At just 20 years old, Carlos Alcaraz is already No. 1 in the world and a two-time Grand Slam champion.
On Sunday he secured his second slam title by beating Novak Djokovic, the all-time leader in men’s singles major titles with 23, in the Wimbledon final. And it was the way Alcaraz did it that was especially impressive. After wearing down physically and perhaps even mentally in a French Open semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic a little more than a month ago, the 20-year-old outlasted the seven-time Wimbledon winner 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in a grueling championship match that lasted four hours and 43 minutes.
It was just Alcaraz’s fourth-ever tournament on grass.
So it’s no wonder that Djokovic had high praise for his opponent after falling to 1-2 lifetime in the head-to-head series.
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically best of all three worlds. He’s got this mental resilience and really maturity for someone who is 20 years old. It’s quite impressive. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defense that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years.
“And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that he’s got some similarities with my backhands. Yeah, two-handed backhands, defense, being able to adapt. I think that has been my personal strength for many years. He has it, too.
“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own obviously strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for successful career on all surfaces.”
Alcaraz now owns slam titles on two different surfaces, having also triumphed at the 2022 U.S. Open. Although the French Open has eluded him so far, the Spaniard has won the Madrid Masters twice and seven of his 15 career titles have come on clay.
“He’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt,” Djokovic concluded. “He’s playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces and he deserves to be where he is.”
good quotes
Who said history doesn’t repeat..it surely does
2008..nadal won queens and then wimby beating the then king n defending champion of wimby Roger in a titanic match
2023: alcaraz wins Queens and wimby beating current king and defending champion Novak in a titanic match
What more they even won the last point same manner
Exact same way both won..history totally repeated man https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/1680656900965146625
Congrats to Alcaraz again; he’s the first to break the Federer / Nadal / Djokovic/ Murray stranglehold at the Wimbledon Championships!
Well done Carlos! Rafa has congratulated Carlos for his Wimbledon title.
PS. Rafa please come back strong, fit and healthy!
I’ve to say Djokovic is gracious in defeat, and he’s honest with his praises and assessment of Alcaraz’s capabilities on court.
Djokovic has already sealed his place as a legend in tennis history (and 390 weeks or so as world No.1? That’s insane and I doubt anyone could beat that record!), so win or loss here doesn’t affect his legendary status.
Well said
Yes, Novak very gracious in defeat, and a great analysis of Carlos’ strengths….and….Vamos Carlos!!!!
At this point in the big 4 careers, they can look back and be round of what they have brought to game!! They have raised the bar to a pint where it has come to bite them in the butt………but it’s all good!! They have left their marks!! Carlos is a fine example of this!!!