The win the world’s been waiting for!

I woke up early on Monday morning on the 17th of July 2023 in Australia's glorious Blue Mountains.

It was pitch dark and I had no idea what the time was.

I thought it might not be much later than midnight.

If so, I thought the Wimbledon Dream Final the tennis world was waiting for, might just have begun.

'Would it not be great if Alcaraz has already started his march towards victory? Even if he could stretch the game to five sets, that would shake the Djoker's conviction of invincibility,' I thought wishfully.

But let's think big: He will beat the Djoker in five sets.

Let's see what time it is?

I switch on the torch and I see the time: it is 4.30 am.

'Gee, the game is probably over,' I exclaim as I hear my ticker beating loud.

I Google the results and Alcaraz' name comes in pitch black letters on the top over the faint lettered Djokovic name, meaning the former won the match.

'Oh, my God,' I exclaim, 'Alcaraz did it at last! Bless his soul!'

Here is the result of the Wimbledon Final:

1 C. Alcaraz Garfia 1 7 6 3 6

2 N. Djokovic 6 6 1 6 4

'What an amazing rolling coaster!'

Obviously, the Djoker rolled over Alcaraz decisively in the first set.

But in the second set Alraraz was pushed to a tiebreaker which he just one.

At this point, the Djoker had little to fear – he could put his second-set loss down to bad luck.

Except, the Djoker, had to note, that in spite of his spectacular first set demolition of Alcaraz, the youngster was able to re-group and even beat him in the second set.

But Djokovic had no idea what was waiting for him in the third set.

The young pretender to his throne on the other side of the net, gave him the shock of his life; one that the Djoker had no answer for: in the third set Alcaraz beat him the same crushing 6:1, to which the Alpha Male, Djoker treated his young rival in the first set.

Now it was 2 : 1 Alcaraz's way.

'But, no worries'.

Djokovic would have been desperate to calm himself and remember: 'I came back so many times from two sets down, surely I can do it again.'

So, the Djoker did now what he always does in Grand Slams, pack up his gear and rush to the bathroom in the break to re-group.

His usual pattern has been on the Grand Slams, that even if he lost two sets like now, every time the person who would re-emerge from the bathroom in fresh clothing after the game, was different from the one who went to the bathroom at the beginning of the break: He would come back, totally focussed on the game, typically stepping up into a class of his own, and from there on, win every set against his opponent ever more decisively.

And sure enough, he won the fourth set decisively with 6 : 3.

Now came the decider fifth set, that the whole world has been waiting for.

Will the Old Fox do his Houdini Act again and win the tournament?

No doubt, he was ready for this, but he must have had some nagging doubts in his mind.

This was not the same Alcaraz who handed him the victory on a plate in the last two sets of the French Open final a few weeks back, when the 'Young Turk' was so riddled with nervous cramps that he could barely move on the court.

No, the guy who was challenging him for his crown on the other side of the court was fit now and hell-bent to teach the Djoker a lesson: after all, he is not invincible.

It was a lesson for which the tennis world was holding their collective breath to teach the Djoker, who lately pumped up his ego so fully, that he was ready to fly off into the stratosphere like an unstoppable helium balloon.

Just a few days before the final, the Djoker bragged that it might sound arrogant but he still has to say that he is the best in the world.

'I love to be in the position where in the whole world, I am the one to beat. And it's aren't going to happen.'

Well, it did now. Fifth set – 6 : 4 Alcaraz wins.

And the Djoker did not exactly love it.

None of his reptilian rage could help him to fall over the line against his young opponent.

The de-crowning of Djokovic, finally gets male singles top tennis back on the competitive track: the Djoker at last found his younger match, who is there to move into Federer's and Nadal's past role of offering a chance to defeat him on centre stage.

For so long I wanted to recite my slightly altered favourite quote from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. So, feel free to recite it with me -

These growing feathers plucked from Djoko's wings,
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,
Who else would soar above the view of men
And keep us all in servile fearfulness!