Carlos Alcaraz was certainly the favorite entering the Wimbledon 2024 final on Sunday. However, few would have expected the 21-year-old to dominate Novak Djokovic in the way he did to lift his second Wimbledon title. After his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 win over Djokovic, Alcaraz has made 4 big tennis names extremely proud, i.e. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev.
Astounding Alcaraz
The Spaniard defends his #Wimbledon title with a stunning straight sets victory over Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) pic.twitter.com/bEbT9HwMZh
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024
Alcaraz joined these champions in becoming only the fifth player in tennis history to defeat the Serb in straight sets in at least one Grand Slam final.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion suffered his first straight sets loss in a Grand Slam final at the US Open 2007. An in-form Federer completely destroyed Djokovic 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Djokovic would then sustain his second straight-sets finals loss in 2013, which was co-incidentally at Wimbledon. Playing with the crowd’s backing, Brit superstar Murray defeated the former World No.1, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
The next loss probably does not come as a surprise. Nadal, the King of Clay, required only 2 hours and 41 minutes to win the French Open 2020 final, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. And the following year, Medvedev would achieve this same feat by clinching a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in the US Open 2021 final.
Djokovic lauds Alcaraz after poor showing in Wimbledon 2024 final
Many tennis lovers were shocked by Djokovic’s disappointing level of tennis, especially in the first two sets. However, the Spaniard was relentless in his attacking style of play and took merely 2 hours and 27 minutes to clinch the victory.
In the post-match press conference after the Wimbledon 2024 final, Djokovic himself was full of praise for a player who is 16 years his junior and is the future of tennis.
“The way I felt on the court today against him, I was inferior on the court. He was a better player. That’s it.
“He played every single shot better than I did. I don’t think I could’ve done much more… he wasn’t allowing me to have free points on my serve.
“He played with a lot of variety. I’ve never seen him serve that way. 136. I’ve never seen him serve that fast. He must’ve had a really good serving practice day yesterday.
“He really outplayed me… he was better than me in every aspect of the game,” Djokovic was quoted as saying.
Alcaraz will certainly celebrate his impressive win. However, knowing his work ethic, the youngster will surely soon begin preparations for the clay court tournament at Roland Garros for the 2024 Olympics.
