It’s just a day away from the Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz Wimbledon final rematch and the anticipation is bubbling nicely. It’s fitting then that we look back at the classic last season which saw Alcaraz mark a place in the history books as he ended Novak Djokovic’s forty-six-match winning streak on Centre Court.
The storyline was building nicely last year: there was a new kid on the block against the master of the grass courts facing off on the final day. Of course, Alcaraz was hardly a rookie–he already had a Grand Slam to his name but on grass, he was yet to prove himself. His opponent couldn’t be more on the contrary. Djokovic had lifted seven titles at SW19, trailing only Roger Federer.
How Djokovic Shaped Up
For Novak Djokovic it was turning out to be another year of complete dominance on the Grand Slam stage; a Calendar Slam seemed pretty likely. The Serb already had the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles wrapped up, winning both finals in straight sets. At Wimbledon, this imperious form continued as he swatted aside Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev in four sets before breezing past Jannik Sinner just two days before. He was in his element and the major favourite to make it Grand Slam number 24.
How Alcaraz Shaped Up
Alcaraz had shown honorable form on the grass courts of London, in the weeks before he had won Queen’s Club, defeating Sebastian Korda in straight sets. Meanwhile at Wimbledon, he had beat Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the lead-up.
It’s easy to forget though that this clash had just occurred at the French Open. After two high-quality sets and the score level, Alcaraz struggled with cramping and had to limp across the finish line losing the final two sets 6-1. Critics questioned his mentality as the cramping seemed to be caused by nerves; how wrong they proved to be…
A Nervy Opening Set for Alcaraz
One thing was clear from the off, the conditions were blistery. Wimbledon organizers had even flirted with playing the match indoors after such an ominous forecast, thankfully the conditions were playable and the quality didn’t seem to suffer a great deal.
Alcaraz started in a rather nervous fashion. He made just 58% of his first serves in the opening set and wasn’t putting the then-world number #1 under any real pressure. The greatest-ever returner was winning 75% of the second serve return points and flashed into a 6-1 lead. The rallies were competitive however the Serb always seemed a step ahead in the chess battle and able to manipulate Alcaraz into playing shots he’d have rather not.
The Spaniard Fights Back
It was the second set where the clash really started to take place. Alcaraz changed the tide by breaking Djokovic earlym although the seven-time champion would undo that break straight away. It would have been easy for the Spaniard to let his head drop however he showed a champion’s response and upped his level.
He began to swing more freely and his serving improved massively. In the second set, he made 68% of his first serves and Djokovic won just 36% when returning his second serves. A tiebreak was the only way to split them. On the surface, it seemed Djokovic’s bread and butter. Yet, normally so calm and composed in the business end of the set, when 6-5 up he made two unforced errors and rather bizarrely chose to serve volley set point down. It seemed that he was flustered making such a decision that wasn’t part of the gameplan blueprint. Alcaraz managed to pull off a wonderful passing shot nonetheless and suddenly there was vulnerability at the palace of the seemingly invincible king of London.
Djokovic Seems Down and Out
The third set was somewhat a reverse of the opening set. Alcaraz dominated by breaking straight away and setting the tone. His consistency while still being able to play such a high-risk game was truly remarkable. Particularly due to the windy conditions he utilized the loopy topspin forehand into the backhand of Djokovic and was getting real joy doing so. Even if it wasn’t forcing an error it was putting him in complete control of the point.
Djokovic never played a bad set by any means but he just couldn’t match Alcaraz’s level. He won just six points on Alcaraz’s serve all set. In comparison, Alcaraz won 28 the other way.
A Resilient Fight Back
Djokovic was erratic and irritated after being utterly out-played. If this was anyone else on this planet, you’d have been backing Alcaraz to run away with this final. This isn’t anyone else on this planet, though; typically, the 2022 champion had other ideas. He showed an incredible level of resilience to stick in and peg back the high-flying Alcaraz. More of the important points went his way and when Alcaraz served a double point 15-40 down in the ninth game it could only mean one thing… a one-set shootout.
And so it was a New Champion
With Alcaraz serving a game and breakpoint down he then produced one of the points of his career to keep a crucial hold. Djokovic was left amazed just staring into the crowd in frustration. The tables would then turn as Alcaraz broke Djokovic, leading the Serb to smash his racket on the Centre Court net posts. Serves would remain held with some of the most entertaining and tense tennis you’ll ever witness. Yet with a forehand into the net 40-30 down Djokovic had finally lost a game at Wimbledon. A new champion was written as was the real consolidation of a new era that tennis had been crying out for.
It truly goes down as one of the greatest-ever Wimbledon finals, and we get to do it all again.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
