providing the same coverage as they were, and his forehand strength decreased.

They’ll head to a tiebreaker, Djokovic’s dominance: He’s won all six Wimbledon semi-finals, and 15 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, dating back to the Australian Open.

This time, Djokovic got a set point while leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker, prompting the first cheers of the day from his two-syllable nickname from his supporters: “No-le! No-le!” But he volleyed a backhand into the net to make it 6-all in, and as the players changed ranks, a rival chorus of “Car-los! Car-los!” appeared.

Another backhand into the net from Djokovic put Alcaraz up one point from the set. He converted it by hitting a passing backhand from a return of 118 mph, then took a follow-up stance. As people in the stands rose, Alcaraz spun with his right hand to his ear, seizing the moment.

2 hours 2 sets in.

one set each.

Now it was a match.

Now this is starting to feel unforgettable.

Game 5 of the third may have been worth the high price of admission in and of itself. Nobody wants to bend over. Nobody wants to give up anything. It was one game, yes, but it felt so much more important than that.

When Djokovic smashed a forehand into the net to give Alcaraz a break – one of five in the match, more than the three combined that Djokovic’s six previous opponents had successfully completed in 103 serve matches over the past two weeks – and 4-1 in the set. , the Spaniard threw his head back and shouted, “Vamos!”

Djokovic headed into the locker room with a white equipment bag slung over his right shoulder. He used these kinds of pauses to collect himself and turn the momentum around, and he certainly pushed this stellar match into the fifth set.

One of the many reasons to admire Djokovic’s chances at that juncture: He entered Sunday with a record of 10-1 in five players at Wimbledon and 35-9 in all major slams.

But those matches are in the past.

Alcaraz is the future.

“I learned really, really fast, and I’m really proud,” said Alcaraz, who embraced Spain’s King Philip VI afterwards.