Novak Djokovic reduced to tears as he spots son Stefan smiling despite brutal loss to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic, who was in pursuit of history at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, was reduced to tears after World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz spoiled his party in the final on Sunday, July 16.

Carlos Alcaraz rose to the occasion against Novak Djokovic to lift his maiden Wimbledon title. The thrilling contest saw the Spaniard, aged just 20, beat the Serb 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 after four hours and 43 minutes of grueling play.

Djokovic, a winner of 23 Grand Slam titles alongside Serena Williams, was vying to become the first athlete - man or woman - in the Open Era to lift 24 Grand Slam trophies. He was also in pursuit of his eighth title at Wimbledon, which would have tied him with Roger Federer as the man with the most trophies won at SW19.

Additionally, the 36-year-old would have become the oldest champion at Wimbledon, surpassing Roger Federer, who lifted his final trophy at the grasscourt Slam in 2017 aged 35 years and 11 months.

With his victory, Carlos Alcaraz ended the four-time defending champion's 34-match winning streak at SW19. Interestingly, the Serb had also not lost a single match on the Centre Court in 10 years. His previous loss on the iconic court came on July 7, 2013, when Andy Murray defeated him in the final.

Novak Djokovic was also halfway through to a calendar-year Grand Slam, having won the 2023 Australian Open and the 2023 French Open. He was widely tipped to continue his Grand Slam streak all the way until the US Open.

With all the records slipping through his fingers, the Serb became emotional during the ceremony speech. He was reduced to tears as he thanked his eight-year-old Stefan, a junior tennis player himself, for sticking around despite the loss.

“It’s nice to see my son still there, still smiling, you know….” the 36-year-old said, as he paused to wipe off his tears.

“Sorry. I love you. Thank you for supporting me. And I’ll give you a big hug. And we can all love each other,” he concluded.

You can watch the video here:

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Carlos Alcaraz becomes third-youngest player to win Wimbledon by beating Novak Djokovic at 2023 Championships

Carlos Alcaraz (L) and Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships

Carlos Alcaraz, aged 20 years and two months, became the third-youngest player to lift the Wimbledon title with his victory over Novak Djokovic.

Boris Becker, the youngest player to lift the men’s trophy, won the title twice as a teenager, aged 17 and 18. Meanwhile, Bjorn Borg clinched the trophy aged 20 years and 27 days.

With the win, Alcaraz also retained his World No. 1 spot, which was up for grabs in Sunday’s Wimbledon final.

This is the Spaniard's second Grand Slam title; he claimed his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the 2022 US Open. The young superstar is also just the second man from his country to lift the Wimbledon trophy in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of his idol Rafael Nadal who won it twice - in 2008 and 2010.

“It’s amazing; For a boy, 20 years old, I didn’t expect to reach this kind of situation really fast. I’m really, really proud of myself,” Alcaraz said in his victory speech.