Alcaraz snatches Wimbledon crown from record-chasing Djokovic

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Young Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in an epic five-set battle to win his first Wimbledon final, denying his rival a chance to equal the record for the highest number of Grand Slam wins.

Staking his claim to be a new dominant force, the 20-year-old world number one came back from a set down to beat the 36-year-old Djokovic 3-2 to clinch his second Grand Slam victory.

Djokovic had not lost on centre court since 2013 and before this year had never lost a match after winning the first set at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. On Sunday, it was only the sixth time in more than 300 appearances that he had lost in a Grand Slam match after winning the first set.

Alcaraz is the third-youngest player to win Wimbledon in the Open era, after Germany’s Boris Becker, who won the first of his three titles at the age of 17, and Bjorn Borg, who won at the age of 20.

Alcaraz denied Djokovic, the bookmaker’s favourite, not just the opportunity to match Australian Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam wins, but also the chance to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles. Alcaraz won by 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

After clinching victory, Alcaraz fell to the court in jubilation. He then booted a tennis ball into the crowd before climbing to the player’s box to embrace his friends, family and coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former Spanish champion.

The victory by the Spaniard was hailed as marking the beginning of a new era, as the men’s game searches for stars to succeed the stellar trio of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam at the US Open last year.

“It’s a dream come true for me . . . it’s great to win but, even if I had lost, I could be really proud of myself in this amazing run, making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport,” said Alcaraz after being awarded the men’s trophy.

Despite his loss, Djokovic still made history by becoming the first player in the open era to appear in 35 Grand Slam finals, surpassing the record of American Chris Evert, who was watching from the royal box.

The men’s final followed a history-making women’s singles final on Saturday in which 24-year-old Czech Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded player to win the tournament. In doing so, she stopped Tunisian Ons Jabeur, seeded sixth, from becoming the first African and first Arab woman to win a Grand Slam title.

Both Vondrousova and Alcaraz will be awarded £2.35mn in prize money. Wimbledon became the last major to offer equal prize money in 2007, but the lower ranks still have a sizeable gender pay gap. Earlier this year, the Women’s Tennis Association pledged to equalise payouts at all WTA-ATP 1000 and 500 tournaments by 2033.

The contest between Alcaraz and Djokovic lasted nearly five punishing hours, with the young Spaniard outmanoeuvring his older rival in terms of energy and speed. The 15,000-capacity crowd also rallied behind the younger man.

The clash was a rematch of the French Open semi-finals last month, where the tie was level after two sets when Alcaraz was hit by cramping, which he later blamed on nerves. Djokovic eventually trounced him to win 3-1.

After escaping a break point in the opening game, Djokovic went on to break Alcaraz twice, wrapping up the first set 6-1 in just 34 minutes. 

Alcaraz found his footing in the second, with Djokovic’s first serve looking shaky. Most of the second set stayed with server, culminating in a tense tie-break, which Alcaraz managed to win. Djokovic wasted a set point by hitting a weak backhand into the net, Alcaraz then barking back and puffing his chest to the crowd as he clinched the set. 

In the third, Alcaraz turned on the flair and power that has propelled him to world number one in a short period of time, breaking Djokovic three times to win 6-1. The fifth game, which put Alcaraz a double break ahead, was the longest of the tournament, lasting 32 points across 26 minutes.

However, in the fourth set, Djokovic mustered the energy to fight back, breaking his rival twice to win 6-3. 

In the decider, a frustrated Djokovic smashed his racket against the net post after being broken in the third game, which was met with boos from the centre court crowd. Alcaraz went on to close out the set, the match, and the championship, 6-4.