Alcaraz: Djokovic's 24th Grand Slam? Wait a minute

Alcaraz, 20, beat 36-year-old Djokovic to Wimbledon 2023 for the second Grand Slam of his career.

His second Grand Slam final. Djokovic's 35th Grand Slam final.

A spectacular handover battle.

Djokovic lost the fifth set for the second time at Wimbledon.

Djokovic was at Wimbledon and was reversed after leading 1-0 for the second time.

In the French Open semifinals, after Alcaraz lost to Deyo with cramps, he said that he did not lose physically, but nervously.

Before today's match, Ferrero said: Let Alcaraz play relaxed.

But when Djokovic won 6-1 in the first set, it seemed that Djokovic's 24th Grand Slam was already in reach. At that time, it seemed that Akka was not too easy.

Aka played ferociously in the first set, boldly finding Deyo's forehand, forcing him to move, and then running aggressively himself, trying to score the winning score: probably he also understood that Djokovic was too good at making infinite returns, grinding opponents, and waiting for opponents to make mistakes.

But Deyo fought in no hurry. He tried the wind of the Wimbledon final a few times, probably found a forehand fluttering, so he patiently held on and returned the ball from the impeccable baseline. 1-0, 2-0, a serve to get 3-0. Akka was a little anxious. And Deyo used a forehand, used a topspin, and coped variably, allowing Akka to go down the net continuously. After beating 5-0, Deyo even started surfing the Internet. Of course, it also gave Akka a chance to win – he won the only set in the first set – but it didn't prevent Deyo from winning 6-1. In the first set, Djokovic's depth of return made it impossible for Akka to move forward. In the semifinals, Akka scored 28 on 36 nets, and today he only surfed the net 4 times in the first set and won twice.

In the first set, a key detail for Aaka: he was many times "this winning shot must score!" "Then move early or not.

After being slapped back by Deyo, he remembered, "Ah, how can this ball come back?" I run! ”

At the beginning of the second set, Akka changed: he ran, did not pursue a winning shot to kill; He clenched his fists to cheer himself up anytime, anywhere he wanted.

In his own words, after the first set he said to himself, "Raise the level!" Otherwise the audience will be disappointed! ”

Indeed, to fight Deyo, it is very necessary to never be discouraged.

At the beginning of the second set, Akka hit a forehand several times, but was steadily beaten back to the bottom line by Deyo. When he led 5-4 in the second set, Akka had a chance to collect it directly, but a small ball missed the net; At 5-5, Akka failed to play on the Internet and was counter-killed by Deyo.

Those two balls are easy to break down.

Akka did not.

6 to 5, chasing 6 to 6, stealing seven. 3-0, chased to 3-3. 4 to 4. Akalian dispatched with two left and right big forehands, after which he released a wonderful forehand, 5-4; In the next round, he made a volley in front of the net, thinking he had won it, and his left hand was already clenched into a fist in celebration - he turned around and found that he had not scored, 5-5. Then another went online and was beaten by Deyo, 5 to 6.

As long as Deyo scored one more point, he would be 2-0 up. The big picture will be set.

Aka held on, scored three points in a row, and scored seven in a row.

— Djokovic has won 14 consecutive wins to tie seven. When the inventory was in hand today, it was reversed by Aaka.

A plate of 85 minutes. I have the impression that the last time Wimbledon had such a tragic final to steal seven was the 2015 final. 

Then came the turning point of the match, the fifth game of the third set: a 27-minute long strangle.

Probably the most exciting single-game match in the history of tennis.

Two-digit duece. Countless break points. You come and go. Akka is aggressively using topspin and netting to change tactics, while Djokovic keeps putting small balls – not to great effect, but has tried repeatedly.

Grass game, stunned to play a sense of clay?

Djokovic has previously said that Aca's style of play would have been best suited to clay and slower hard courts, but this year Alcaraz has made leaps and bounds on grass.

In the fifth game of the third set, on the grass field, the two saw the feeling of clay. Akka saved eight innings and Djokovic saved six break points.

Alcaraz finally won and then took the third set to take a 2-1 lead.

Even after winning the first set in the fourth set, Akka led 40-15 on Djokovic's serve. Djokovic slipped.

If Akka broke serve at this point, he would have led 2-0 in the fourth set and could have won 3-1 with a bang. That Djokovic's slip will become an iconic story.

But Djokovic, in the end, Djokovic.

Previously, Alcaraz had been eating away at the multi-shot matchup, flashing Federer, Agassi, Safin and Nabandian from time to time, but Djokovic slid back the ball like a god, got a break point, and then broke.

That's Djokovic: he's good at using every opportunity to turn defeat into victory, and he makes his opponent feel remorseful: "I should have just shot him out→ did I miss the opportunity?" →Ah, it's an illusion, I can't get him!" ”

But today Djokovic's quality of a shot and a small ball is undermining his lethality.

Finally came the fifth set.

Alcaraz did not grasp the first break point, so far he has only caught four of his 18 break points. Djokovic clenched his fist in his right hand: the advantage was in his hands.

But after that, Akka held on. Djokovic's physical fitness makes people slowly feel, "It's not an illusion, Djokovic's physical fitness may really not be good!" ”

Aaka's fifth set was as steady as Tarzan, plus the top spin, Deyo got off the net and his hands were stunned; After that, I finally fell in anger.

But Deyo is still Deyo. When trailing 3-5, he kept a clean sheet to chase 4-5; In the last game, he gritted his teeth and chased 30 draws: he also knew that as long as it dragged on, there was always a possibility that his opponent would be confused.

But finally, the return ball that entangled him all the time out of bounds and returned the ball into the net found him again.

Alcaraz won the championship.

At the end of the first set, Djokovic's 24th place seemed to be within reach; In the second set, Djokovic took the set to lead 2-0. The fifth game of the third set was a long 27 minutes. At these three points in time, if Alcaraz collapses, it will be over.

But Akka held on.

In the fourth set, Alcaraz was 40-15 but failed to break serve and was dragged into the fifth set by Deyo; At the beginning of the fifth set, Aka failed to break serve. These two points in time are usually Djokovic's winning script.

But Akka held on.

The first set proved Deyo's excellence, and the fourth proved Deyo's tenacity. In the fifth game of the third set, the opponent will meet Liangcai for 27 minutes.

Alcaraz beat not an ordinary rookie, an ordinary veteran, but an outstanding and tenacious Djokovic who has won 23 Grand Slams and seven Wimbledon titles.

Alcaraz has been praised too many times before, "gathering the advantages of the Big Three" and "the future of tennis", and before today's match, the British media also said that this is equivalent to the cow to Sampras, the handover of the Wimbledon crown.

But before that he only had one US Open. He has yet to beat those three Grand Slam kings in the final. At the French Open, as he recounted, his cramps were nervous, not physical.

Today can probably be refuted: it is true that the cramps at that time were nervous, not physical.

This is his second Grand Slam, but this Grand Slam weighs nothing like that US Open. Because of the quality of this final that will go down in history, his all-round skills that showed him in the final, and the tenacity to fight his opponents to the end in the face of adversity.

It is also because the opponent is Djokovic, who has just won the first two Grand Slams of the year and has 23 Grand Slams, and has spent a whole generation of opponents on the tennis court.