Wimbledon day 14: Carlos Alcaraz shatters Novak Djokovic’s aura of invincibility

By Sports Desk July 16, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz dethroned Novak Djokovic on Centre Court as the curtain closed on Wimbledon with a men’s final for the ages.

There was more British joy as Henry Searle won the boys’ singles crown but there was disappointment for Alfie Hewett as he again missed out on the wheelchair singles crown.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day 14 of the Championships.

Alcaraz ends Djokovic reign

Carlos Alcaraz will go down in history as the man who finally beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

The Serbian had not lost since 2017 and his invincibility stretched back even further on Centre Court, with Andy Murray the last man to inflict defeat on him there way back in 2013.

But Alcaraz proved he is the real deal and ended Djokovic’s reign in a men’s singles final that will go down as one of the greatest.

There were twists and turns, drama, frustration and most of all some epic tennis in a near five-hour battle that Alcaraz won 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4.

He claimed his first SW19 crown and second grand slam title overall and it will be fascinating to see how much of a seminal moment this victory is.

Tweet of the dayQuote of the dayPicture of the dayHewett’s heartache

Alfie Hewett’s wait for grand slam perfection goes on after he lost the wheelchair singles final.

The Briton has won at the Australian Open, the French Open and US Open but his home slam at Wimbledon continues to evade him after a second successive final loss.

Number one seed Tokito Oda, who is just 17, denied him glory on Court One with a 6-4 6-2 victory as he won back-to-back grand slams following his recent success at the French Open.

Hewett was visibly devastated at the end and Oda could be an obstacle for some time, having become the youngest champion at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis.

Searle ends British drought

Henry Searle became the first British boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon since 1962.

The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton beat fifth seed Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 on Court One to emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed 61 years ago.

He is Britain’s first junior champion since Laura Robson won the girls’ event in 2008 and ensured more home success at this year’s tournament after Neal Skupski won the men’s doubles on Saturday.

It will be a life-changing experience for Searle but he looks like he has the temperament and the ability to succeed in the men’s game after a brilliant campaign where he did not drop a set, highlighted by him sending down a 134mph serve during the final.

Stat of the day

Related items

  • Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge

    Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.

    Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.

    The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands. 

    However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.

    Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum

    Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.

    Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.

  • Sabalenka overcomes injury concerns to reach Rome semi-finals Sabalenka overcomes injury concerns to reach Rome semi-finals

    Aryna Sabalenka is through to her second Italian Open semi-final after a straight-sets victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday.

    The Belarusian, who recovered from a lower back injury sustained in her previous match against Elina Svitolina, breezed through 6-2, 6-4 after just 72 minutes on the court.

    Sabalenka broke her serve in the third and fifth games, with Ostapenko opening the door with two double faults, while a single break in the seventh game settled the second set.

    The second seed almost let it slip with her only double fault but came back with two big serves to close out the win.

    Sabalenka will face Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final on Friday. 

    Data Debrief: Top 10

    Sabalenka (10) has become only the second player to reach 10 or more WTA-1000 semi-finals since the start of the 2020 season, along with Iga Swiatek (16).

    With Sabalenka joining Swiatek and Coco Gauff, it is the first time the WTA’s top three players have reached the semi-final at the same WTA event since Roland Garros in 2013 – excluding the WTA Tour Finals.

    Sabalenka has spent the most time out on the court in WTA clay events in 2024, with this match bringing her up to 25 hours and 34 minutes.

     

  • Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome

    Coco Gauff will have the chance to down world number one Iga Swiatek after progressing to the Italian Open semi-finals with Tuesday's victory over Qinwen Zheng.

    The 20-year-old breezed into the last-four draw in Rome after her straight-sets victory over Zheng, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.

    Gauff faced just one break point throughout the match, failing to hold her serve at 5-3 up as seven-seed Zhen battled back in the first set.

    Yet Gauff eased through the tie-break and never looked back from there on, teeing up a meeting with Swiatek, who overcame Madison Keys in straight sets in her quarter-final clash.

    Data Debrief: Young Gauff powers on

    No player has won more matches than Gauff (61) in WTA-1000 events before turning 21, since the introduction of the format in 2009, as the American moved past Caroline Wozniacki (60) with victory here.

    Wozniacki (eight) is also the only player to manage more WTA-1000 semi-final appearances before her 21th birthday, with Gauff's last-four qualification here taking her onto six – one ahead of Swiatek.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.