Key occasions
Extra on Hewett’s win:
My eyes could also be getting a bit damp because the BBC exhibits a montage of Andy Murray’s farewell ceremony final week. And talking of nice Brits, after Henry Patten’s good victory with Finland’s Harri Heliovaara within the males’s doubles closing yesterday (and large congratulations to Patten’s coach Calvin Betton, a good friend of this weblog), Alfie Hewett has in the present day gained that elusive males’s wheelchair singles title, defeating Spain’s Martin de la Puente 6-2, 6-3. It completes a profession grand slam in singles and doubles for the 26-year-old, who misplaced within the closing in 2022 and 2023.
HEWETT COMPLETES THE SET 🫶 🔥
Alfie Hewett is now a singles and doubles champion in any respect 4 Grand Slams, defeating Martin De La Puente 6-2, 6-3 to win the Gents’s Wheelchair singles title for the primary time 🇬🇧#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Y36ZuyhFkz
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024
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Preamble
Firstly of this Wimbledon the scene appeared set. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the undisputed leaders of the brand new era, would meet within the semi-finals, which might be the de facto closing, as a result of who from the opposite half of the draw might actually bother them within the closing? Nearly actually not 37-year-old Novak Djokovic, solely weeks after knee surgical procedure.
However it didn’t fairly end up that approach. An ailing Sinner misplaced to Daniil Medvedev within the final eight and Alcaraz, having defeated Medvedev, now faces a Djokovic who very a lot appears within the temper to match Roger Federer’s eight Wimbledon males’s titles and stretch forward of Margaret Courtroom with a document 25th grand slam singles title. We must always have recognized that writing off Djokovic was silly. Proving doubters fallacious is what he’s carried out his entire profession and there was no approach he was going to let the small matter of surgical procedure get in the way in which of his bid for undisputed GOAT-ness.
However then Alcaraz, simply 21, is like three GOATs rolled into one, along with his Djokovic-like motion, Nadal-like struggle and Federer-like shot-making – and with three grand slam titles already on three completely different surfaces he’s achieved one thing they hadn’t at his age. Alcaraz defeated Djokovic over 5 absorbing units in final yr’s Wimbledon closing and, having gained Roland Garros final month, goes for a French Open-Wimbledon double – one other feat Djokovic, Nadal and Federer didn’t pull off till later of their careers. He’s the brand new famous person whom tennis wanted to take over from the Huge Three; the Spaniard who could have Centre Courtroom on his aspect this afternoon regardless of his nation going through England later within the Euro 2024 closing; and the teenager, all smiles and easy-going heat, who’s already extra adored at Wimbledon than Djokovic has ever been.
For Djokovic that lack of affection from many has harm throughout his profession and perhaps it nonetheless does; maybe that’s why he referred to as out the group throughout Ruuuuune/Boooooo-gate on Monday. Or maybe it was an indication he doesn’t care a lot lately about successful followers over and that the gloves are off in his struggle for tennis historical past.
“I’m conscious that Roger holds eight Wimbledons [and] I maintain seven,” Djokovic says. “Historical past is on the road. Additionally, the twenty fifth potential grand slam. After all, it serves as an excellent motivation. I’ll attempt to use that as a gasoline to play my finest tennis.”
And if he achieves that unrivalled GOAT-ness in the present day, would he commerce in any of these titles for a bit extra love? I doubt it.
Play begins at: 2pm BST. Don’t be late!
