Alcaraz beats Djokovic to retain second Wimbledon title

For vast swathes of this 150-minute, straight-sets encounter, what was stunning was how Alcaraz dealt with one of the greatest winners this sport had ever seen. He had seemingly killed jeopardy. This could well have been a first round match on the opening Monday of a Slam. The Spaniard was just that good. Aided and abetted by an ever-improving serve — he only lost nine points on his first serve (47 out of 56) — and touch play at the net (winning 16 out of 22), he stopped his opponent from developing any rhythm.

Djokovic let out a few primal screams in the third set to try and get his adrenaline going. However, these screams resembled that of Baby Simba from The Lion King. The alpha, the Spaniard across the net, was well in control of the proceedings. The second-seeded Serb, who had been something of a giant at the net in the first six matches of the tournament (143 of 184 points won; 78%), appeared lost, like a middle-aged person who had taken the wrong turn on the way home. Against Alcaraz, it was down to below 50%.

In that sense, this had the vibes of the beginning of a new era with a new Spaniard at the very top of the food chain. To be fair to him, over the last six-seven weeks, he has given off lots of ‘I’m him’ sort of performances.

Beating Jannik Sinner from two sets to one down to win the French Open semifinal. Beating Alexander Zverev from two sets to one down to win the French Open final. Beating Frances Tiafoe from two sets to one down to win in the second round last week. Beating a red-lining Daniil Medvedev after losing the first set in the semifinal. Now, this.