LONDON: The last time Carlos Alcaraz faced Novak Djokovic he was left so frightened that the Spaniard turned into a nervous wreck and ended up suffering debilitating cramps that cruelly crushed his French Open dreams in front of a global audience. What a difference five weeks can make. Up against
LONDON: The last time Carlos Alcaraz faced Novak Djokovic he was left so frightened that the Spaniard turned into a nervous wreck and ended up suffering debilitating cramps that cruelly crushed his French Open dreams in front of a global audience.Up against the same opponent, who had not lost at Wimbledon since 2016, Alcaraz was staring into an abyss as Djokovic roared to a 5-0 opening set lead in Sunday's All England Club finale.
"I did it for myself, not for tennis generation, honestly. It was great," the 20-year-old said after subjecting 23-time major champion Djokovic to his first Centre Court defeat in a decade with a 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory. All that talk amounted to little as the Big Three maintained their vice-like grip on the slams, having won 65 majors between them dating back to Federer's first Wimbledon triumph in 2003.
But as he did not have to face either Djokovic or Nadal during that run, question marks remained about how he would go up against the all-time greats in a best-of-five-set showdown. "I prepared a little bit different mentally before the match. I could deal with the pressure, the nerves, better than I did in the French Open.While Alcaraz celebrated becoming the first man other than Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray to win Wimbledon since 2002, the triumph took on extra significance as he did it by beating the player who has won a record number of men's slams.
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