By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Sunday, July 14, 2024

Wimbledon—An absurdly-angled Carlos Alcaraz drop shot sent Novak Djokovic racing so far off the court, he could have leaped into the photo pit for reprieve.

A focused Alcaraz transformed probing points into photo finishes in a win worth framing.

Djokovic: I'm Not At Alcaraz Level

Playing with fire and flair, Alcaraz dominated Novak Djokovic for two sets then withstood a late rally charging to his second straight Wimbledon championship with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) triumph in a commanding final.

Converting his fourth championship point to conclude a two hour, 27-minute victory, Alcaraz tossed his Babolat stick aside and thrust his arms toward the sky completing a masterful performance for his 14th consecutive Wimbledon win.

"Obviously it was a great match for me," said Alcaraz, the ninth man in Open Era history to retain Wimbledon. "Obviously Novak didn't play his best the first two sets, a lot of mistakes. I made the most of that.

"Yeah, it is a great feeling even thinking about being French Open winner and Wimbledon champion the same year, that few players just done it before. It's unbelievable."



The Princess of Wales presented Alcaraz with the champion’s trophy just as she did last year though this title match was a much different story than four hour, 42-epic Alcaraz posted in dethroning Djokovic in the 2023 final.

In a phenomenal show of shot-making skill, Alcaraz broke Djokovic in his opening service game of the first two sets, twisted spinning serves into the body, torched him with flame-thrower forehands and tormented him with finesse.

The 21-year-old Spaniard seized his fourth Grand Slam crown in as many major finals—joining Roger Federer as the second man in Open Era history to win his first four Slam finals—and now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with elite champions as the sixth man in history to sweep Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season.

“Honestly it is a dream for me winning this trophy,” Alcaraz told Annabel Croft in his on-court interview. “I did an interview when I was 11 years old and I said my dream was to win Wimbledon.

“I’m repeating my dream. I want to keep going. Obviously it’s a great feeling to play on this amazing court and lift this amazing trophy. The most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and obviously the most beautiful trophy.”



Alcaraz collects a champion’s check of £2,700,000 and embeds his name alongside Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic as the sixth man to complete the rare Roland Garros-Wimbledon double championship in succession.

The third-seeded Alcaraz ended Djokovic’s brilliant run with some beautifully brutal drives.

Superior serving and some ballistic ball-striking—particularly off his volatile forehand—empowered Alcaraz to take charge from the outset. Alcaraz won 84 percent of his first serve points, compared to 66 percent for his opponent, faced only three break points all day and surrendered serve just once—from triple championship point up when he served for the title at 5-4, 40-love in the third set.

“I think just fighting [was the key], believing,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t know it’s a huge honor for me to be part of the players who have achieved Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.

“Really glad to be at the same table as Novak. I don’t consider myself a champion yet, not as them but I try to keep going. I try to keep building my path and my journey.”

The onslaught came from all areas.

The reigning Roland Garros champion struck 16 more winners—42 to 26—-and doubled Djokovic’s forehand winner total (22 to 11) in the process. When Alcaraz unleashed some of those rocket forehand drives down the line, the ball blurred like a BB with the weight of a bowling ball.

Coming off arthroscopic surgery to repair his torn medial meniscus in his right knee on Wednesday, June 5th in Paris, the second-seeded Serbian showed remarkable resilience just to battle into his 10th Wimbledon final.

Seven-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic tried to alter his tactics but simply ran into a buzzsaw 16 years his junior.

Beating the US Open champion to the ball, Alcaraz out-played the Grand Slam king in every phase of the game in building a 6-2, 6-2, 5-4, 40-love lead. Then Djokovic showed his champion character fighting off three championship points to break back for 5-all.

Denied his quest for a record 25 Grand Slam crown—and a record-equaling eighth Wimbledon championship—Djokovic was pure class in defeat.

“It was definitely very hot today. Obviously not the result I wanted and of course especially the first couple of sets wasn’t up to par from my side,” Djokovic said. “Credit Carlos for playing great tennis from the back of the court, very complete tennis.

“I tried to push him, saved three match points. It wasn’t meant to be. He was an absolutely deserved winner today so congratulations to him for some amazing tennis….Everything you have done so far at only 21 years of age is incredible so keep it going. We’ll see a lot more of you I’m sure.”



What we witnessed today was a young champion whose all-court arsenal unsettled the man many opponents call GOAT.

A roar reverberated throughout Centre Court as the Princess of Wales, dressed in royal purple, arrived in the Royal Box.

Today’s final was a rematch of the electrifying 2023 title match that saw Alcaraz dethrone defending-champion Djokovic 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, snapping the Serbian superstar’s 45-match Centre Court winning streak in a four hour, 42-minute thriller.

This time around, the 21-year-old Spaniard, empowered by last month’s run to his maiden Roland Garros crown, pulled the plug striding onto Centre Court as defending champion armed with a 3-0 career record in Grand Slam finals.

Testing the second seed’s surgically-repaired knee from the start, Alcaraz drilled down the line drives from the very first game stretching the court and informing Djokovic this was going to be a physical test placing a premium on running strikes.

In an opening-game statement, Alcaraz slashed several returns down the line catching Djokovic, who was sometimes serving-and-volleying, off guard. The opener spanned 20 points and 13 minutes, concluding with Alcaraz converting his fifth break point to snatch the break.

While it was only half as long as the mammoth 26-minute game the pair played in the third set of the 2023 final, it set the bar for how challenging service holds could be for the Grand Slam king.

“The first game was incredible. One of the longest first games I've ever played,” Djokovic said. “Yeah, you're right, that set the tone. I think he was coming out from the blocks ready to battle and ready to play his best level right away, which wasn't the case last year where I started better, had a comfortable first-set win. Today, from the first point, he was there, he was ready. That's all I can say in terms of that.”

