"It was difficult for me" - Carlos Alcaraz credits Novak Djokovic as 'unbelievable fighter' for saving 3 championship points in Wimbledon 2024 final

Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his title at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships against Novak Djokovic. Though Alcaraz's display was largely flawless, there were a few hiccups towards the backend of the title contest.

Alcaraz, the third seed, faced Djokovic, seeded No. 2, in the final of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships on July 14. This was a repeat of last year's final at the grass slam, which Alcaraz won. The Spaniard wasted no time putting his Serbian opponent on the back foot, breaking him four times in the first two sets to take a substantial lead.

In the third set, Djokovic displayed a better serving game until 4-4, when Carlos Alcaraz made a crucial breakthrough by piercing the 24-time Grand Slam champion's serve. This allowed the defending champion to serve out the match, and he raced to 40-0 at 5-4. With three championship points on his racket, Alcaraz showed some nerves and let his lead slip with a double fault, a shot into the net, and a missed volley. Djokovic took advantage of these lapses and broke Alcaraz to level the score.

The set eventually went into a tiebreaker, and Alcaraz managed to close out the match 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4). During the post-match on-court interview, the 21-year-old was asked about those errors at 5-4 in the third set and how it affected his mentality going into the tiebreaker.

Alcaraz admitted he was under pressure at that juncture and credited Djokovic for displaying his fighting spirit. Despite missing a few key chances, Alcaraz stayed composed and eventually won the match in the tiebreaker without any further errors.

“It was 40-0. I was seeing so far away. Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter. I knew that he was going to his chances again. So I had to stay there. I tried to win the point with my serve, but I couldn’t. It was difficult for me. I tried to stay calm and positive going into the tie-break and play my best tennis. That’s all I was thinking about. I’m glad at the end I could find the solutions. I'm really happy to been in this situation and obviously playing a great tiebreaker," Alcaraz said. [1:20 onwards]

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Carlos Alcaraz maintains his perfect Grand Slam final record with Wimbledon win

Carlos Alcaraz

With his triumph at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Carlos Alcaraz has continued his unbeaten streak in Grand Slam finals. The young Spaniard reached his maiden Major final at the 2022 US Open and defeated Norwegian No. 1 Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3.

His second Grand Slam title came at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, where he defeated four-time defending champion Djokovic in a five-set thriller, 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

Alcaraz recently emerged victorious at his third Major final at the 2024 Roland Garros, where he came back from two sets down to get the better of Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Alcaraz took his Grand Slam finals record to a perfect 4-0 with a win at the just-concluded 2024 Wimbledon Championships. The former World No. 1 defeated Mark Lajal, Aleksandar Vukic, Frances Tiafoe, Ugo Humbert, Tommy Paul, Daniil Medvedev, and Novak Djokovic en route to the title.