The magical Alcaraz wins Wimbledon against Djokovic in an epic final

The changing of the guard in tennis is here. Center Court at Wimbledon is where the beginning of an era is sometimes played out. The current one, the Big 3 completed by Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, began with the victory of Roger Federer over Pete Sampras in the round of 16 match in 2001; and this Sunday the baton is symbolically performed. Because Carlitos Alcaraza boy of 20 years and 2 months who already won the US Open this summer, he staged an unforgettable comeback to celebrate his first Wimbledon against Djokovic by 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4.

The match is already part of the best history of tennis, because Alcaraz’s rennet returns and, at the same time, scares his ghosts. Because just a month ago, in the semifinals of Roland Garros, the dimension of the event turned him into a bundle of nerves, translated into a spasm that left him almost paralyzed. This time, Alcaraz came back from a terrible start and recovered against the giant who was chasing his twenty-fourth grand slam and eighth title in the cathedral. Great.

The first set was solved by standard Alcaraz. He never found a rhythm. He attacked when he wasn’t playing, he got up when there was no opportunity, and he couldn’t even find the space to try the drop shots that are the trademark of his identity. As soon as Carlitos was Carlitos, as soon as he smiled and shouted with pure joy on the track, the game could change.

But when?

There were green shots at the end of the first set, and Alcaraz definitely showed up early in the second. He was already second, that is, he was already the same as always. He found a rhythm thanks to the fact that he chose well, and it brought everything back: drop shots, long shots, climbing the net… The points returned his smile, his joy returned his confidence, and he started cheering loudly, shaking his fist, looking for warmth from the crowd that wanted to give it to them. That affection returned to him in the rushes against his rival who, on top of everything else, had almost never failed until then. At 1-0 for the Spaniard, Djokovic made his ninth double fault, but his ninth in the entire tournament. Anomaly that speaks of its reliability, also at the service. In that game, the first break came in favor of the Spaniard, but the final was tied again in moments. From 3-3 came some of the best moments of the aspirant, widening the track with incredible angles that ended with the Serbian, elastic and indomitable player, several times on the ground. Verbatim.

But Djokovic has the keys to the tennis cathedral, a garden that once belonged to Federer. He played with the confidence of someone who hadn’t lost a Wimbledon match in 2,194 days, since the quarter-finals in 2017, when he retired injured; and in center court his streak lasted even longer, 10 years and 9 days.

That weight, the weight of history, also affects the pulse that Carlitos keeps at only 20 years old, while his opponent’s is 36. That’s how the tie break of the second set comes, the key moment of the match. For the Serb, fed up with success, it is another one of his thousand battles, but this war is written with a lot of fine print. The game is one round that starts after another. Also with 4-4 in the tiebreaker of the second set. In one of those tense exchanges, Alcaraz manages to throw his opponent off the field and with a free ball from the right, a ruckus ensues, as the mischievous Carlos chooses a fall spell over the regularity of the shot. For a few moments, the crowd in the center holds its breath, until the ball easily reaches the other side of the net, dismounting their opponent. And then, down 5-4, Djokovic, unbearable due to fatigue in his pre-serve routine, often over the allowed 20 seconds, finally obeys the referee’s verbal admonition. Although he turns the warning into a 6-5 lead. There is no truce. And right there, when he could have broken the final, with a set ball, with 6-5 in his favor in the tiebreak, the Serb pressed two simple backhands into the net. Two gifts that the Spaniard takes advantage of to close the second round. The final starts again. But that’s another matter.

The wind blows in Alcaraz’s sails. He quickly leads 2-0 and, at 3-1, Djokovic begins to fumble: now he accuses the chair umpire of starting the timer too early to monitor the breaks between points. And the Spaniard continues to do his thing. The stands are no longer divided. It is a cry: “Carlos, Carlos!”. And in the end, he takes away his serve again, in the seventh break ball, after 25 minutes of play. Like the length of some easy sets. In breath, the sleeve ends 6-1. The applicant is already sending.

Then came the first opportunity to fly to victory. With 1-0 for the Spaniard, Djokovic opened the door for him, with 15-40 on serve, but he saved both break points, repeated himself as in many other exhibitions in his career and pushed to score in the fourth set 6-3. In a game of contrasts, the face of the defending champion lit up in front of his shriveled and sad opponent.

This scenario lasts only game and peak. Because Đoković had a break point for a 2-0 lead, and after some time he found himself in the opposite situation. Alcaraz was once again an artist who entertained the crowd. When he took a 2-1 lead, he unleashed the fury of the Serb, who smashed his racquet against the post to boos from the cathedral. Not that way.

Under pressure, Alcaraz did not stop playing his way and enjoying the field to the delight of the crowd. The title was supposed to reward the best, in terms of tennis or mentality. And the best was Alcaraz, a brave 20-year-old who, sticking to his happy and artistic tennis, manages to open an era. And extend it.