Carlos Alcaraz has successfully defended his men’s singles crown at Wimbledon. On Sunday, the Spaniard defeated the legendary Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) on Centre Court. In a rematch of last year’s final at SW19, it took the youngster 2 hours and 27 minutes to win the match in front of a packed house.
Wimbledon 2024 Men’s singles final, Highlights
Last year, Alcaraz had to fight out of his skin to beat Djokovic in close to 5 hours, but this time around, it was more or less a one-way traffic in his favour. Alcaraz, who remains the youngest World No.1, became the fourth after Mats Wilander, Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker to win 4 Grand Slams at the age of 21 or under.
Alcaraz also stayed unbeaten in Grand Slam finals, having won all 4 of them. With the triumph, he became the first Spanish player in history to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles. Had Djokovic won, he would have equaled Roger Federer’s record of most titles (8) at the grass court major, but that did not happen.
Alcaraz dictates terms
The first game of the opening set turned out to be a thriller. It took Alcaraz 14 minutes and 5 break points to win the game and take an all-important lead in the set. Djokovic was not willing to throw in the towel, but Alcaraz had the last laugh. From there on, Alcaraz did not look back and closed out the set in 41 minutes with another break of serve.
The second set was not any different as Alcaraz kept turning the screws on Djokovic, who just could not get out of his shell. Yet another time, Alcaraz put pressure on the Serb with a double break. Alcaraz broke Djokovic’s serve 4 times in 2 sets, a phenomenon that has not been a common sight.
Djokovic goes down
Alcaraz moved around and made use of the court brilliantly with his forehand passes. Even a player like Djokovic, who is known for his agility, found it tough to counter Alcaraz’s charge. Needing to win 3 sets in a row, Djokovic was not willing to give up by any stretch of the imagination as he started attacking a bit more. In the third game, he saved 4 break points and eventually survived.
At 4-5, 0-40, Alcaraz earned himself 3 championship points, but Djokovic showed why he has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles in his career. Djokovic not only saved the points, but broke Alcaraz’s serve under extreme pressure to eventually take the set into a tie-break.
Alcaraz took a 3-1 lead in a tie-break, but Djokovic kept pushing harder. At 4-6, Djokovic faced a couple of championship points. But this time around, he faltered as a forced error on his backhand brought the curtains down on the tournament.