Carlos Alcaraz snapped Novak Djokovic’s run of four straight singles titles at Wimbledon, besting Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an epic final that approached five hours on Sunday in London.
Djokovic cruised through the first set, seeking to win his eighth Wimbledon and extend his record of most Grand Slam wins by a man to 24. But the 20-year-old Alcaraz appeared to lose some of his opening-set jitters in the second, even with King Felipe VI of Spain in the Royal Box to watch his country’s next great tennis player.
Alcaraz dug out of a hole in the second-set tiebreak, down three points to start, and shifted the momentum his way. He seemed to take firm control of the match when he broke Djokovic’s serve in a 27-minute game to take a 4-1 lead in his third set by winning the seventh break point.
But the 36-year-old Djokovic, of Serbia, wasn’t about to abdicate his throne without a fight, breaking the Spaniard’s serve twice in the fourth set to force a fifth, and deciding, set.
In all, Alcaraz posted 66 winners and 45 unforced errors, compared to 32 and 40, respectively, for Djokovic.
–Field Level Media