Sport Circuit

By Ewan Jackson

Many tennis fans could be forgiven for refusing to accept a changing of the guard was coming in the men’s game after the 2023 championships. A 3-2 win in sets for the Spaniard in last year’s Wimbledon final provided a real statement to the tennis world that Carlos Alcaraz was here, and was here to stay. Despite this, faith in Djokovic remained as although the Serbian had been beaten, many believed a rivalry between the two may begin to flourish. Fast forward a year and it was the pair in the final again, but this time it was not so close. A straight sets dismantling of the great Serb cemented opinion that we were watching the early successes of tennis’ new king. Carlos Alcaraz, a 21-year-old from Murcia in Spain, ready to dominate his sport for years to come. 

Fresh off a third Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last month, optimism for a fourth to follow was understandably high. With the likes of fellow youngster Jannik Sinner and the legendary Novak Djokovic at the tournament, as well as the grand slam stalwarts of Zverev and Medvedev to contend with, the Spaniard faced many potential obstacles in the pursuit of a second Wimbledon crown. After negotiating straight sets victories over Estonian Mark Lajal and Australian Aleksandar Vukic, Alcaraz’ first real test came against 29^th seed American Frances Tiafoe. Finding himself 2-1 down and having to win a tie-break to stay in the tournament, we saw the true hallmarks of a champion emerge. Wrestling back to dominate to win the tie-break and fifth set to book a last-16 match up against Ugo Humbert, Alcaraz had transformed himself from being on the brink of elimination to a much-fancied contender for the title once more. 

Back-to-back 3-1 wins against Humbert and the American Tommy Paul set up a semi-final against previous Grand Slam winner Daniil Medvedev. Yet again the Spaniard found himself in the predicament of being behind, but it is perhaps the mental side of his game that is his most impressive attribute. Rallying back to win 3-1 and reach another Wimbledon final with such a fearlessness and resilience showed what a special character he is. With a mental fortitude beyond his age, there is a powerful mixture of brilliance and maturity to his game. His ability to produce in the most crucial moments is not only why he was able to reach this final but why he will undoubtedly be in many more finals in years to come. 

Those watching Alcaraz play in that final and his ability to make Djokovic look human is something that will be remembered for a long time. Passing shot after passing shot, winner after winner, Alcaraz had treated spectators to, at times, tennis perfection in this final. There was even an applause from his legendary opponent after a perfectly weighted drop shot in the third set. This was Alcaraz’ moment and what time for it to come. Against one of the greatest to ever do it and on the grandest stage of them all. After a momentary blip of a break to his serve which took the final set to a tie-break, Alcaraz’ mentality shone through again as he was able to regroup and lift his second Wimbledon trophy. A truly special moment for a truly special player with an incredible future ahead of him.