Carlos Alcaraz retains Wimbledon crown as Djokovic wait goes on

Wimbledon is over for another year and after two weeks of thrilling tennis, we have our champions. Carlos Alcaraz strolled to another title as he blew away Novak Djokovic, who is still waiting for his record-breaking Grand Slam win. Meanwhile, Barbora Krejčíková went all the way in the ladies’ competition to win Wimbledon for the first time.

Alcaraz blows Djokovic away

Alcaraz won the hearts of the Wimbledon faithful a year ago as he stormed his way to the final. The fresh-faced Spaniard recovered from an embarrassing 1-6 first-set defeat against Djokovic to win in five sets and claim his first SW19 title.

Fast forward 12 months and the two superstars met again in a repeat of the previous final. It was clear that Alcaraz has matured massively over the last year. No longer the new kid on the block, he looked fitter, stronger and even more determined to prove he’s the next big star of tennis.

And that was evident in his game throughout the contest. In his semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev, Alcaraz made notable errors, with some strange shot choices and uncharacteristic mistakes that showed his inexperience. Yet there were none of those in the final as he smashed Djokovic around the court, dominating from start to finish.

You’d have been forgiven for thinking that it was Alcaraz who had 24 Grand Slam titles to his name when looking at the scoreboard. The 21-year-old raced into a two-set lead, winning both 6-2. While Djokovic recovered and attempted a comeback in the third, Alcaraz showed resilience to stay in the game and take it to a tie break.

But from then on there was only going to be one winner. After claiming the third and final set to whitewash his Serbian opponent, Alcaraz was jubilant, momentarily losing his bearings as he got lost during his climb into the stands to celebrate with his team.

It was Alcaraz’s fourth Grand Slam title and his second in a row after claiming the French Open last month. He’ll now have his sights firmly set on winning an Olympic gold medal before the US Open at the end of summer.

When will Djokovic break the Grand Slam record?

Djokovic was humble in defeat but privately he’ll be fuming that his wait for a record-breaking Grand Slam goes on. The 37-year-old has been stuck on 24 major titles for almost a year, having failed to win the previous three.

He’s level at the top of the all-time standings with Australian icon Margaret Court and his next Grand Slam will take him to 25 wins, making him the undisputed greatest of all time.

Djokovic’s Wimbledon dreams looked to have fallen into place perfectly this year. He avoided Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner’s side of the draw, while his quarter-final opponent Alex de Minaur pulled out with injury, giving him a vital extra few days to rest.

But despite a favourable campaign, Djokovic looked lost against Alcaraz. His recent knee surgery was an obvious disadvantage, with his joint support on show throughout, while perhaps his age is finally catching up with him as he just wasn’t able to match the speed and power of the youthful Alcaraz.

He’ll go again at the US Open next month as he looks to win the competition for the second year running and finally claim the Grand Slam record. But if he doesn’t get it over the line soon, he may start to wonder if it will ever happen.

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Another new ladies’ champion

While we’re used to seeing the men’s singles title at Wimbledon dominated by the same usual suspects, it couldn’t be further from the truth for the ladies. Since Serena Williams last won back in 2016, there have been seven different female champions in a row.

The latest victor to be added to the list is Krejčíková, who beat Italian counterpart Jasmine Paolini in a thrilling three-set final on Saturday. Krejčíková was ranked 31st in the world before the tournament but she now has a second Grand Slam to her name having won the French Open three years ago.

The 28-year-old joins a long list of successful Czech women at Wimbledon. Nine-time winner Martina Navratilova was born in Prague, although later became an American citizen. The late Jana Novotna was also Czech, as is two-time winner Petra Kvitova and unlikely 2023 champion Markéta Vondroušová.

The end of an era

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Andy Murray waved an emotional goodbye to Wimbledon in the opening week of the championships. Sadly for the Scot, he didn’t get a final crack at the men’s singles as he prioritised the doubles competitions following back surgery.

He teamed up with brother Jamie in the men’s doubles but the pair crashed out in the first round following defeat to Australian duo John Peers and Rinky Hijikata. Following the match, Murray shared an emotional goodbye in an interview with Sue Barker, as tennis legends from all eras gathered to witness it.

That defeat wasn’t supposed to be his final farewell, with a mixed doubles campaign planned with Emma Raducanu. But when the 2021 US Open champion pulled out, it spelled an end to Murray’s Wimbledon career.

The 37-year-old is set to retire later this year, claiming that his injury-ravaged body can’t cope with high-level tennis any more. Murray claimed two Grand Slams on home soil in a glittering career, winning Wimbledon in both 2013 and 2016.

And while we won’t be seeing him strut his stuff on court any more, it may not be the last we’ve seen of him. Murray made it clear during his BBC interview that commentary isn’t for him. However, he didn’t rule out coaching and that may well be his next career move.

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