Carlos Alcaraz pulls off what Rafael Nadal never could with thumping Wimbledon final win over Novak Djokovic
![Carlos Alcaraz has successfully defended his Wimbledon title](https://www.gbnews.com/media-library/carlos-alcaraz-has-successfully-defended-his-wimbledon-title.jpg?id=52681198&width=1200&height=800&quality=90&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C365)
Carlos Alcaraz has successfully defended his Wimbledon title
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Carlos Alcaraz has become just the ninth men's player in the Open Era to successfully defend his Wimbledon title - something Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray never could - after thrashing Novak Djokovic for the second successive year.
It was the Wimbledon final that everybody wanted to see after last year's epic encounter.
Their contest 12 months ago captivated sports fans all over the world in a near-five-hour thriller.
Both were competing at the top of their game at that point with some mesmerising tennis in an all-time classic.
This time around, Djokovic was playing with a huge grey sleeve on his right knee having undergone surgery just a few weeks ago while Alcaraz played just two matches on grass.
Carlos Alcaraz has successfully defended his Wimbledon title
REUTERS
The two looked rusty in the first few rounds at Wimbledon, but it soon became clear that the were a level above the rest of the field once again.
It set up another fascinating tie between the two titans and a 14-minute opening game of the match had fans on the edge of their seat.
But it also set the tone for what turned out to be a hugely difficult contest for Djokovic against an Alcaraz playing at the very top of his game.
The 37-year-old was having to battle every point on serve with Alcaraz immediately taking control of the majority of points.
Djokovic had no answer to start the match and soon found himself a double break down before Alcaraz comfortably served out for the set.
Centre Court was stunned with Djokovic solemnly walking back to his chair with the need to try and reset quickly.
That didn't happen though as Alcaraz drew first blood once again for a break of serve in the very first game.
It wasn't even a case of Djokovic making more unforced errors than his opponent, but the No 3 seed was incredibly outscoring the seven-time Wimbledon champion on receiving points won.
Djokovic's entire career and trophy cabinet was built on the back of his ability to get the ball back over the net and win the battle of back-and-forth.
But Alcaraz was blowing his rival out of the water with Djokovic winning just six of 23 receiving points throughout the second set.
The 21-year-old eventually secured the double break once again, moving two sets up with just over an hour played.
Carlos Alcaraz thumped Novak Djokovic in three sets
GETTY
If Djokovic was to come back from that, he was going to need to make it the 18th time in Wimbledon Open Era history that the men's singles final went all the way to a deciding set.
Of the previous 17, no player had ever needed to come back from two sets down to win the Wimbledon title.
Djokovic is no stranger to creating history, but this would arguably the greatest achievement of his career were he to pull off an epic comeback.
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Novak Djokovic struggled to cope with Carlos Alcaraz
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There was the threat of a fightback in a much-improved third set from Djokovic, but Alcaraz continued to cause his rival trouble on serve before getting the break in the ninth game.
That left the young Spaniard serving for the match with little over two hours played and he created three match points.
But, for the first time all match, Alcaraz showed he was human by wasting all three opportunities as Djokovic got his first break of the match with a tiebreak eventually needed to settle the set.
Djokovic came close to forcing at least one more set, but Alcaraz eventually got the job done as Centre Court erupted in noise.
At just 21 years of age, Alcaraz became just the fifth player to defeat Djokovic in straight sets in a Grand Slam final for his fourth major title.