World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz produced a fine effort against legendary Novak Djokovic to win his maiden Wimbledon title on Sunday. The Spaniard engaged in a cracking finale against the seven-time champion Djokovic, whom he defeated 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre Court.
Alcaraz produced a stunning show after dropping the first set. He then went to save a set point in the second, and completely outplayed the Serb in the third.
Djokovic produced a great fight in the fourth set, something which is expected of him, and won it. However, Alcaraz held on to his nerves and closed the final set 6-4 to wrap up the blockbuster in a packed arena.
It was sheer brilliance from Alcaraz, which was acknowledged by Djokovic following the contest, but it left him frustrated during the match. In one such instance, Djokovic had a momentarily breakdown and burst out his anger on the racquet.
The incident took place after Alcaraz broke his serve in the third game of the final set. As he moved towards his seat, Djokovic rammed his racked against the wooden post, which put a dent in it and broke his racquet.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner was immediately warned by chair umpire Fergus Murphy for a code violation. Djokovic’s on-court antics didn’t go with the crowd, who booed loudly.
The result shattered 36-year-old Djokovic’s bid to claim a record-equalling eighth title at the All England Club and 24th Grand Slam crown. This was Serb’s first defeat at the Centre Court in a decade.
“What a quality at the end of the match when you had to serve it out. You can up with some big plays in the big situation and you absolutely deserve it,” Djokovic told about his 20-year-old Alcaraz, who won his second Grand Slam title.
“It’s a tough one to swallow when you are so close.”
