London | The Prince dethroned the King on Sunday in London. At the age of only 20, Carlos Alcaraz snatched the crown from Novak Djokovic, but he has been tough since 2014 in the middle of Wimbledon, after a majestic final, at the height of the feast promised by “Djoko”.
Djoko who then certainly did not suspect he would see his eighth All England Club crown slip from his hands in favor of the prodigy.
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A player 16 years younger than him, despite his talent, was unable to fulfill his potential against him last month at Roland Garros.
But this time the Spaniard did it. With a victory of 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4 after more than 4 hours and 40 minutes of play, Alcaraz won the first title in London, the second Grand Slam trophy after the US Championship Open last year, he was ranked first in the world on Monday.
Those impossible passes and those improbable angles that make the Carlitos mark allowed him to forget this first round in which he didn’t look like a heavyweight on the turf, against the man with 23 major titles.
They also contributed to him gradually losing his cool in favor of “Joker”, who until the end of the second round praised his opponent’s beautiful shots as simple entertainment on his way to his 24th Grand Slam trophy.
A feat that would have allowed him to join Margaret Court in the history books, at the age of 36, having surpassed Rafael Nadal’s men’s mark, last month in Paris.
Against a star-studded center – including actor Brad Pitt, singer Ariana Grande and, of course, Kate Middleton as well as Prince William – Djokovic ended up crumbling for good in the final round, slamming a fine racquet into the net after being broken in the fifth game.
Alcaraz did not lose his composure, despite the enormity of the moment.
In a forehand that Djokovic headed home, late in the afternoon in London, the prodigy inscribed his name forever on this trophy that represents the sport’s greatest.
“Food trailblazer. Passionate troublemaker. Coffee fanatic. General analyst. Certified creator. Lifelong music expert. Alcohol specialist.”