Carlos Alcaraz reacts after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s final at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Sunday. (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title.
In a rematch of last year’s five-set match, Alcaraz claimed the title on Sunday. He beat Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) to win his second straight Wimbledon title. It was only the fifth time in Djokovic’s career that he had lost in straight sets in a final.
At first, during the first two and a half sets, Djokovic was in trouble. He started the match very weak and played incredibly hard. He didn’t look like himself. Alcaraz, who usually starts matches slowly, started the match strongly, putting Djokovic in a difficult position before most of the fans settled down. No one expected the legend to start the match so quietly or to appear unable to keep up with his opponents so quickly.
Every point was another chance to see if Djokovic would wake up and realize he was in the Wimbledon final, and each time the fans were disappointed. If he was improving, it was impossible to see with the naked eye. And Alcaraz was merciless. He was there to win, and with Djokovic winning points mostly on Alcaraz’s errors, he had reason to be confident.
Djokovic lost the first set 6-2, then things went the same way in the second set. Without any major turnaround, he ended up losing.
It was in the third set that Djokovic finally showed signs of life. He actually won the first game, forcing Alcaraz to start chasing him. But the awakening came a little too late, as Alcaraz was more than capable of chasing Djokovic, who was trying to become the oldest man to win Wimbledon at the age of 37.
Djokovic managed to force a tiebreak and give himself a chance to extend the match, but he couldn’t win. He looked frustrated that his shots weren’t playing as they normally do, but mostly he looked tired. Even at the start of the tiebreak, it looked like we were running out of time until Alcaraz won.
Djokovic’s main opponent over the past few years has been time. He has been fighting an invisible battle against his own tennis mortality, and until recently, he has been winning with ease. His meniscus tear at the French Open was a setback, but it didn’t affect him during the tournament (or Sunday’s final).
But for perhaps the first time in his long career, Djokovic faced an opponent on Sunday who he simply could not beat. Alcaraz was too quick with his feet, too powerful with his shots, too fast on the court. Even if Djokovic had managed to force a fourth set, he did not look like he had the stamina to force a tiebreak. But Alcaraz, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, had the stamina and energy to play two more sets with a tiebreak in each.
This is the fourth Grand Slam title of Alcaraz’s young career, half of which he has won on grass – although Wimbledon 2024 is the sixth grass-court tournament he has ever competed in.
In a few years, we may look back on this match as the moment an era ended and another began, when Alcaraz beat one of the greatest players in tennis history for the second year in a row and began his reign. But for now, we are left with questions. What was behind Djokovic’s performance on Sunday? Was he injured? Will this affect his Olympic appearance?
There is no doubt that Carlos Alcaraz is the future of tennis, and the future is here.
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Carlitos does it again!
Alcaraz does it! Beats Djokovic in straight sets to claim second straight Wimbledon title
Tie break time!
We’re heading into a tiebreaker in the third set!
Alcaraz can win the match outright if he wins the tiebreak. If Djokovic wins, he will force a fourth set.
Less than five minutes ago, Carlos Alcaraz was one point away from winning his second Wimbledon title in a row.
Now he is trying to prevent Novak Djokovic from winning the third set and force him to play the fourth set.
This is tennis.
Alcaraz had three championship points, at one point leading 30-0, but double-faulted to give Djokovic the advantage and then the win.
Now they were tied 5-5 in the third set, and Alcaraz was clearly upset that he couldn’t finish the match in that game.
We already see the fight Djokovic is putting up. The crowd is chanting his name because they don’t want the match to end after just three sets. Only if Djokovic gets back to his best is we’re going to have more tennis.
Djokovic wakes up…
He led Alcaraz 3-2 in the third set. Can Alcaraz close out the match, or will Djokovic play the spoiler?
After losing 2-1, Alcaraz managed to level the score after a fast and strong match against Djokovic.
In the third game of the third set, Djokovic struggles to get his first lead in the entire final, while Alcaraz just wants to keep advancing.
It goes very similarly to the first game of the match, with a lot of back and forth.
This time, Djokovic wins and takes a 2-1 lead in the third set. Will this be a turning point? Or will Alcaraz double down and continue to handle Djokovic with relative ease?
Carlos Alcaraz leads 2-0 over Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz is just one set away from defending his Wimbledon 2023 title. He won the second set 6-2, and victory appears to be in sight.
It was the best match Djokovic has played all day. He’s still down 3-2, but we’ve seen glimpses of the real Djokovic trying to figure out how to wake up.
Alcaraz took a 2-0 lead in the second set after winning a game in which he committed two double faults. He showed all the magic today.
Carlos Alcaraz leads 1-0
After that long first match that lasted 14 minutes, Alcaraz managed to win the rest of the set easily, winning 6-2, and now leads 1-0.
This is familiar territory for Djokovic. He has done it before, in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. He did it against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2021 French Open final.
But there may be more to Djokovic’s poor start than that. Alcaraz is not the type to start fast, and seeing him pounce on Djokovic so easily could mean that Djokovic is not at his best today, and that he is not just pretending to fail.
Celebrity update: We spotted Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s dressed casually, too bad he’s not dressed as Dr. Strange. That would definitely change the dress code at Wimbledon.
Djokovic is on the table, but he’s not playing like Djokovic yet. He’s dropped two games at 4-1 and looks very composed while Alcaraz punishes, playing freely and without frustration.
But we’ve seen this before many times before. He plays a bad first set and then comes back strong in the second or even the third, looking like the king in his prime who was a little late to the match.
Alcaraz’s team is ahead, but there are still many games left. Anything can happen.
After a first set that lasted about 15 minutes, Carlos Alcaraz broke Novak Djokovic’s serve to take a 1-0 lead in the first set.
The first game of the entire match – which could last up to five sets and an indefinite amount of time – lasted about 10 minutes. Get ready and grab your favorite Wimbledon snacks and drink, because this could be one that lasts for years.
We are here for the Wimbledon final!
Good morning tennis fans, it’s time for the Wimbledon 2024 final: Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic. Who will you choose?