The defending champion cruised through eight of his first nine service points charging to a 3-1 lead before an esteemed group of champions in the Royal Box, including Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Ken Rosewall and Stefan Edberg.

Bidding to stall his slide, Djokovic tried playing down the line but missed his trusty two-hander then double-faulted away the second break as Alcaraz advanced to 4-1 after 27 minutes of play..

Injecting pace into a flat first serve, Alcaraz converted his second set point to close a strong opener in 41 minutes.

It’s tough to find fault in Djokovic trying to take the net away—after he was run around behind the baseline—but he was only 4 of 12 at net in the first set and 5 of 10 in the front-court in the second set. The whiplash passes from Alcaraz sometimes left Djokovic looking like a stranded commuter as the train roared past.

At 37 years 53 days, Djokovic was bidding to become the oldest man in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title and the first player in the Open Era to win multiple Wimbledon men’s singles titles after turning 35.

The generation gap widened as Alcaraz, hitting his forehand bigger and deeper, battered out the opening break to start the second set. Alcaraz denied a break point to hold for 2-0—by then he’d won eight of the first 10 games.

A disorienting blend of Alcaraz’s dynamic athleticism, shifting speeds and commanding closure at net—he won 16 of 22 trips to net—and relentless firepower from the baseline provoked Djokovic into going for more on serve.

An explosive Alcaraz was cracking drives with such ease, the 24-time Grand Slam champion looked reluctant to engage the champion in crosscourt forehand exchanges.

The bad news for Djokovic was when he tried to change direction down the line with the forehand, he was often missing wide.

The worse news: Djokovic was bungling short volleys when he did get to net while a free-flowing Alcaraz was suffocating the seven-time champion forcing him to chase balls into the corners.

A skittish Djokovic double-faulted again another break to fall behind 2-6, 2-5.

“I really think he just was better than me in every aspect of the game: in movement, in the way he was just striking the ball beautifully, serving great, everything,” Djokovic said. “I did all I can to prepare myself for this match and this tournament in general. If someone told me I would play Wimbledon finals three, four weeks ago, I would take it for sure. Where I was three, four weeks ago, where I am now...

“Of course, I do feel disappointed. It's a bitter taste to lose the finals the way I did today. If has to be a success in the end of the day with me and my team playing Wimbledon finals and losing to the best player of the tournament without a doubt. That's all I can say.”



Serving for the set, Alcaraz slid a wide serve for set point—his 24th point won in 28 first-serve points—before hammering a 125 mph serve winner wide.

After a mere 75 minutes, Alcaraz was defending demolition man, winning 12 of the first 16 games for a two-set lead.



Adrift, Djokovic desperately needed a service stand and made it. Staring down four break points—by then Alcaraz had earned 12 break points in all—Djokovic tamed trouble slamming a 121 mph ace wide to wrap a tense hold for a 2-1 third-set lead.

When Djokovic threatened in the sixth game with a backhand pass for break point, Alcaraz answered with authority dropping a 134 mph serve bomb out wide then ripping a 121 ace down the T to level the third set at 3-all.

In a brilliant burst of shotmaking Alcaraz unleashed four winners sending coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and his entire box leaping to its feet as Alcaraz broke for 5-4.

Serving with new balls, Alcaraz earned triple championship point at 40-love. Then the third-seeded Alcaraz showed he was human after all, tightening up really for the first time all day.

A double fault, a fine Djokovic backhand down the line and errant forehand swing volley saw all three championship points wiped away. When Alcaraz netted a forehand down the line, Djokovic broke back and suddenly what seemed a straight-forward straight-sets win got a little crazy.

“It was 40-love but I was saying [still] so far away,” Alcaraz said. “Djokovic, Novak, is an unbelievable fighter. I knew he was going to have his chances again.

“I tried to stay there. I tried to win the point with the serve I couldn’t. I tried to stay calm, stay positive going into the tiebreaker. I tried to play my best tennis. Really glad at the end I could find solutions happy to be in this situation and playing a great tiebreaker.”

Resetting in the tiebreaker, Alcaraz fired a forehand winner down the line for 3-1.

Showing hand skills that would make former Wimbledon winners Pete Sampras and John McEnroe proud, Alcaraz flicked a slick half-volley pick-up to edge ahead 4-3. The forehand down the line failed Djokovic again at 5-3.



Backing up Djokovic with the threat of another forcing forehand, Alcaraz dabbed a drop shot winner for a fourth championship point at 6-4.

When Djokovic found the net, Alcaraz was Wimbledon champion again.

The seven-time champion and repeat ruler embraced at net—perhaps a prelude to their next meeting in Paris or New York.

Then again, this season has shown us how Alcaraz and Sinner can separate themselves from the pack.

Don't discount a healthy Djokovic though.

Reaching a Wimbledon final just weeks after surgery is a heroic effort and as Djokovic spoke in his post-match presser it's clear the fire still burns brightly within.

Still, Alcaraz successfully defended Wimbledon at the age of 21—without playing his best tennis in every match— very impressive indeed.

Following Alcaraz's maiden major at the 2022 US Open, his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, suggested the then teenage phenom was capable of collecting 20-plus Grand Slams.



After raising the title trophy today, Alcaraz said his goal is simple: secure his spot at the table of elite champions. 

"At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That's my main goal," Alcaraz said. "That's my dream right now.

"It doesn't matter if I already won four Grand Slams at the age of 21. If I'm not keep going, all these tournaments for me, it doesn't matter."

"I really want to keep going. I will try to keep winning and end my career with a lot of them."

Welcome to the Alcaraz Age.