In a battle of the tennis titans, No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
It was the novice versus the experienced, and it started like a regular day at the office for Djokovic who leaped out in front with a 6-1 lead in the first set.
Novak was on a 34-match winning streak and had not lost at Wimbledon since 2017.
Carlos Alcaraz is the first man to beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 6 years.
That’s 2,195 days.
He is also the first man to beat Djokovic on Centre Court since Andy Murray did it 10 years ago.
That’s 3,661 days. pic.twitter.com/9vfnS1RSWc
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 16, 2023
Then, Carlos started working his way into the match and won a second-set tiebreaker.
Both players played a great match, mirroring each other with their ability to run down shots and show the right touch.
Alcaraz lost his serve in the fourth set forcing a fifth.
It took only one service break in the fifth to decide, and Alcaraz never looked back.
He hit 18 winners in the fifth set; whereas, Djokovic only hit three.
Near the end of the fifth, Alcaraz showed tremendous restraint and maturity, closing the match on his serve.
Carlos Alcaraz.
Wimbledon Champion.
Unforgettable.
🥹 @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/aNUgXbK4vu
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 16, 2023
The match spanned nearly five hours, and tennis fans were treated to an instant classic.
CARL1TOS 🇪🇸
Alcaraz claims his first #Wimbledon title! pic.twitter.com/gvcz46BCYo
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) July 16, 2023
It lived up to the hype.
Alcaraz’s play at Wimbledon answered questions about his mental and physical fitness following the issues he had in the semifinals at the French Open.
Alcaraz is 20 years old and has now won the second Grand Slam of his career.
Djokovic will continue to be a favorite through the summer, and there could be another meeting at the U.S. Open where Alcaraz is the defending champion.
It is way too premature to call this a changing of the guard, but it is worth noting that Alcaraz gave Djokovic only his second loss in nine Wimbledon.
Djokovic was gracious in defeat and joked that he thought he would not have trouble with Carlos on grass.
Congratulations Carlos Alcaraz!
Novak Djokovic to Carlos Alcaraz:
“I thought I’ll have trouble with you on only clay & hard court” 😂 pic.twitter.com/ikezTs6p3I
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 16, 2023
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
