Jubilation: Alcaraz celebrates his second consecutive WImbledon title. Credit: Wimbledon Twitter account (@Wimbledon)
The third-ranked 21-year-old Spanish phenom has defeated world-second-ranked Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-2. 6-2, 7-6
Alcaraz has been red hot this summer; in June, he defeated German Alexander Zverev in five sets to win his first French Open, and now in July, he has kept that momentum.
With this 2024 Wimbledon victory, Alcaraz now holds a French Open title, two Wimbledon titles, and a US Open title in 2022, rapid results from the Spaniard, who only played in his first ATP major tournament at the 2020 Rio Open.
This final matchup was a rematch of Wimbledon’s 2023 final, a much closer, five-set match lasting just shy of five hours. Alcaraz this time around looked to have composure far beyond his years, coming out of the match firing on all cylinders and establishing a two-set lead. Despite having been put on his heels early, the 24-time Grand Slam winner, Djokovic, started asking questions, establishing a 4-2 game lead in the third set.
Alcaraz again displayed his uncanny composure, stopping Djokovic’s momentum by tying the match 4-4. Despite having four prior match points, Alcaraz couldn’t seal the match, and when Djokovic forced a tiebreak, it would be easy to begin to doubt oneself. Djokovic came into the match having been unbeaten in his last 14 tiebreaks, and losing the set could have thrown the momentum back in the Serbian’s favour.
Alcaraz won the tiebreak by the slimmest of margins, beating the 24-time champion 7-4 in the tiebreak. Dropping his racket in celebration before the pair embraced at centre court. In the post-game interview, Alcaraz spoke about accomplishing this dream.
“I said in an interview when I was 11–12 years old and I said that my dream is to win Wimbledon,” said Alcaraz. “I’m repeating my dream, and it’s a wonderful feeling.”
Alcaraz’s dream summer doesn’t end here; however, he will be looking forward to Paris 2024, where he will be playing doubles to represent his country with his idol, Rafael Nadal. After the star pairing was announced, Alcaraz was all smiles at the press conference. “I feel really, really happy to be able to play doubles with Rafa,” said Alcaraz. “I never expected to play in the Olympic Games with my idol.”
