The 21-year-old Spaniard becomes just the second man in the open era after Roger Federer to win his first four grand slam finals, while he has outdone Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal by reaching that landmark before his 22nd birthday.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is still agonisingly short of an all-time record 25th 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.

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.

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, another challenge to overcome.

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.

If the crowd, including Kate Windsor and her daughter 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.

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.

The Serbian 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.

Djokovic admitted it wasn’t the result he wanted but credited Alcaraz for “playing some amazing tennis.

“I tried to push him, I saved three match points and tried to extend the match, but it wasn’t to be. He is a deserved winner.”

An elated Acaraz said: Alcaraz said: “Honestly it is a dream for me winning this trophy. I did an interview when I was 11 or 12 and said my dream is to win Wimbledon. I’m fulfilling my dream.

“Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he was going to have his chances. It was difficult but I tried to stay calm going into the tie-break and tried to play my best tennis. I was glad at the end I could find the solutions.”

Meanwhile Alfie Hewett secured an emotional maiden wheelchair singles title at Wimbledon after a comprehensive 6-2 6-3 victory over Spain’s Martin De La Puente.

Hewett had experienced disappointment in the 2022 and 2023 singles finals at the All England Club as he bid to complete the career grand slam.

However, the British star erased the memories of his defeat on Court One to Tokito Oda last year with a sublime display of hitting to delight a pumped up home crowd with a long-awaited singles success in SW19.