Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in five sets to win Wimbledon for his second major trophy
CTV
Carlos Alcaraz put aside a poor start and surged down the stretch to end Djokovic's 34-match winning streak at the All England Club by edging him in an engaging, back-and-forth final on Sunday, claiming his first championship at Wimbledon and second Grand Slam trophy overall.
Carlos Alcaraz said he wanted another shot at Novak Djokovic. Said it would make winning a Wimbledon championship more special. Well, Alcaraz got his chance to face Djokovic. And he beat him.
Alcaraz put aside a poor start and surged down the stretch to end Djokovic's 34-match winning streak at the All England Club by edging him 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an engaging, back-and-forth final on Sunday, claiming his first title at Wimbledon and second Grand Slam trophy overall.
The No. 1-ranked Alcaraz prevented No. 2 Djokovic from collecting what would have been a record-tying eighth title, and fifth in a row, at the grass-court tournament. Djokovic also was kept from earning a 24th career major.
"Playing a final against a legend of our sport -- for me, it's incredible," said Alcaraz, who was competing in just his fourth career event on grass.
"I have to congratulate Novak. It's amazing to play against him. What can I say about him? It's unbelievable. You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis watching you," Alcaraz said, then joked: "I mean, since I was born, you already were winning tournaments."
That's not exactly accurate. Still, instead of Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, becoming the oldest male champion at Wimbledon in the Open era, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, became the third-youngest. The age gap between the two was the widest in any men's Slam final since 1974.
So Alcaraz had youth on his side, which he also did, of course, when they met at the French Open last month. That one was extraordinary for two sets before Alcaraz cramped up and faded. This time, he had the stamina and the strokes to get past Djokovic.
