Carlos Alcaraz was able to beat Novak Djokovic and became champion at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic, a seven-time champion on English grass, and carlos alcarazthe No. 1 in the world and leader of the new generation of tennis players, They played a Wimbledon final that will go down in history, and in which the Spaniard confirmed his status as number 1 in the world. The 20-year-old Spaniard prevailed over the Serbian veteran, who was seeking his eighth trophy in Wimbledon and his 24th Grand Slam, 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes.

The start of the Serbian was overwhelming, taking the first set just 34 minutes by an overwhelming score: 6-1. erratic and nervousPressed at that time and even overwhelmed by Djokovic, Alcaraz tried from then on to “make a footing” while the public encouraged him with their applause in an attempt to make him put up more resistance.

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The second set already showed Alcaraz in a better version, the points began to become more disputed, and thus they reached the tie break, where there were errors on both sides, they reached 6-6 and finally it was Alcaraz who prevailed by 8 -6. It had been a long time since Djokovic had lost a tie break, and several unforced errors from the Serbian missed in that process. The truth is that the Spaniard managed to balance a game that had started very badly.

The youngest of tennis number ones, Alcaraz, who already had the 2022 United States Open to his credit, thus raised his second Grand Slam cup in his third participation in London and on a surface, grass, that until recently I barely knew him.

The game saw the Spaniard go from less to more… and much more. And the 36-year-old Serb, the man with the most Grand Slam titles in tennis history, ended up going crazy, to the point of destroying a racket against the net post out of frustration.

This was the first final of Wimbledon for Alcaraz and the ninth for Djokovic, who had not lost on this central court since he was defeated in 2013 in the final by Andy Murray.

In the third set, meanwhile, Alcaraz began to dominate, broke his rival’s serve early and went up 3-1, putting Djokovic for the first time in the match in the obligation of having to fight to be the one to equalize the result. . The third set again showed the Spaniard as the dominator, and I finish hard 6-1.

In that extreme instance, Djokovic once again showed his inexhaustible super-champion fiber, and won the fourth set 6-3, which led the Grand Final to an extraordinary fifth set. If for the Serbian it can be “one more day, one more moment”Given his endless collection of Grand Slam triumphs, for Alcaraz the occasion is “probably the best moment of my life”, according to the 20-year-old Spaniard and current world number one.

“I think it’s more special to play against a legend of our sport. If I win it would be amazing for me, I would not only win a title of Wimbledonbut do it against Novak It would be super special”, said Alcaraz in the preview.

Carlos Alcaraz, the child prodigy who learns by leaps and bounds

After his victory at Queen’s, Alcaraz felt that he needed “more experience on grass”. Three weeks later, this precocious genius has conquered Wimbledon, his second Grand Slam title, on a surface that until now he thought he had not mastered.

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player managed to be crowned at the All England Club less than a year after winning the United States Open in New York, after which he became the youngest number 1 in history.

Alcaraz does not know how to go slowly and his brilliant career is proof of this. His emergence on the circuit has been spectacular and from the beginning he has been considered the natural heir of Rafa Nadal, in the twilight of his career and temporarily removed from the slopes due to injury, in the hearts of Spanish fans .

In May, Carlos Alcaraz played his first Roland Garros as world number one, while Rafa Nadal, the king of Parisian clay, watched the tournament on television. The young man from Murcia fell in the semifinals against Djokovic, whom he now beat in the final in London.

The label of the “next Nadal” is something he is used to.

“That has been on social networks for years, but I try not to let it distract me: I think about myself, about my progress. I’m from Murcia, he’s from Mallorca. He’s left-handed, I’m not. When I was little, I wasn’t at all a warrior, he was short and not powerful at all,” he recalled in June 2022 in statements to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Supersonic

It was at the age of four when ‘Carlitos’ began to hit his first balls, on the courts or by himself against the wall of the tennis club run by his father in El Palmar, near Murcia, where he continues to live with his parents. and his three brothers.

“At 5 or 6 years old, Carlos already had natural qualities, very good coordination and, above all, the ability to learn very quickly. He could copy what he saw on the track. At that moment he needed to develop his potential,” said his father to Trans World Sport.

At Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz has been the champion despite the fact that it was only the fourth ATP tournament on grass that he had played in his entire life. “I did not expect that my game and my movements would adapt so quickly” to the change of surface, he had celebrated after the premonitory title achieved in Queen’s.

In 2022, Alcaraz had already made history by becoming the youngest number 1 in history at exactly 19 years, 4 months and 6 days, one day after lifting the US Open trophy.

As fate would have it, this feat would come 19 years after his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, also became number 1 at the US Open, after defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals and before losing to Andy Roddick. Three months earlier, Ferrero had won Roland Garros and his future protégé had just been born.

The geographical proximity made them coincide years later. Ferrero took Alcaraz as a pupil when he was 15 years old, at his academy in Villena (Alicante), an hour from the young man’s house from Murcia. “That changed my life. I evolved, I became stronger on the track,” says the new Spanish star.

Have fun on the track

Although he played several marathon matches to win the US Open, at Wimbledon he lost just two sets to reach the dream final against Novak Djokovic.

Against the Serbian, Alcaraz prevailed 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes to add his sixth title of 2023 and the most important of them, surpassing the Masters 1000 in Madrid, where he was proclaimed winner for the second consecutive year.

Beyond his talent on the track, Alcaraz stands out for his good character and his almost eternal smile. He conveys how much he enjoys what he does.

“When I was younger I was a completely different person. I sure didn’t have as much fun as I do now. I was always angry, throwing the racket, complaining a lot,” he said. “He has learned to calm down, to control my emotions. And to love playing tennis, to have a lot of fun on the court,” he says.