After the semi-final victory over Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz gave an interview on the field saying: "Sunday will be an interesting day for Spain." The audience on Center Court at Wimbledon erupted in boos...
The Spanish tennis player then had to hastily say: "I didn't say Spain won. I just said Sunday will be an interesting day.”
That Sunday was, at last, interesting for the real Spaniards. Because before their men's soccer team won EURO 2024 with a 2-1 win over England, Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon 2024 final.
Alcaraz vs. Djokovic certainly promises a classic final, after they clashed in the final at the All England Club exactly 1 year ago with a 5-set match. However, unfortunately for the fans, this was a "bland" victory without any drama.
ATP's home page writes: "If Alcaraz's 2023 five-set victory over Djokovic was a monumental moment for him to enjoy his first taste of glory at the All England Club, then Sunday's encounter is part of as big as a torch relay straight to the top of Wimbledon mountain.
Alcaraz dominated seven-time champion Djokovic, who impressed throughout his journey to the final after undergoing knee surgery just last month, from the opening match on Center Court.
It is difficult to use Djokovic's recent surgery and injury as an excuse for his inferiority in this match. Because simply, in this match, Alcaraz is better.
In the first service game that Djokovic played, Alcaraz made the Serbian legend wobble. A long game, after 5 chances to break, the Spaniard succeeded in breaking the 37-year-old opponent's serve.
In set 1, the 5-1 difference was obviously unbelievable, but it was true, when Alcaraz broke one more game in set 1, before creating the first advantage with a score of 6-2.
Expecting some reaction in set 2 became hopeless when the scenario repeated 99% of set 1, when Alcaraz had a break in the first game and then again in game 7 (set 1 was game 5).
2 winning sets in just 74 minutes. The dramatic anticipation came a bit in set 3, when the two players pulled the tie to 4-4. Alcaraz broke in game 9 to advance, then led to 40-0 in the service game.
There were 3 championship-points, but it seemed like the 21-year-old Spaniard's slight relaxation helped Djokovic come back, win a break and equalize the score at 5-5.
Set 3 then had to enter a tie-break series, where Alcaraz had 2 mini-breaks to win 7-4, closing the match after 3 sets with 2 hours and 27 minutes. Fans were probably waiting for the final to last longer, perhaps even continuing until close to the EURO 2024 final.
Successfully defending the Wimbledon championship, Alcaraz became the second player in the Open Era to win the first 4 Grand Slam finals of his career (Roger Federer won 7 matches).
