Coronation on Centre Court: Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in five-set epic for first Wimbledon title

From Chris Evert and Stefan Edberg seated in the Royal Box, to Hollywood royalty Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman in the crowd, the weight of this moment was lost on no one. Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon title, and second Grand Slam, but the significance of this victory goes beyond his own ever-improving personal record.

During the meteoric rise of this phenomenon over the past 18 months, a win over one of the sport’s ageing giants, at Grand Slam level, was the one glaring gap in Alcaraz’s resume and his bid to hog the spotlight at the top of the game.

That passing-of-the-torch moment happened in extraordinary fashion, Alcaraz beating Djokovic on a surface that was alien to him, on a court where the Serb was unbeaten in almost a decade, in a tournament his opponent had won seven times already.

The occasion kicked off miserably for Alcaraz as he was slow to get off the mark, Djokovic playing the match to his tune by keeping Alcaraz parked on the baseline. Alcaraz scarcely came to the net or threw in the drop shot that has become his trademark, struggling to contend with the ferocity of Djokovic’s groundstrokes from the back of the court, his normally monstrous forehand doing little damage.

It resembled the several beatdowns the Serb had handed out to the 20-something challengers over recent years.

Second-set turnaround

Midway through the second-set tie-breaker, 4-5 down, Alcaraz would unfurl his signature. Djokovic served down a bomb, Alcaraz defended to turn the point into a rally, and as he approached a ball mid-court by winding up one of those huge forehands, before changing the tempo and pillowing the ball over the net for a near-perfect drop shot.

Djokovic had gone 15 tie-breakers unbeaten at Grand Slam level in 2023. He had won each of his six at the French without making a single unforced error. It was, then, a moment of outrageous audacity for Alcaraz, two points away from a two-set deficit, to produce that at that moment, yet it also felt so on-brand for his raw, mercurial talent to be unencumbered by the pressure.

The tie-breaker had, up until that point, been a supreme display of elite shot-making from both sides of the net, just like the rest of the second set. Alcaraz had come out with more spring in his step, immediately making a statement with a break of serve.

Djokovic hit back immediately, his legendary return doing the damage his serve seemed to be failing to do. The momentum would swing back and forth as Alcaraz settled down, preying on Djokovic’s falling first serve success rate and commanding more with his forehand.

Djokovic would deliver under pressure as he always has, winning a 29-shot rally break-point down, riling up the crowd. Alcaraz would respond with magic of his own, chasing everything his 16-years-older opponent threw at him and returning it with interest. An 83-minute exhibition between the two best players of the world would go into a tie-breaker, the tie-breaker would go into overtime, and two simple backhands into the net would give Alcaraz a way back into the contest.

Holding his level

Momentum ebbed and flowed from there but Alcaraz managed to stay in control, even when he was down. After winning the 26-minute-long fifth game of the third set, and taking it 6-1 shortly after, he had the opportunity to put the nail in the coffin with two break points in the first game of the fourth.

Just as he would have learned during those gruelling 26 minutes though, Djokovic’s legendary inner steel will make him pay for missed opportunities. The Serb saved both of them, won four of the next five games, and took the match to a fifth set.

In 35 previous Grand Slam finals (he has only played 71 in total), Djokovic had only lost a fifth set once, 11 years ago.

He kicked off the fifth set upbeat, his serve and forehand once again firing on all cylinders. Great players raise their game at the key moments, and it was a fine test to pass for Alcaraz as he did not let his level fall during Djokovic’s late resurgence. He fashioned a break point midway through the set and won it with an incredible running backhand passing shot down the line. Djokovic smashed his racquet into the wooden net post moments later.

Anyone familiar with the Serb would know the match was far from over there. Alcaraz needed to stay sharp and serve well, even displaying more of that trademark audacity, to seal the win.