The Reigning King: 21 Year Old Carlos Alcaraz Wins Back To Back Wimbledon Titles As He Dismantles Novak Djokovic In Straight Sets, Solidifying Himself As The Best Tennis Player In The World
Aaron Chown - PA Images. Getty Images.Back to back Wimbledon champ. Four time slam winner. A champion on all three surfaces already. The tennis world in the palm of his hands. Not too bad for a 21 year old Carlos Alcaraz. Today he once again made sure everyone knew that he is the current and future king of tennis. It's his sport.
Today was an obliteration of Novak Djokovic. Last year's finals matchup was a five set thriller with edge of your seat entertainment. For two sets today it was complete one way traffic. It was borderline embarrassing for Novak because there was nothing he could do. That was due to a combination of Carlos playing to the peak of his abilities, flawlessly executing his game plan and Djokovic playing like a 37 year old who had minor knee surgery a little over a month ago. Alcaraz dictated every point and pretty much only lost a point when he made an error, not when Novak hit a winner. He picked apart Novak at the net and peppered the Serbian's forehand with aggression. On serve he was virtually untouchable.
Julian Finney. Getty Images.In the 3rd set Novak decided to empty the kitchen sink and give Carlos everything he had. His level picked up, as did his intensity on court. Even the fans turned on his side, cheering for the match to go longer. That's how you know this was an ass-kicking —the fans were on Djokovic's side.
After a dominant returning game to break and go up 5-4 in the 3rd, Carlos had himself three championship points at 40-0. A combination of nerves and an asshole fan interfering with a scream saw Alcaraz let all of them slip away and find himself getting broken back to level the set at 5-5. It was a crazy choke at the time. Alcaraz ended up taking it home in a tiebreak to avoid this still shot living in tennis infamy forever.
You give Novak an inch and he usually bursts through the door. I've seen that story way too many times. As much as a choke it was to blow that service game, it took incredible mental strength to regroup, hold to force the tiebreak, and then win it right then and there. To experience a choke and find a way to erase it like that is next level.
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Something I mentioned to focus on heading into today was Djokovic's lack of challenge or competition before the final. Popyrin, Rune, Musetti and a walkover against De Minaur didn't really test the Serbian at all. What kind of level was he actually playing at? Based off those players you really had no idea. Then you find yourself facing the best possible level of Alcaraz. You can see why today went the way it did. It was a blitz from the start and he didn't begin to muster up a response until the 3rd.
It's unbelievable that Alcaraz has become this dominant on grass this quickly. Before he won last year's Wimbledon no one knew what he would be able to offer on the surface. No one was expecting him to surpass Djokovic's level that's for sure. Now without question he's the hunted at this tournament. His best winning percentage of the three surfaces is actually on grass. He may not be the number one player in the world by the rankings, but there's no doubt he's the best there is in the game right now. Jannik Sinner is great and will challenge him for years to come, but it's Alcaraz above anyone else right now. 4-0 in grand slam finals at just 21. Just silly. I can't wait for Nike to pump out his own logo and merch. I need it all. The torch has officially been passed, we have our new king.
VAMOS!!!
As for Djokovic. He said he was completely out-played today and felt inferior on the court. You don't hear him say that often, if ever. Next up for him will be the Olympics if his knee is up for it. That's the one even he's yet to win in his career and trust me, he wants it bad. Certainly won't be easy with Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev, and even Nadal there to stop him. After that he's still chasing slam number 25 which would break the record for any man or woman. There's also Federer's 8 Wimbledon's that he's still chasing. Unfortunately there's possibly a better version of Federer on the scene now to challenge him and he's only going to get better.
P.S. I don't have any highlights to post because Wimbledon is awful at this. They're somehow worse than MLB used to be. When they post something I'll update the blog.
Update: