Lightning never strikes twice. Or so one would think in Novak Djokovic’s tennis career. But on Sunday, it did on Centre Court, as Carlos Alcaraz played celestial tennis to vanquish the Serb 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) for a second straight time in the Wimbledon final. The 10 games Djokovic won marked his second worst tally in Major finals after the seven he won against Rafael Nadal in the 2020 French Open final. It was a beat down like no other, as Alcaraz reduced him to a relic, handing him his first straight sets final defeat at SW19 since the 2013 loss to Andy Murray.
Just over five weeks ago, Djokovic underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. While he didn’t appear to be in any physical discomfort, he was often short of breath. However, citing the injury would be a disservice to Alcaraz’s excellence, as the 21-year-old played one of the matches of his life to secure his fourth Grand Slam title and complete the coveted French Open-Wimbledon double. “I am not going to consider myself a great champion yet,” Alcaraz declared. “Not like them,” he added, pointing to Djokovic. The evidence, however, spoke volumes. The only time Djokovic’s tennis matched Alcaraz’s was in the 13-minute opening game, which had seven deuces and ended with an Alcaraz break of serve. For the remainder of the contest, the 37-year-old 24-time Slam winner looked like an aged novelist who had lost for words.
Alcaraz won the first set 6-2, showing none of the nerves he had in last year’s final, which he lost 1-6. His serves were big and pinpoint, his groundstrokes powerful and sharply angled, and his favorite drop shot was a constant threat. The forehand was particularly mesmerizing, as Alcaraz seemed to control it with an invisible string from the other side. The Spaniard’s blindingly brilliant athleticism, which allowed him to reach balls that were on the verge of being swallowed by the court, left Djokovic exasperated.
The second set played out similarly to the first, with an early break coming relatively easily, aided by two excellent blocked returns from Alcaraz and a missed volley from Djokovic. The missed volley became a recurring theme for Djokovic, completely undoing his ploy to play a net-rushing style. In the third set, after pressuring Djokovic’s serve in the third game, Alcaraz intensified the pressure in the ninth. This pressure paid off when Djokovic allowed a two-fisted cross-court pass to whistle past him on break-point without even trying to reach it. But Alcaraz, uncharacteristically, let three match-points slip from 5-4, 40-0. He seemed rattled on the third when a fan cried out mid-rally while he was about to hit a swing volley into the open court. The ball sailed out, and in a flash, Djokovic had stretched the set to a tie-breaker. The seven-time Wimbledon winner has managed many a jailbreak in these parts, the most vivid being the 2019 final after being two match-points down to Roger Federer. But Alcaraz quickly refocused and rediscovered his best tennis, with a zipping forehand winner, a breathtaking pick up, and an astonishing drop shot from mid-court highlighting the tie-breaker. A return error from Djokovic on the fourth match-point sent him into seventh heaven.
