Wimbledon 2023: Reasons why Carlos Alcaraz's win over Novak Djokovic was remarkable

The Wimbledon Championships is Alcaraz’s maiden Grand Slam title win.

Carlos Alcaraz won his first-ever Wimbledon Championships when he beat four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7(8)-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the final. The title decider was one of the best tennis matches the Championships has had over the years, with the Serbian going against the odds to take the game into the decider set. However, the youthful Carlos Alcaraz prevailed, achieving several feats in the process.

With the retirement of Roger Federer and the fitness issues of Rafael Nadal, men’s singles tennis has missed some of the biggest threats to Djokovic’s run off late. The Serbian has won six out of the last 11 grand slams. Only Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are the only multiple majors winners during the period, whereas Daniil Medvedev won the US Open 2021, his first-ever Grand Slam title. 

During the absence of the other two of the big three of men’s singles tennis, Novak Djokovic has ensured he takes over several records, most notably the record of winning the most Grand Slams titles in men’s singles. But Carlos Alcaraz seems to have established himself as the next roadblock in the Serbian’s bid to dominate the world of tennis. 

The 20-year-old now has defeated Djokovic more times than he has lost. And his latest win is a testament to how huge a roadblock he can be for Djokovic’s ambitions. Carlos Alcaraz’s win was a defeat for Novak Djokovic after –

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60 days

Before the loss against the World No. 1 in the ATP men’s singles rankings, Djokovic last lost a match 60 days ago when he played Denmark’s Holger Rune in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 Rome. Rune won the game on the clay court 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. It was Holger Rune’s second consecutive win over the Serbian, leading him 2-1 head-to-head in the three games they have played each other.

252 days

Before the loss to the Spaniard at the Wimbledon Championships, Novak Djokovic was undefeated in the finals of ATP tour events and the majors in the previous 252 days. His last loss, again, came against Holger Rune in the 2022 edition of the ATP Masters 1000 Paris. During that period, Djokovic played and won the finals of the ATP Finals 2022, the Adelaide I 2023, the Australian Open 2023 and the French Open 2023.

411 days

Novak Djokovic has been dominant in the majors during the absence of the bigwigs. As mentioned earlier, he has won six titles out of the last 11 majors. His previous loss in a Grand Slam match prior to the one against Carlos Alcaraz came 411 days before the 2023 Wimbledon Championships finals when he bowed out of the French Open 2022 after losing to Rafael Nadal. Since that defeat, Djokovic won all the majors he played in until the Championships in 2023.

1848 days

Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest, perhaps even the greatest grass court player of all time. With 89.32% of matches won on the grass courts in Grand Slams in his career, as per the Ultimate Tennis Statistics, he stands only behind the American great Pete Sampras and on the top of the list of active players. The loss against Carlos Alcaraz coming after 1848 days since his last loss, is a testament to his top-notch record on the grass courts.

2195 days

Novak Djokovic has seven Wimbledon Championships to his name and stands only behind Roger Federer in the list of the players with the most Wimbledon titles in the Open Era. The Serbian entered the 2023 edition on the back of four consecutive Wimbledon Championships titles, starting his run in 2018. His previous loss in the tournament came in 2017 against Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych.

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