Carlos Alcaraz has dethroned reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.
In Sunday’s thrilling men’s singles final, the 20-year-old Spanish prodigy clinched his first Wimbledon win and second Grand Slam title by a score of 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
“Winning my second Grand Slam here in Wimbledon is really special for me — a dream come true, without a doubt,” Alcaraz said after the match, per USA Today. “I’m really, really happy to come back after the first set. And facing Novak, playing such a great level at the end, it was a really amazing experience for me.”
Two champions that treated us to an all-time classic ✨
Thank you, @DjokerNole and @carlosalcaraz 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/P3SAca0gET
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023
By breaking Djokovic’s four-time consecutive winning streak at Wimbledon and 34-match streak overall, Alcaraz ended the 36-year-old Serbian player’s third bid to win all four majors this year and prevented him from tying Margaret Court’s record of scoring 24 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic’s 35th appearance on Centre Court also marks his first loss at Wimbledon since the 2013 men’s singles final against Andy Murray.
“Obviously you never like to lose matches like this, but I guess when all the emotions are settled I have to still be very grateful because I won many, many tight and close matches here,” said Djokovic, per USA Today. “Maybe I should have lost a couple of matches I won, so this is Even Steven.”
Already making history as the third-youngest Wimbledon winner since 1986, Alcaraz is now the first men’s singles champion since 2002 who is neither Djokovic, Murray, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
Before receiving the Wimbledon trophy, Alcaraz called the moment “a dream come true,” according to The New York Times, and addressed Djokovic, jokingly saying, “Now that I won, I hope you are coming to more of my matches.”
Alcaraz also told the tennis star in his acceptance speech shared on the Wimbledon Twitter account, “It’s unbelievable. You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis watching you. Since I was born, you already were winning tournaments. It’s amazing.”
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