LONDON: For Carlos Alcaraz, there was one brief blip in the Wimbledon men's final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday, one five-point stretch that took him from the verge of victory to close to a collapse. After dominating for the initial two sets, then seemingly withstanding a surge from Djokovic in the third, Alcaraz was a point from the championship while serving at 5-4, 40-love. But he double-faulted.
Then missed a backhand. Then a volley. Then a forehand.
And another forehand. Suddenly, it was 5-all. Suddenly, Alcaraz appeared rattled.
Suddenly, Djokovic could hope. Suddenly, there was intrigue. It would require an additional 20 minutes to close things out, and while Alcaraz is certainly a kid in a hurry, he steadied himself and never wavered again, defeating Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to collect a fourth Grand Slam title at age 21.
"For me," Alcaraz said after receiving the gold champion's hardware from Kate, the Princess of Wales, "this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and, obviously, the most beautiful trophy." It was a rematch of last year's championship match on the grass of the All England Club, which Alcaraz won in five sets. This one was much easier for Alcaraz, at least until he stumbled while holding those three match points at 5-4.
"It was difficult for me," said Alcaraz, who is 4-0 in major finals, including at the 2022 U.S. Open as a teenager.
"I tried to stay calm. I tried to stay positive." He did, indeed, regroup and picked up a sec.
