Carlos Alcaraz ended Novak Djokovic’s long reign on Centre Court with a 1–6, 7–6(6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 victory for his first Wimbledon title.
A five-set shift of power
The first set belonged entirely to Djokovic. He broke Alcaraz twice and closed it 6-1 in 35 minutes, leaving the young Spaniard struggling for intensity.
Alcaraz reset immediately, breaking for a 2-0 lead in the second set. Djokovic broke back, and the set rolled into a tiebreak that would tip the whole match.
Ending a record, claiming a crown
In that tiebreak, Djokovic received a code violation for time-wasting. Alcaraz seized the opening to win it 8-6, snapping Djokovic’s Open-era Grand Slam record of 15 consecutive tiebreaks won.
The Spaniard then raced through the third set 6-1. Djokovic, a seven-time champion, gathered himself to level the match by taking the fourth, but the final act was written in the fifth.
After 4 hours and 42 minutes, the third-longest Wimbledon men’s final ever, Alcaraz broke Djokovic’s 34-match winning streak at the All England Club that dated to 2017. “It’s a dream come true,” Alcaraz told the crowd. “It’s great to win but even if I’d lost I’d have been very proud playing against a legend of our sport.”
At 20, in just his fifth grass-court tournament, he joined Manolo Santana and Rafael Nadal as Spain’s Wimbledon men’s singles champions.
