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To be the best, you got to beat the best. And on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz took the cliché to heart with an epic five-set victory over Novak Djokovic to win the first Wimbledon title of his career.
Djokovic got off to a hot start with a 6-1 victory in the first set, but it was all Alcaraz from there. The match included a grueling tiebreaker in the second set that the Spaniard would win. He snapped Djokovic’s streak of 15 consecutive tiebreaks won at Grand Slams.
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Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his win over Novak Djokovic during the men's singles final on day 14 of Wimbledon in London, Sunday, July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
It was a battle from there.
Djokovic won the fourth set 6-3 and appeared to be gaining momentum to come back and defeat Alcaraz, but unforced errors coupled with the speed of the emerging tennis star appeared to be too much for Djokovic.
As Alcaraz moved up to 3-1, Djokovic was so frustrated that he smashed his racket into the net post. Djokovic would make it a game, cutting his deficit. But Alcaraz’s creativity with his drop shots and his lobs would be too much for Djokovic and he picked up the win in the final set, 6-4.
Carlos Alcaraz returns to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in London, Sunday, July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Alcaraz topped Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev in the matches before taking on Djokovic. Last year, he made it to the fourth round before he was ousted by Jannik Sinner. In 2021, he was out in the second round against Medvedev. Alcaraz was just a wild-card selection at that point.
He won his first Grand Slam title last year at the U.S. Open. He topped Casper Ruud in for sets and officially announced his presence on the men’s circuit. He already took home runs at the Indian Wells Masters and the Madrid Open and made a semifinal appearance at the French Open.
Novak Djokovic gestures to the crowd after winning a game against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in London, Sunday, July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Djokovic was looking for the eighth Wimbledon title of his career and the 24th overall. He had already won the Australian Open and the French Open.
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With a win over Djokovic, Alcaraz now firmly plants himself as one of the tennis players who will lead the next generation of stars after Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer call it quits.