By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
We just witnessed maybe the passing of the torch in the sport of lawn tennis in the gentleman’s division.
After losing against Novak Djokovic during the semifinals of the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament, the 20-year-old rising star Carlos Alcaraz from Spain finally had his redemption in Wimbledon, pulling off a thrilling five-set victory to be hailed as the youngest champion on the grass surface in 37 years.
Alcaraz had a career-defining championship victory after completing the comeback win- 1.6, 7.6, 6.1, 3.6, 6.4- last July 16, 2023, held at the Wimbledon Centre Court in England.
It was the type of grand finals clash that tennis fans could ask for. After almost five hours of thrilling back-and-forth rally exchanges, the younger man from Spain had the last laugh, officially halting the four-year dominance of Djokovic in Wimbledon.
Although Alcaraz pulled off the huge victory in style, the Serbian powerhouse still showed he’s a force to be reckoned with after showing his experience in the first set.
Djokovic only held Alcaraz to just a point in the opening set and was looking comfortable with the court conditions heading into the second.
However, Alcaraz showed mental maturity after storming back in the set as he finally adjusted to Djokovic’s slow pace of playing while throwing more defensive top-spin forehands to disrupt the Serbian’s hitting rhythm.
Alcaraz also showed he could play with the strong winds in the Centre Court while Djokovic started to take the effects of the unfavorable weather condition.
The wind might bug Djokovic midway through the second set but Alcaraz’s more crisp ground strokes changed the complexion of the game.
From a passive and error-plagued first-set performance, the young tennis ace recaptured his composure and bullied Djokovic with his blitzing down-the-line winners.
Perhaps the turning point of the match was during the 3-1 deuce in the third set. After almost a hundred volley exchanges in nearly 27 minutes of duration, Alcaraz stole the show after clinching the point, leaving the gassed Djokovic in a 1-4 hole while icing the set to take a 2-1 lead.
Djokovic answered back with a majestic fourth-set performance after out-pointing Alcaraz while scoring a crucial break-point to equalize the championship game at 2-all.
With the match and his first-ever Wimbledon title on the line, Alcaraz flipped the switch in the most perfect time of the fifth set, scoring an early break-point to gain the edge built from his signature forehand bombs that put the crowd to their feet.
Djokovic tried all that he could to match Alcaraz’s intensity and power but in the end, the young star from Spain was crowned as the new king of the most prestigious grass surface major tournament in the sport.
“It’s a dream come true for me. It’s great to win. Making history in this beautiful tournament. I have to congratulate Novak. It’s amazing to play against him. You inspire me. When I was born, you were winning tournament,” Alcaraz said after his win.
