Wimbledon final: Alcaraz plays spoilsport in Djokovic's shot at history
Alcaraz has become the third player form Spain to win Wimbledon
July 16, 2023
Span's Carlos Alcaraz played spoilsport and broke Novak Djokovic's unbeaten 34-win streak at Wimbledon and a shot at history as the 20-year-old downed the Serb to win the final in a thrilling five-set match.
The Spanish tennis star defeated Djokovic 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Wimbledon men’s singles final on Sunday.
Alcaraz with the win secured his second Grand Slam after winning the US Open in 2022.
The Spaniard broke the 20-year dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic at Wimbledon.
The 20-year-old did not have a great start to the game as he was battered 1-6 in the first set. However, following his not-giving-up mentality, Alcaraz won successive sets 7-6 and 6-1 to get a grip on the match.
However, he was then met with Djokovic’s resilience as the Serb grabbed the fourth set 6-3 and looked in good shape to secure the victory.
But Alcaraz won the final set as he dominated from the very start taking a 3-1 lead, which was then extended to 5-3 and then converted into a 6-4 win.
The Spaniard had nothing but appreciation for his opponent saying that Djokovic is someone he looks after.
“You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis, watching you, since I was born, you already were winning tournaments. It's amazing — you said 36 is the new 26 and you make that happen,” Alcaraz said while talking about Djokovic. “36 is the new 26. You make that happen.”
Meanwhile, the Serb also lauded the youngster saying: “I thought I’ll only have trouble with you on clay and hard court.”
Djokovic was on his way the win the record 24th Grand Slam and his eight Wimbledon accolade. With Novak’s loss, Federer still holds the record for the most Wimbledon titles with eight wins.
It must be mentioned that Alcaraz become the first player to win over Djokovic at Wimbledon in six years. He is also the only player the beat him at Centre Court for the first time since Andy Murray did it 10 years ago.
With the loss, Djokovic’s 34-match winning streak — which included four titles in a row — came to an end as well.
