LONDON (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz was ready from the start this time. A year ago Wimbledon Facing Novak Djokovic in the final, Alcaraz started slowly, losing the first set before winning in five sets. First win at the All England Club.
Sunday’s rematch started off with a monumental performance, with 20 points scored in nearly 15 minutes, setting the stage for a gripping, back-and-forth contest that was long and drawn-out. Both players played well, but Alcaraz was the better player, as he would be for most of the next two hours.
Alcaraz What we learned from 2023 And he applied that lesson in 2024, beating Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title and his fourth Grand Slam title overall. He is still 21 years old..
“At the end of my career, I want to sit at the table with the big names,” Alcaraz said. French Open After receiving the Wimbledon gold trophy last month, Kate, Princess of Wales“That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now,” said Scott, who has now become just the sixth player to win on both the clay of Roland Garros and the grass of the All England Club in the same season.
Alcaraz is now 4-0 in major finals, including the U.S. Open in 2022. On the men’s side, only Roger Federer is off to a better start than Alcaraz, at 7-0.
“He was better than me in every aspect of the game.” Djokovic, 37“It was great to see him move, hit the ball, serve. Everything was great,” said the 28-month-old, who had undergone knee surgery but was hoping to tie Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and become the first player in tennis history to win 25 Grand Slam titles. “The way he moved, the way he hit the ball, the way he served. Everything was great.”
For Alcaraz, there was a little gaffe, a five-point blunder that took him from the brink of victory to near collapse. It happened while serving at 5-4, 40-love, and one point away from victory. But he double-faulted. Then he missed a backhand. Then a volley. Then a forehand. Then another forehand. Suddenly, it was 5-all. Suddenly, Alcaraz looked shaken. Suddenly, Djokovic had hope..
Suddenly, a conspiracy arose.
But that was short-lived, as Alcaraz regained momentum and took the match to a tiebreaker where he closed it out.
“We were neck and neck,” Djokovic said last year.
“This year, that wasn’t the case at all,” he continued. “It was all on him. He was a dominant force on the court and he deserved to win.”
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz hits a backhand return over Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosaab Elshamy)
Djokovic, with his grey sleeves tucked down to his knees, was far from his best on an overcast afternoon on Centre Court, and Alcaraz was undoubtedly a big part of the problem.
In the end, the first game was the most competitive until the third set.
That’s not to say there weren’t signs of excitement for the rest of the match, but rather that the result was never in dispute.
“The first game was incredible, one of the longest first games I’ve ever played,” Djokovic said. “That set the tone. He was ready to fight from the start, ready to play at his highest level right away. That wasn’t the case last year.”
Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a backhand return over Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Djokovic double-faulted in the first set to surrender a 5-1 lead. He smashed a volley into the net at the start of the second set, fell behind a break and then double-faulted to end that set. Djokovic finally regained some steam in the third set, recording his only break of serve of the day. The crowd chanted Djokovic’s two-syllable nickname, “Nole! Nole!” while others responded with a chorus of “Let’s go, Carlos! Let’s go!”
Still, this wasn’t the contorted, all-out Djokovic we’re used to seeing – which is understandable given there were serious doubts about whether he would even be able to play at Wimbledon.
Against Alcaraz, Djokovic bounced awkwardly when landing after serves and walked carefully between points, as if barefoot on the hot sand of a beach. He missed his usually-successful volleys and went to the net, winning just 27 of 53 points. After he netted a volley to end an 11-stroke opening exchange, Djokovic sighed and walked to his seat on the sideline to grab a purple-and-green towel to dry off. His expression seemed to say, “Come on, Carlitos, go after someone my age.”
Alcaraz was outstanding in nearly every way, from basic shots to shots no one else would even try. Once, he jumped to throw the ball over the net and wrapped his racket around his back, but Djokovic won the point with an overhead shot. Alcaraz ran around the outside of the doubles alley for a forehand winner. He won points with drop shots. He hit serves up to 136 mph (219 kph). He had 14 break points, converted five of them and faced just three.
What can’t Alcaraz do?
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, left, is congratulated by Serbia’s Novak Djokovic after winning the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Two days before the final, Djokovic paid tribute to Alcaraz, saying, “I think we have a lot in common.”
Absolutely, and remember: Alcaraz is just getting started.
“I want to keep going,” Alcaraz said.
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