Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller to win his maiden Wimbledon title on Sunday. The world number 1 bagged the game 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
20-year-old Alcaraz became the third-youngest Wimbledon champion in the Open Era which started in 1968, behind Boris Becker (17) and Bjorn Borg (20).
He retained the world number-one position ahead of Djokovic and showed that he can shine on grass, having also won the Queen’s Club tune-up event last month.
Alcaraz’s previous major title came at last year’s US Open.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Alcaraz said. “It’s great to win, but even if I would have lost, I would have been really proud of myself.
“Making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport. I’m really, really proud of myself, the team that I have, the work that we put in every day.”
He added in the direction of Djokovic: “I started playing tennis watching you. Since I was born you were already winning tournaments. It is amazing.”
Djokovic was graceful in defeat, saying: “It was not so good for me but good for Carlos. I thought I would have trouble against you on clay and hard court but not on grass court. What a way to adapt to the surface, amazing.
“Praise to Carlos. What quality at the end of the match. You deserve it absolutely.”
“You never like to lose matches like these but when the emotions are settled, I must still be grateful. It’s a tough one to swallow, when you are so close, but these are the moments you work for every day. I didn’t win but lost against the better player.”
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