Carlos Alcaraz has done it.
The 20-year-old Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets on Sunday to win the Wimbledon men's singles title, 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Alcaraz, who won the U.S. Open last year, is now a two-time Grand Slam winner after denying Djokovic of his 24th Grand Slam title. The 36-year-old Serbian was seeking to tie Margaret Court for the most Grand Slams all-time, men's or women's.
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Djokovic hadn't lost at Wimbledon since 2017, winning the past four titles (2020 was not held due to COVID-19).
In the opening set, the veteran was in total control over the world No. 1 as he easily won 6-1 with breaking much of a sweat.
But the first set served as a wake-up call for Alcaraz, as he entered the second with a renewed sense of confidence and urgency. The second set was a thriller, with Alcaraz winning 8-6 in a tiebreak to snap Djokovic's streak of 15 consecutive tiebreaks won in Grand Slams.
Tennis
While the third set looked lopsided on the scorecard, it was anything but that. Alcaraz took a 3-1 lead before a marathon fifth game that lasted 26 minutes and 56 seconds with 13 deuces. In the end, Alcaraz won it on the seventh break point before cruising to win the next two games and take the set 6-1.
Djokovic didn't go down without a fight in the fourth though, claiming the set 6-3 to set up a decisive fifth.
In the decider, youth defeated experience.
With the set knotted at 1-1, Alcaraz broke Djokovic's serve to take a 2-1 lead as the four-time defending winner expressed his frustration by smashing his racket into the net.
Each side held serve for the next six games, which put Alcaraz ahead 5-4 with the chance to finish the match. He did just that, as Djokovic hit the ball into the net and Alcaraz fell to the grass in joy.
With the win, Alcaraz retains the world No. 1 ranking as he will soon head to New York to defend his U.S. Open crown.
