Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 1 tennis player in the world, can now add Wimbledon champion to his list of accomplishments.
The 20-year-old from Spain defeated 36-year-old Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 on Sunday in a match for the ages at the All England Club in London.
The No. 2-ranked Serbian was denied in his bid for a record-tying eighth Wimbledon singles championship and fifth in a row. It would have been Djokovic’s 24th Grand Slam title. Indeed, the last time Djokovic lost in a final at Wimbledon was in 2013, when he fell in fell in straight sets to Andy Murray
Instead, Alcaraz took his first Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam victory, while also exacting some revenge for his French Open semifinal defeat to Djokovic last month. Prior to this victory, Alcaraz’s lone major win was at last year’s U.S. Open, where he defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets.
The turning point came when Alcaraz broke Djokovic in the third game of the fifth set to take a 2-1 lead, prompting the Serb to smash his racket during the changeover. The Spaniard then won the next game uncontested to go up 3-1 and was on his way to the title, as both players held serve the rest of the way.
