On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his 2023 Wimbledon title. Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to repeat at Wimbledon.

New Era

For the past 20 years, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominated men’s tennis. They are often referred to as the “Big Three” for this reason. From 2003 to 2024, one of these three finished the year ranked number one in the world every year but two – 2016 and 2022. Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all among the greatest tennis players ever and many do not expect to see anyone come close to what they did in their careers. The majority of records are held by one of these three. Their collective success and longevity makes it difficult to imagine others coming close.

A possible exception may be Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz burst onto the tennis scene as a teenager. After having some success as an 17 and 18 year old, he shot up to world number one as a 19 year old. He became the youngest number one ranked tennis player in history. For the past two years, he has battled Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic for the number one ranking.

With Federer retiring in 2022 and Nadal fighting consistent injuries for the past few years, Djokovic is the last of the three to still be in frequent contention. Although he is still maintaining success, the era of the “Big Three” is coming to an end. This means that a new era has begun.

Defending the Title

Defending any title is a tall task. Being a 21 year old trying to defend his Wimbledon title may seem even taller of a task.

Carlos Alcaraz did not drop a set until the third round of 2024 Wimbledon. In the third round of the tournament, Alcaraz faced Frances Tiafoe. This match ended up being the toughest test for Alcaraz. It went the full five sets and was a true back and forth battle between the two.

The next two matches both went four sets, with Alcaraz moving on with 3-1 wins in each. This set Alcaraz up to face Djokovic for the title.

In 2023, Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic faced each other in the championship at Wimbledon. History repeated itself in 2024. Last year saw a five set match between these two, but 2024 provided a different journey to the same result. Carlos Alcaraz dominated Djokovic by not giving up a set to win Wimbledon and defended his title.

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