A dominant Carlos Alcaraz swept Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the men's final on Centre Court on Sunday to claim a second straight Wimbledon title.
It was when Alcaraz was right on the brink of victory that things finally became a tad more intriguing, as some spectators offered chants of Djokovic's two-syllable nickname -- "No-le! No-le!" -- while others replied with choruses of "Let's go, Carlos! Let's go!"
Alcaraz was up 5-4, 40-love in the third set when the occasion got the better of him. He frittered away his first championship point with a double fault, beginning a run of five mistakes by him that donated points, and that game, to Djokovic. There was a backhand that went awry. A forehand volley. A forehand. Another forehand. That was the only time all match that Djokovic broke Alcaraz.
Suddenly, it was 5-all. Suddenly, Alcaraz appeared rattled. Suddenly, Djokovic could hope.
But in the ensuing tiebreaker, Alcaraz -- who said afterward that he was trying to stay calm and positive -- earned his fourth match point and stayed cool as can be this time. Soon he was climbing through the stands to hug his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and others.
"It is a dream for me, winning this trophy," Alcaraz said. "It's a great feeling to play on this beautiful court, to lift this amazing trophy."
Sunday's final at the All England Club was a rematch from last year, when Alcaraz got past Djokovic in five sets.
Alcaraz, 21, added Wimbledon to his victory at the French Open in June, which made him the youngest man with Grand Slam titles on grass, clay and hard courts. The Spaniard won his first Slam title at the 2022 US Open as a teenager, and no man ever has collected more Slam hardware before turning 22 than he has.
He improved to 4-0 in major finals.
It was only the fifth straight-sets loss in a Grand Slam final for Djokovic, who was trying to win a 25th Slam title, which would be more than any other player in tennis history. The 37-year-old was also seeking his eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer for the most by a man at the grass-court major.
"Obviously not the result that I wanted, especially the first couple of sets," Djokovic said. "The level of tennis wasn't up to par, really, from my side. He had it all today. I tried to push him. ... It wasn't meant to be."
Djokovic played at Wimbledon weeks after he tore his meniscus at Roland Garros on June 3 and had an operation in Paris two days later. Given the circumstances, he said he was "very satisfied with this Wimbledon."
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, was sitting in the Royal Box for the match and took part in the trophy presentation. It was a rare public appearance for Kate since announcing in March that she has cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
The opening game appeared to portend an engrossing, back-and forth contest -- and a long one, perhaps worrying some folks about getting to a pub or a couch in time to see England face Spain in the men's soccer European Championship final in Germany on Sunday night. Alcaraz, of course, has a rooting interest.
All told, that first game consisted of seven deuces and 20 points across a hair shy of 14 minutes, containing brilliant moments by both men. Sprinting, sliding, stretching defense by Djokovic. Return winners by Alcaraz. When he slapped a strong reply to a 125 mph serve and drew a wide forehand from Djokovic, Alcaraz cashed in his fifth break chance.
That, it turned out, was the most competitive portion of the proceedings until the third set.
Not to say there weren't hints of brilliance the rest of the way -- just the outcome never really seemed in dispute.
Djokovic double-faulted to hand over a two-break, 5-1 lead in the first set. He put a volley into the net to fall behind by a break to begin the second then double-faulted to end that one.
This was not the body-contorting, get-to-everything Djokovic everyone is accustomed to seeing. By his account, Djokovic felt free of pain and able to move with his usual verve by only his third or fourth match of the fortnight. On this partly cloudy afternoon, with the temperature at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, Djokovic occasionally hopped awkwardly when he landed after serving, stepped gingerly between points or watched some of Alcaraz's big groundstrokes fly past without giving chase.
Djokovic missed volleys he usually makes and won just 27 of 53 points when he went forward.
Alcaraz was outstanding in pretty much every way, from the basic to the sorts of shots no one else would even try, much less pull off. Once, he leaped and wrapped his racket all the way around his back to get the ball over the net, although Djokovic did put an overhead away to get that point. Alcaraz ran wide of the doubles alley for forehand winners. Claimed points via drop shots. Smacked serves at up to 136 mph. Accumulated 14 break points, converting five, while facing just three despite going up against Djokovic, considered by many the greatest returner ever.
What can't Alcaraz do?
Two days before the final, Djokovic paid Alcaraz quite a compliment, saying: "I see a lot of similarities between me and him, in terms of ability to adapt and adjust to the surface. That's probably his biggest trait. ... He's got skills to play equally well on any surface and to adapt to a given opponent that particular day. So he's a very all-around player, very complete player."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- ESPN News Services
No comments:
Post a Comment