Wimbledon: Alcaraz ends Djokovic’s 4-year winning streak

20-year-old, Carlos Alcaraz ended Novak Djokovic’s 4-year winning streak to win his maiden Wimbledon title. Despite Alcaraz’s early career successes and complete dominance of the grass court season leading up to the 2023 Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion and history-seeking player, was the favourite. Alcaraz, who had lost the first set, recovered to defeat Djokovic in a thrilling five-set match on Centre Court, preserving Roger Federer’s unblemished Open Era record at the SW19. Federer’s record of eight titles at Wimbledon was unable to be matched by Djokovic as the Serbian legend lost the young Spaniard.

Rafael Nadal on Alcaraz

Rafael Nadal was the last Spaniard to win a Wimbledon title. Nadal’s hip surgery stopped him from competing in the 2023 Championships. Nadal suffered a hip injury in January after his loss in the second round of the Australian Open. He missed the first half of the season, including the French Open and is expected to miss the rest as he had already begun his recovery.

Despite being out of the running, he kept an eye on the action as another young Spaniard from his country advanced to the Wimbledon final and defeated the four-time defending champion Djokovic. Thus, Nadal was among the first tennis professionals to respond on social media following the great triumph by sending the 20-year-old a message.

Enhorabuena @carlosalcaraz . Nos has dado una alegría inmensa hoy y seguro que nuestro pionero en el tenis español, Manolo Santana, también ha estado animando allá dónde esté como de Wimbledon al que hoy te has unido.
Un abrazo muy fuerte y a disfrutar del momento ¡¡¡Campeón!!!… pic.twitter.com/y0j2GowX3O

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) July 16, 2023

Nadal tweeted, “Congratulations @carlitosalcarazz . You have given us immense joy today and for sure our pioneer in Spanish tennis, Manolo Santana, has also been cheering wherever he is as a member of Wimbledon whom you have joined today. A very strong hug and enjoy the moment Champion!!! We’re having a great time with our team!”

Novak Djokovic on Alcaraz

Alcaraz ended Djokovic’s ten-year dominance on Centre Court, and Djokovic was all praise for the Spaniard, comparing him to a combination of the Big Three. Djokovic said, “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 real 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 defence that we’ve seen with Rafa over the years.”

Despite losing to Alcaraz. Djokovic was all praises for the youngster. Djokovic further added, “And I think he’s got some nice sliding backhands that have got some similarities with my backhands. Yeah, two-handed backhands, defence, 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 obviously have their own strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all.”

Alcaraz has now won two Grand Slam (2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon) titles. Even though he is still very far from reaching the heights achieved by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the start of his career shows that this could be a beginning of a new era.