Stephen Dunmoye
20-yr-old Carlos Alcaraz has defeated Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon men’s final, denying the Serbian a fifth consecutive title, in a five-set epic.
As one of the greatest matches ever played at the All England Club, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 to win one of the greatest ever Wimbledon finals as he fought from a set down in an instant classic to end Djokovic’s winning run in SW19, with the match played across almost five hours of breathtaking drama.
Before the final, Djokovic had won 34 consecutive matches at Wimbledon and had not lost on Centre Court since 2013, but Alcaraz overturned history to win his second grand slam title.
Djokovic had also won his previous 104 grand slam matches after winning the opening set.
In doing so, the 20-year-old Spaniard brings one of the most dominant eras of tennis history to an end.
Alcaraz is the first player outside of the sport’s ‘big four’ of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title since 2002.
Djokovic has been bidding to join Federer by equalling his men’s record of eight singles titles, but was denied by an inspired Alcaraz.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” an emotional Alcaraz said after receiving the trophy from the Princess of Wales. “Making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport – for me it’s incredible. It’s amazing, for a boy like me, 20 years old, to reach this kind of situation.”
