It’s always remarkable to see a decade-long streak come to an end. And that’s what happened with Carlos Alcaraz’s 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles final Sunday.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1680638479129264128
Not only was that Alcaraz’s first Wimbledon victory, it was the first time Djokovic hadn’t won the event’s men’s singles competition since 2017. It was also the first time since 2002 that the Wimbledon men’s singles title was won by anyone other than Roger Federer (eight times), Djokovic (seven), Rafael Nadal (two), and Andy Murray (two). But perhaps most notably, this snapped a 10-year, 45-match unbeaten streak on Wimbledon’s Centre Court for Djokovic, who last lost there to Murray in 2013:
That’s incredible, especially considering that the 20-year-old Alcaraz was just 10 when the now-36-year-old Djokovic suffered his last Centre Court loss. And it breaks up quite the run of champions by age:
This also continues a good run for the top-ranked Alcaraz, who picked up his first Grand Slam singles title at last year’s U.S. Open and also made the semifinals (where he lost to Djokovic) at this year’s French Open. And there could be much more ahead for Alcaraz, too, with his tennis career seemingly just beginning.
But Alcaraz certainly impressed Sunday, including in a win of a third-set game that took almost 27 minutes. And he came up with his second Grand Slam singles title as a result. And he managed to end a remarkable run from Djokovic in the process.
[Rayane Moussallem on Twitter]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.