Carlos Alcaraz WINS Wimbledon after coming from a set down to beat Novak Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz achieved the most seismic result in tennis for 10 years when he sensationally floored Novak Djokovic in front of an adoring crowd at Wimbledon.

Ten years after Andy Murray won his first title, the 20-year-old Spaniard beat the man who can’t lose on Center Court 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes.

Inflicting Djokovic’s first defeat at the famed arena since 2013 cost everything he had, and he retains his world No. 1 ranking, ending the Serb’s dream of the Grand Slam on the calendar. For once, it seems that the old ‘changing of the guard’ line sounds authentic.

The final set started just after 6pm and Alcaraz had a chance to break but was hampered by a first serve that he could not control.

Then it was Djokovic’s turn to get a chance for control, but he dumped a straightforward high volley into the net and the field was at his mercy at the breaking point after a brilliant overtake. Alcaraz persevered, amid lavish applause.

Then came the break for 2-1 after what might have been the point of the season. Alcaraz covered every blade of grass at the breaking point, then lasered a backhand down the line. Djokovic returned to his seat and hit the net post with his racket, a violation of the code.

Djokovic hadn’t lost a five-set match to Dominic Thiem since the 2019 French Open, but it looked like it could happen as Alcaraz held it 4-2. Under pressure he produced a beautiful drop shot to make it 5-3.

Serving under the Royal Box for his lot, he started off with a misplaced drop shot, but followed it up with a beautiful lob winner and then a staggering lunge volley. Matchpoint came up with a serve on the ‘Tee’ and then sealed it with a combination of serve and forehand winner.

This final saw the biggest age gap in modern history facing each other in Grand Slam finals since the two in 1974 that pitted a young Jimmy Connors against Ken Rosewall.

Alcaraz, who made a bid to become the third Spaniard to win after Rafael Nadal and Manolo Santana, came out to an A-list crowd and fairly blustery conditions but an open roof.

As a celebrity crowd including everyone from the Princess of Wales to Brad Pitt watched, the 20-year-old confidently began to force a break point in the opening match.

However, that was short-lived and in the next game he went 0-40 down and on a third break point he overran his forehand, betraying an overzealousness that also showed when they met at the French Open.

While there were some dynamic exchanges, too many mistakes came from the challenger, and he was down 5-0 before he knew it, a huge roar going up as he finally got on the board with a beautiful forehand pass.

Djokovic got a helping hand from Irish umpire Fergus Murphy in the time between runs, but Alcaraz managed to keep his concentration and strike more freely to break at the start of the second inning.

Both men began to put more air in their shots in an attempt to reduce a burst of unforced errors, stopping the Spaniard’s momentum.

The Serb glared at the crowd as he snapped back amid signs of crowd frustration at the sheer amount of bouncing balls he was doing. Djokovic’s second serve speed had decreased in the second set, but Alcaraz was still unable to take full advantage.

But then the champion’s amazing defensive skills force opponents to play right to the edge, and if Alcaraz had an opening, he’d go for it too much.

The prodigious athleticism of both men came to the fore as they headed for Djokovic’s killing zone – the tiebreaker.

He moved ahead to 6-5 – managed to overcome the distraction of an overdue time violation at 4-5 – but then, totally against type, hit two backhands into the net. On set point, Alcaraz connected beautifully with a serve that kicked high to his backhand and drilled a returning winner down the line, drawing a huge roar from the crowd.

Notably, Alcaraz was more relaxed as he forced a break early in the third inning and then came the mammoth fifth game, which lasted nearly 27 minutes and contained 32 runs.

The Spaniard pushed and pushed amid rare indications that the Serb was feeling the pace. He had argued with the umpire in the previous game for going for his towel and now had to fight an up and coming opponent who, after a series of errors on the groundstroke at the breaking point, finally got the ball when Djokovic hit long. Alcaraz won the next two games and by the end of the set had collected 82% of his winnings, breaking three times.

Predictably, the champion then left the field for a long toilet break that lasted seven minutes before returning to some boos, but failed to break his opponent’s rhythm.

Alcaraz forced two break points for a 2-0 lead and it looked expensive as he pulled a slice wide.

But his body language was more positive and occasionally the favorite looked all his 36 years, occasionally trying to shorten the points. Still, he created three more break points at 2-2 and half a volley into the net at the third. Djokovic blew a kiss to his opponents in the crowd. His return had been virtually flawless, with nearly four hours on the clock when he broke again to serve first in the decider.