Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Wimbledon title after beating Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) at the Centre Court on Sunday with an impressive display.
Alcaraz, 21, has now four Grand Slams — two Wimbledon, one French Open and one US Open — and has been unstoppable ever since making his professional debut at the age of 16.
Alcaraz matched the Open Era record for most Grand Slam victories at age 21 or younger, alongside Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg, and Mats Wilander. Moreover, he became only the sixth man to achieve consecutive wins at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Alcaraz got a bumper £2,700,000 winner’s cheque which was the same as women’s singles champion Barbora Krejcikova.
On the other hand, Djokovic was given £1,400,000 in prize money after finishing as a runner-up on the Centre Court.
“Honestly it is a dream for me winning this trophy. I did an interview when I was 11 or 12 and said my dream is to win Wimbledon. I’m fulfilling my dream,” said Alcaraz.
“For me, this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and the most beautiful trophy.
“Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he was going to have his chances. It was difficult but I tried to stay calm going into the tie-break and tried to play my best tennis. I was glad at the end I could find the solutions.”
Djokovic praised Alcaraz after losing the final and admitted that the way he has been playing, the world will see more of Alcaraz at such stages.
“It obviously was not the result I wanted but of course, in the first couple of sets, the level of tennis wasn’t up to par from my side. But credit to Carlos for playing elite tennis, especially from the back of the court, he had it all today,” Djokovic said.
“It wasn’t meant to be, I tried to extend the match, but he was an absolute deserved winner today so congratulations for him.
“And to his team of course, an amazing job you guys are doing, it’s a one-man show on the court but it’s a big team of people.
“Everything you’ve done so far, 21 years of age is incredible, so keep going, we’ll see a lot of you I’m sure.”
