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Wimbledon, July 16

Carlos Alcaraz said he wanted another shot at Novak Djokovic. Said it would make winning a Wimbledon championship more special. Well, Alcaraz got his chance to face Djokovic. And he beat him.

Alcaraz put aside a poor start and surged down the stretch to end Djokovic’s 34-match winning streak at the All England Club by edging him 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in an engaging, back-and-forth final, claiming his first championship at Wimbledon and second Grand Slam trophy overall.

The No. 1-ranked Alcaraz prevented No. 2 Djokovic from collecting what would have been a record-tying eighth title, and fifth in a row, at the grasscourt tournament. Djokovic also was kept from earning a 24th career Major. Instead of Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, becoming the oldest male champion at Wimbledon in the Open era, Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain, became the third-youngest. The age gap between the two was the widest in any men’s Slam final since 1974.

So Alcaraz had youth on his side, which he also did, of course, when they met at the French Open last month. That one was extraordinary for two sets before Alcaraz cramped up and faded. This time, he had the stamina and the strokes to get past Djokovic. Alcaraz is faster and capable of more power, but Djokovic is equipped with an abundance of talents and so much muscle memory. He’s been there, and done that, in ways Alcaraz, for now, can only dream of.

But if this victory on a windy and cloudy day at Centre Court, where Djokovic last lost in the 2013 final, was any indication, Alcaraz is on his way to achieving quite a bit himself. Still, this is all relatively new to him: Djokovic’s record 35th Grand Slam final was Alcaraz’s second.

Yet it was Alcaraz who won a 32-point, 25-minute mini-masterpiece of a game on the way to taking the third set. And it was Alcaraz who was not intimidated when Djokovic forced things to a fifth set. It was Alcaraz who moved out front for good by breaking to go up 2-1 in the fifth with a backhand passing winner. Djokovic, who fell during the point but quickly popped back up, reacted by slamming his racquet into the net post, letting go on impact. He destroyed his equipment and earned a code violation from chair umpire Fergus Murphy.

They would play on for another 24 minutes, bringing the total to more than four and a half hours, but Alcaraz never relented, never gave way. And it was Alcaraz, not Djokovic, who covered his face and rolled in the grass after the final point, then received the gold trophy. — AP

What’s my name?

Carlos Alcaraz

Age: 20

Country: Spain

ATP ranking: 1

Grand Slam titles: 2 US Open 2022, Wimbledon 2023

Early life

• Alcaraz started playing at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia, where his father, Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez, was the tennis academy director, before making his ATP main-draw debut at 16 in the 2020 Rio Open

Career

• He became the youngest men’s quarterfinalist in the Open Era at the US Open in 2021
• He became the first teenager to beat Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same tournament when he defeated the duo on consecutive days to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open in 2022
• He defeated fifth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud to clinch his first Major title at Flushing Meadows in 2022, becoming the youngest champion at the hardcourt tournament since American Pete Sampras (19) in 1990
• He is the youngest

World No. 1 in ATP rankings history

• He won nine titles as a teenager and is behind only Bjorn Borg, Nadal, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker and Andre Agassi

Playing a final against a legend of our sport — for me, it’s incredible. I have to congratulate Novak. It’s amazing to play against him. It’s unbelievable. You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis watching you. I mean, since I was born, you already were winning tournaments. — Carlos Alcaraz

I have to start with praise to Carlos and his team. What quality at the end of the match when you had to serve it out. You came up with some big plays in the big situation and you absolutely deserve it. Amazing. — Novak Djokovic

You certainly found your feet on grass this summer, an astonishing achievement against one of the greatest champions ever. — Rod Laver

You have given us immense joy today and I am sure that our pioneer in Spanish tennis, Manolo Santana, has also been cheering wherever he is… — Rafa Nadal