SPAIN JUST WINS: CARLOS ALCARAZ HAS FOUR MAJOR TITLES WHEN HE’S ONLY 21

With his nation also winning Euro 2024, he buried a waning Djokovic and reminded us he has no top challengers, positioned to win numerous Grand Slams with a young dignity that is universally regarded

     He snarls with gritted teeth, yet only when necessary. The reaction was rare Sunday on Centre Court, where Carlos Alcaraz not only manhandled a 37-year-old legend with a lame right knee but left us wondering how many major finals he’ll win. He is 4-0 already at 21, while growing a one-day facial gristle, and without Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer engulfed as Novak Djokovic had to perform, he deals only with himself.

     This is a compact version of tennis, far less dramatic or disturbed. Without any wild-child antics and anything beyond thanking his parents — or cheering madly for Spain in soccer’s European championship — Alcaraz cannot be better positioned to become an all-time great. He was 15 years and 348 days younger than Djokovic, who eventually will go away as a colossal artist who won 24 Grand Slams and ranks numerically as the best male player ever. He didn’t belong in the hallowed stadium with the kid, who made the day easy for the cancer-weary Princess of Wales and bewildered those who paid more for the worst seats ($10,600) than any sports event in humankind.

     From clay to grass to twigs in a forest, Alcaraz completed the Wimbledon and French Open double. Nadal did it twice and Djokovic and Federer did it once. He has yet to win in Australia, and when he does, we’ll monitor if he can win all four slams in a calendar season. Whatever Alcaraz wants to do is within his age, his extraordinary skill patterns and his breathless flexibility, which included behind-the-back rampages. We just want someone to challenge him at some point. Is it possibly Jannik Sinner? Is it anyone?

     “It’s unbelievable,” Alcaraz said. “At the end of my career, I want to sit at the same table as the big guys. That’s my main goal. That’s my dream right now.”

     “He’s as complete a player as they come,” said Djokovic, who lost 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. “He’s going to win many more Grand Slams. He just was better than me in every aspect of the game. The level of tennis wasn’t really up to par on my side. He had it all today. I tried to push him. It was all about him.”

     Do the math on years and time. Only four other players, male or female, have won their first four career big ones. Federer won seven, and last week, a network showed a documentary paying tribute to his elegance. Is Alcaraz next as a universal fan favorite after his second straight title at the All England Club? On his way up the aisles to greet his family and coaches, he stopped to thank Djokovic’s team and said hello to an ESPN broadcast crew that included two McEnroes. In a sport with plenty of crazy characters, including Djokovic, have you heard anyone say one bad thing about Alcaraz?

     “For me,” he said, upon receiving his prize from Kate, “this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and, obviously, the most beautiful trophy.”

     Then, in front of an audience that included champions and Tom Cruise and, more to the point, Benedict Cumberbatch, he said, “In an interview when I was 11 years old, I said that my dream is to win Wimbledon. So I'm repeating my dream.”

     He promptly halted the ego train of an opponent who eagerly wanted fans to root against him, which made no sense given the stakes. Last week, Djokovic assumed the crowd was booing him when people seemed to be chanting “Ruuuuuuuuune” at Holger Rune. Speaking on the court, he said, “To all the fans that have respect and have stayed here tonight: thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate it. And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect the player — in this case, me — have a goooooood night. Goooooood night, gooooood night. Very good night. Yep.”

     Was he sorely mistaken? Weren’t they pulling for a player who, 25 days before the tournament, had surgery on a torn medial meniscus and wasn’t sure he’d participate? Djokovic didn’t want to hear it. “I’ve been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks, I know how it works. I played in much more hostile environments,” he said. “Trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”

     They wanted no part of him in a brief afternoon excursion, before rushing away to watch England play Spain in the Eurofest. In Alcaraz’s kingdom, his rise to the top of tennis coincides with the national team. His good friend is Alvaro Morata, the captain, and they keep tabs on each other. After La Roja beat Germany with a goal in extra time, Morata checked his phone and said, “Did you see Alcaraz won in five sets?! Amazing.” This is not new territory. In 2008, Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon after Spain won Euro. Which is why Alcaraz gained his only negative feedback from the Londoners after he said, “It’s going to be a really good day for the Spanish people.”

     He knew. “I couldn’t miss Spain. I couldn’t miss Spain,” he told the media. He would say, “I raised my job. So let’s see football.”

     Later, he watched and celebrated with his boys, who won 2-1 in Berlin and took a record fourth Euro title. It’s difficult to argue with Spaniards who claim they rule life when tennis and soccer are entrenched in their domain. Next, Alcaraz will head to the U.S. Open, which he won two years ago before Djokovic won last year. This September, there will be no $10,600 purchase price for cheaper seats in New York. We’ll be awaiting major No. 5.

     “Obviously there's a little bit of a disappointment right now, but when I reflect, I'm sure on the last ... four to five weeks, and really what I've been through along with, of course, with my team members and family, I have to say that I'm very satisfied because Wimbledon has always been a childhood dream tournament of mine,” Djokovic said. “I always wanted to be here, play on the center stage. I try to remind myself of sometimes how surreal the feeling is of being here, and even though I was playing so many matches in my life and being really blessed to be fighting for the trophy 10 times in my career, as you mentioned, but every single time I step on the court, it feels like the first time. So I'm a child living my childhood dream once again.”

     He’ll be back. He might approach 40. But at what status? “As far as coming back here, I mean, I would love to," he said. “I don't have anything else in my thoughts right now that this is my last Wimbledon. ... I don't have any limitations in my mind. I still want to keep going and play as long as I feel like I can play on this high level.”

     The fans rallied for him in the third set, when he saved match point and took Alcaraz to a tiebreaker. “No-le! No-le!” they chanted. But folks understood. At his age, Djokovic has provided his very best, to the point he reached two dozen majors and passed Nadal and Federer. Soon, he will join them in retirement and start hoisting his fingers while wondering how Carlos Alcaraz will fare until, oh, 2043.

     “I see a lot of similarities between me and him, in terms of ability to adapt and adjust to the surface,” Djokovic said. “That’s probably his biggest trait.”

     He sees himself. We watch. He’s 21 and, if we choose to count, how many away?

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     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.