![]() Alcaraz broke Djokovic to start the third set, taking his first match lead all afternoon. It also dented Djokovic’s aura of invincibility and inevitability. The second-set win snapped Djokovic’s run of 15 straight tiebreak victories in majors, including six in this year’s Wimbledon alone. Alcaraz claimed the second set via an 8-6 tiebreaker victory. And at last, after a 1-hour, 25-minute second set, it paid off. Alcaraz at last unleashed his athleticism, sending Djokovic sprawling wide on point after point. ![]() Robbed of the ability to control the game’s tempo, Alcaraz attempted to work the geometric angle, spraying Djokovic wide on serves and luring him forward with drop shots. The two crafted an early match highlight in the set’s fourth game: a 29-shot rally that ignited the crowd and ended with a defiant Djokovic howl. But Djokovic rapidly snuffed out the daylight between them, breaking Alcaraz and winning his service game to even the set at two games apiece. Alcaraz won the first two games of the set, allowing himself smiles and fist-pumps for the first time all match. A meaningless sixth-game service victory set up the seventh and final game of the first set, where Djokovic lasered in and crushed Alcaraz in four straight points to take the set, 6-1.ĭjokovic is 79-1 at Wimbledon when winning the first set, and the opening four games of the second set showed why he’s so dangerous with a lead. Alcaraz couldn’t adjust, dropping two consecutive serve games to go down 5-0. Alcaraz spent the first set trying to force his booming forehands, but Djokovic simply slowed the tempo, both during and between points. The only flaws in Alcaraz’s game Sunday were of strategy, not execution. ![]() After four deuce points, Djokovic finally held serve … and then proceeded to win the next four games after that. A sprinkle of rain had dampened the Centre Court grass about 45 minutes before the match began, and Djokovic struggled with his footing in the first game. Sports books, on the other hand, favored Djokovic BetMGM had him as a -200 favorite as the match began.Īlcaraz, the higher seed, opted to give Djokovic the honor of serving first, and for a moment, it appeared to be a strategic masterstroke. AI went with Alcaraz IBM’s Watson had the Spaniard as a 55 to 45 percent favorite. On the other, Alcaraz, the reigning US Open champion hailed as the future of the game but playing for the first time on Centre Court.ĭespite the vast difference in age, experience and accolades, opinions split on a favorite. On one end of the court, Djokovic, the four-time defending champion, looking to match Margaret Court’s record 24 Grand Slam titles. Luminaries from Brad Pitt to Daniel Craig to the Prince and Princess of Wales gathered at Centre Court under blue, windy skies to watch the match with storylines right out of Shakespeare. ![]() It was as definitive a statement as tennis has seen, a 20-year-old with a single Grand Slam title to his credit taking the game’s finest player to the absolute limit for an astounding, history-making victory. Alcaraz shook off first-set jitters and fourth-set nerves to conquer Djokovic, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)Ĭarlos Alcaraz, the brightest star of tennis’ post-Big Three generation, did what no one on Earth has been able to do in five years: defeat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. Carlos Alcaraz scored a dramatic fifth-set victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
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