The Kid Becomes The King: Carlos Alcaraz Slays The Dragon And Takes Down Novak Djokovic To Win The Wimbledon Title In An All-Time Match
Clive Brunskill. Getty Images.I'm not sure I'm going to accurately be able to describe how awesome that was, but I'm going to try. Novak Djokovic doesn't lose at Wimbledon. He specifically doesn't lose on Center Court. You have to go all the way back to 2016 as the last time he suffered defeat here in a completed match. Heading into this Wimbledon there really wasn't expected to be too much trouble to stop him from lifting the championships trophy. Obviously Carlos Alcaraz is the number one player in the world, but his game is still adapting to grass. It would take so much for him to actually beat Novak here. A herculean effort. Well…
That was unbelievable. What Carlos Alcaraz just did for 4 hours and 43 minutes was insane. The serving, drop shots, and ridiculous winners. He needed all of it to beat Novak here. It all happened. Everything we had hoped this match would be it lived up to and then some. One of the best matches these eyes have ever seen.
Think back to just over a month ago where Carlos lost to Djokovic at the French Open. He admitted he was not ready for the moment. He was scared and his nerves broke him. His entire body cramped after just two sets and allowed Novak to cruise to victory. For him to bounce back like this so soon after is nothing short of remarkable.
And after one set I think everyone watching at home was thinking here we go again. Djokovic raced to a 6-1 opening set as he came out locked in with tons of intensity. Usually we see him come out slow and feel out his opponents. Every now and then he'll actually lose the opening frame to a weaker opponent only to crush them from that point on and take their soul. Completely different mentality for this one as he steamrolled Carlos out of the gates. Alcaraz was playing way too fast and couldn't get anything going. Once the second set started though, we saw a different guy and Djokovic had very few answers. In that tiebreak Novak was the one who choked, not his opponent. You NEVER see that happen.
Alcaraz carried that momentum into the 3rd where he boat raced the 7 time Wimbledon champ. That did involve an unbelievable 27 minute game where Carlos broke Novak for the second time in the set. 13 deuces? Ridiculous on all levels.
But being a set away from taking down Djokovic at a slam is still a very tall task despite the optics. Many have tried and failed despite being that close to the finish line. On par with that, Djokovic took a bathroom break after three sets and came out playing more aggressive and zeroed in. Just like that the match was leveled. We've seen this before. Great fight, but come up short. No shame to Carlos if he lost the match like that, it's just how good Novak is here. That's why he's the greatest.
Things could have gone differently in that final set had Carlos not fought off this break point in his first service game. Just insane defense.
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The kid didn't cower in fear when it mattered most. He seized the opportunity and took it to the old man. He ripped 18 winners in the 5th set compared to just three for the Serbian. One of those winners broke Novak's serve for the final time and unleashed a roar.
That brought on the racket smash. Rattled city, population Novak.
From there he held his nerves and his serve on his way to his second grand slam championship. One of the biggest shots that might not get talked about a lot was his 121 mph second serve while trailing 0-15. Double fault there and that swings the door wide open for Djoker to get back in the set. Nope, Carlos was nails and shut that shit right down.
20 years old and beating prime Djokovic at Wimbledon? Silly. Earlier in the tournament Novak was asked about how it feels to have all the young guys want to beat him. How he's the wolf and how hard they try only to fail. He acknowledged loving that feeling and when talking about losing to those guys he said "it ain't happening" which brought on a collected laugh from the crowd. Well, it happened. Carlos Alcaraz is your new king. Wining the US Open last year was amazing, but that didn't involve him beating Djokovic. To get it done here on this stage? That was a special performance we'll remember for a long time. The best part is we're just gonna keep having these wars for at least a few more years as Novak remains at this level. Novak ain't going anywhere, but he's got company now.