Ben Pawlowski
FOR the thousands of spectators packed into Centre Court, today’s events on the hallowed grass resembled a changing of the guard.
Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spanish tennis sensation, swept aside one of the sport’s greatest ever players, Novak Djokovic, in a stunning straight sets win to regain the Wimbledon crown he won last year.
Perhaps eager to ensure he had left SW19 in time to watch his beloved Spain in this evening’s Euro 2024 final, Alcaraz put in an awesome performance to breeze past his Serbian rival in ultra-quick fashion.
In the end, the Murcia-born maestro won 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) as one era came to an end and another sprung into life.
At just 21 years of age, the prodigiously talented Spaniard has now won four Grand Slam events (the 2022 US Open, 2023 Wimbledon, 2024 French Open and 2024 Wimbledon) in addition to 14 ATP tour titles, with the possibility of claiming an Olympic gold at this summer’s Paris Games.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in the English capital, Alcaraz put in a mesmerisingly brilliant display that belied his young age, proving why many in the world of tennis point to him as the sport’s latest superstar.
Celebrities including Tom Cruise watched Alcaraz leap across the court in daredevilish fashion, producing an array of fantastic forehands which left a deflated Djokovic answerless.
The great 37-year-old Serb, perhaps the greatest returner in the sport’s history, struggled to cope with Alcaraz’s power in the serve and exceptional movement across the court.
He sought to gain inspiration from the crowd in the hope of miraculously sealing an 8th Wimbledon crown, relentlessly pushing, but Alcaraz was simply superior.
Spain’s golden boy, just weeks after his equally stunning Roland Garros success, is cementing himself as tennis’ new star – he will be hoping, unlike the Wimbledon crowd he teased following his semi-final success earlier this week, that a Euro 2024 final triumph for La Roja can make this weekend one for the Spanish sport history books.
