After years of false starts, there is finally an outright war between the generations in men’s tennis.
In a stunning comeback that rocked the All England Club’s venerable Center Court, Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old Spanish star who has blitzed the sport in his short career, pulled off the near impossible, defeating Novak Djokovic in a Wimbledon Finale grass that the man widely considered the greatest weed of all time has long used as his back lawn.
Losing a set and struggling to avoid embarrassment, Alcaraz rediscovered his unique combination of speed, power and touch, and just in time recognized the intricacies of lawn tennis.
He fought his way back into the game in an epic 90-minute second set in which he was a point away from a seemingly insurmountable two-set deficit.
He took control of the game midway through the third set, securing a crucial second break from Djokovic’s often unbreakable serve in a game that included 13 deuces.
He faltered in the fourth set as Djokovic, four-time Wimbledon champion and seven-time winner of major tennis championships and the most dangerous player ever when faced with defeat, solidified and rediscovered the magic footwork he had served for a long time as the basis of its success.
But then Alcaraz stepped up again to take the win, 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4, not only overcoming Djokovic’s seemingly endless skills and talents but also breaking his spirit.
As the momentum changed one last time and Alcaraz smacked a backhand over the line to break Djokovic’s serve early in the fifth set, the Serb with the toughest of minds smashed his racquet at the net post. A few points earlier, he had missed his chance to take control, knocking out a floating forehand in the middle of the field and sending it into the net. Now, just a few minutes later, he was beset by what has so seldom happened to him in recent years – a loss to a relative newcomer on a big stage, especially on that big stage and with tennis history within reach.
For Djokovic, the 23-time Grand Slam champion in men’s singles who finally defeated his long-time rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer last month, the defeat cost him a shot at one of the few prizes he hasn’t equaled – he became the first man since 1969 to reach the Grand Slam and win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single year. He was just a single game away from achieving the feat two years ago. This time, at 36, an age when most champions have retired to the broadcast booth, he was eight games away, which seemed so much closer than for everyone else.
In the final game, Alcaraz showed why everyone has been making such a fuss about him for so long, taking down Djokovic with the hottest weapons in his arsenal – the silky drop shot, the artful topspin lup, a slamming serve and… a final smashing forehand, which Djokovic reached but failed to lift over the net.
This is an evolving story. Check back for updates.
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