Carlos Alcaraz has won the men's singles title at Wimbledon for a second year in a row with a dominant victory over Novak Djokovic in the final.
In a repeat of last year's final, which was a five-set thriller, the 21-year-old Spaniard was in control throughout against the seven-time winner to claim his second title in SW19 and get the day off to a great start for his country Spain.
He won the first two sets 6-2, 6-2, before breaking in the ninth game of the third and final set to leave himself serving for the match.
Blowing three Championship points, he was brought back to deuce by Djokovic, who showed fine professionalism after a week that has seen him booed by crowds, and found himself blowing the opportunity to claim victory and broken to move the set even again.
But Alcaraz found his nerve and held it to take the third set tie-break 7-4, finishing the match in two hours and 27 minutes and signifying what may have been a passing of the torch moment once and for all.
Carlos Alcaraz has won Wimbledon for the second straight year after beating Novak Djokovic
The Spaniard won 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) in the final to secure a repeat of last year's result at SW19
It appears that men's tennis now belongs to the new generation, with Alcaraz also winning the French Open
The rivals embraced at the net following the game, with Alcaraz managing to stay on his feet on this occasion rather than collapsing to the ground as he did when he won his first title.
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Djokovic looked accepting that he had been outclassed on the day. After embracing the crowd, Alcaraz made his way up to his players' box, and embraced his family and coaches.
After his semi-final victory over Daniil Medvedev, Alcaraz was booed on Centre Court as he suggested Sunday could be a big day for Spain. He has now completed leg one, with the Euro 2024 final to come.
'I didn't say Spain is going to win, I'm just saying it's going to be a really fun day,' he said in a bid to silence the boos, which soon turned to laughter.
The potential for the double success is still on, with the Princess of Wales presenting the trophies after the game.
With Jannik Sinner having won the Australian Open and Alcaraz going back-to-back at the French Open and here, it finally appears that men's tennis belongs to the new generation.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is still agonisingly short of an all-time record 25th Grand Slam singles title and remains one behind Federer's tally of eight Wimbledon crowns.
Djokovic has relished holding the fort for the old guard, consistently denying his young rivals on the Grand Slam stage.
The Princess of Wales watched on alongside Princess Charlotte and was all smiles as she handed over the trophy
Djokovic, who is still one short of 25 Grand Slam titles, had to settle for second after having surgery just weeks ago
Last year was a wobbling of the foundations but it took everything Alcaraz had to wrest the title from a man 16 years his senior, and Djokovic promptly dominated the rest of the season.
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But the 37-year-old has had a dreadful 2024 by his own exceptional standards, losing heavily to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open quarter-finals and failing to reach a final at any level.
Then came the meniscus tear in his right knee at the French Open that forced him to withdraw, but which also seemed to give him back his customary fire, with another challenge to overcome.
While he has appeared at times to be superhuman, there is no doubt it was a hugely impressive feat for Djokovic just to make the start-line, and his movement had improved through the fortnight.
But he had been lucky with the draw, not facing another top-10 player and seeing his scheduled quarter-final opponent Alex De Minaur forced out through injury.
The big question mark was therefore whether Djokovic was playing as well or in as good shape as he appeared, and the answer soon became all too clear.
The match began in dramatic fashion with a 13-minute first game where Djokovic saved four break points before sending a forehand wide on Alcaraz's fifth chance.
Following the win, Alcaraz made his way to the players' box and embraced his team
Bar a late wobble where he blew three Championship points, it was a dominant showing
If the crowd, including the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte watching from the Royal Box, had hoped that would set the tone for another close match, they were to be quickly disabused of that notion.
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Alcaraz was simply playing at a different speed to his opponent, his forehand too hot to handle for the Serbian, who betrayed a lack of confidence in his ability to live with his young opponent from the back of the court by repeatedly rushing to the net.
He was winning only a third of the points there, though, dropping serve again on a double fault after Alcaraz had sent down a serve at 136 miles per hour, his fastest of the tournament.
And the Spaniard was not about to be distracted by a shout of 'Come on England' as he served for the opening set.
Alcaraz's dominance continued in the second set, the 21-year-old breaking Djokovic in the opening game then again at 4-2 when for the second time in the match he double-faulted on break point.
He needed something to spark him into life and it came in the third game of the third set when he saved four break points, yelling as he walked back to his chair.
Spain are looking to complete a double success when they take on England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin
Djokovic has been the villain of the Wimbledon crowd again this tournament but here they were chanting his name, willing the classic match they had expected to break out.
He had a chance to move ahead at 3-2 but it was snatched away with an Alcaraz serve, and it seemed all but over when the second seed played a stunning game to break at 4-4.
Moments later Alcaraz was up 40-0 with three match points but he froze dramatically at the finish line, serving a double fault and making a succession of errors, one after an ill-timed scream from a woman in the crowd, to allow Djokovic to break back.
Alcaraz steadied himself, though, and completed the job in the tie-break to successfully defend a slam crown for the first time.
