Carlos Alcaraz has defeated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final for the second year in a row to land an incredibly impressive 2024 Channel Slam.
Alcaraz conjured up a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win over Djokovic at the All England Club on Sunday, becoming the second man in the Open Era to win his first four major singles finals following Wimbledon legend Roger Federer, who retired in 2022.
His victory has brutally denied Djokovic an eighth Wimbledon singles title – a result which keeps Federer as the most successful man in SW19 history – as well as a 25th Grand Slam singles trophy, which would’ve moved the Serbian past Margaret Court at the top of the all-time list for the most major singles titles.
Alcaraz has also equalled the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam men’s singles titles won aged 21 or under, becomes the second Spanish man in history to win multiple Wimbledon trophies following his hero Rafael Nadal, and he is now the ninth male in the Open Era to successfully defend the title in SW19.
‘Honestly, it’s a dream for me,’ Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. ‘Winning this trophy. I did an interview when I was 11-years-old. I said my dream is to win Wimbledon. I’m repeating my dream. I want to keep going.
‘Obviously it’s a great feeling to play on this beautiful court. To lift this amazing trophy. For me this is the most beautiful tournament, most beautiful court… and the most beautiful trophy.’
Alcaraz’s Channel Slam feat is arguably the most impressive. Known as the hardest month in tennis, it is achieved when a player successfully wins the French Open title on the slow, bouncy clay and then triumphs at Wimbledon on the fast, unbouncy grass in the same calendar year.
Because of the huge differences between the surfaces and short timeframe between the Grand Slams, Alcaraz has become just the sixth man in the Open Era to do it after five icons – Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Quizzed about how he landed a Channel Slam, Alcaraz added: ‘I think just fighting and believing. I don’t know. It’s huge for me to be part of those players who have achieved it in the same year. Really glad to be in the same table as Novak. Huge champions did it. I don’t consider myself a champion yet like them. I’ll try to keep building my path and journey. It’s a huge moment for me.’
The 21-year-old was flawless at the start of Sunday’s final, moving ahead with an early break as Djokovic surprisingly attempted a number of serve-and-volleys, with Tim Henman describing his performance in the first set as ‘uncomfortable’ as a rare double fault eventually gave Alcaraz a double break to wrap it up 6-2.
Alcaraz only needed 41 minutes to take the first set with Djokovic simply not getting enough power on his groundstrokes, appearing to somewhat struggle physically, which was understandable given he almost missed SW19 altogether due to knee surgery after the nasty meniscus tear he suffered at Roland-Garros.
Djokovic badly needed to go up a level in the second set but Alcaraz continued to dominate with Nick Kyrgios commenting that the 37-year-old looked ‘completely uncharacteristic’ and was giving away ‘free points’ to his younger opponent.
Alcaraz took the second set by the same score as the first, 6-2, to edge towards victory in what was quickly becoming a drastically different match to last year’s final in SW19, which was incredibly tense between the duo and went to five sets.
This time around, though, Alcaraz simply looked perfect and Djokovic was clearly being outclassed, with murmurs of disbelief from fans all around Centre Court at what they were watching unfold.
The veteran roared in the third set when he saved four break points – and it seemed to give him a boost as he started to move through the gears and play better tennis – but he was on the wrong end of a potentially momentum-swinging moment, brutally missing a huge chance to go 4-2 up as Alcaraz crucially held.
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It looked to be costly as Alcaraz’s late break in the third set gave him the chance to serve out for the trophy, but he dramatically failed to covert three Championship points, as Djokovic battled back with his own break to make it 5-5.
The pair traded serve games to force a tie-breaker with Alcaraz then coming out on top 7-4 to clinch the Wimbledon singles title for the second successive year.
Alcaraz sent a classy tribute to Djokovic after the match, who has faced booing at this year’s Championships and also overcame a huge injury just to even play.
‘It’s been a difficult few weeks for you,’ Alcaraz said. ‘You guys have done an unbelievable work. After the French Open having surgery… You didn’t know if you’d be able to play this tournament. Making the final is a really great run. It’s been unbelievable. I was telling my team it’s something difficult to realise. I have huge respect for you and your team. Great job and keep going.’
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