Tag Archives: All England Club

Carlos Alcaraz ThisClose to Becoming Youngest Olympic Tennis Singles Champion

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2024 Paris GamesCarlos Alcaraz is one win away from Olympic tennis history…

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime soundly, 6-1, 6-1, in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Games on Friday to come within one win of becoming the youngest man to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz owns four Grand Slam titles, including a French Open title he won in June at Roland Garros, the clay-court facility being used for tennis at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

He’s about a month younger than Vincent Richards of the U.S. was when he claimed the gold in the 1924 Paris Games.

With dozens of spectators waving red-and-yellow Spanish flags at Court Philippe Chatrier or yelling “Vamos, Carlos!” on a cloudy afternoon — and a soundtrack provided during breaks in the action by a brass band in the stands — Alcaraz was dominant and never faced a break point.

He won the point on 10 of 11 trips to the net. He made just 13 unforced errors, 10 fewer than Auger-Aliassime, who also lost to Alcaraz at this year’s French Open.

“I just couldn’t find a way to be comfortable in any pattern, any position. Whether it was trying to dominate the forehand cross-court or change of direction, the forehand inside-out, the backhand side,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Every aspect. The movement. The defense. I was dominated.”

Auger-Aliassime is a 23-year-old Canadian whose best showing at a major tournament was a semifinal appearance at the 2021 US Open. Auger-Aliassime made it to that round back then when Alcaraz, just 18 at the time, stopped playing in the second set of their quarterfinal because of an injured leg muscle.

“He’s improved a lot, every time we’ve played,” said Auger-Aliassime, who beat Alcaraz in each of their first three head-to-head contests but now has lost the four since, all in straight sets. “I don’t have the solutions right now.”

The Alcaraz on display during his Olympics debut is a much more finished product, someone who has won 12 consecutive matches at Roland Garros and collected a second consecutive title at Wimbledon last month, too.

Alcaraz defeated 24-time Slam champion Novak Djokovic in both of those finals at the All England Club, and they’ll have a rematch for the men’s gold on Sunday after Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the second Olympic semifinal.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Novak Djokovic to Claim Second Consecutive Wimbledon Title

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Carlos Alcaraz has retained his Wimbledon crown…

After winning his first title at the All England Club in 2023 against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, the 21-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated the former World No. 1 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to claim his second straight Wimbledon title.

Carlos AlcarazBy the end of the 2-hour, 27-minute clash on Centre Court, Alcaraz had won his fourth major title and second at Wimbledon, dashing Djokovic’s latest hopes for history.

As the likes of the Princess of Wales, Tom Cruise, Benedict Cumberbatch and former champions Stan Smith, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver and Chris Evert looked on, Alcaraz raised his arms in the air before pointing to his head while looking at his team.

“In an interview when I was 11 years old, I said that my dream is to win Wimbledon,” Alcaraz told the crowd during the trophy ceremony. “So I’m repeating my dream.”

While Djokovic, 37, had been on the hunt to take sole possession of the most Grand Slam singles titles in history with 25 and surpass Margaret Court for the distinction, it was Alcaraz who etched his name into the record books Sunday.

Carlos AlcarazHe became the third-youngest man to win four Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era, behind only Mats Wilander and Bjorn Borg. Having now won in all four of his major final appearances, Alcaraz trails just Roger Federer, who was victorious in his first seven major finals, for the longest opening streak among men’s players.

Perhaps most notably, by winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season, Alcaraz joins Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only men to have done it in the past 40 years. Borg and Rod Laver are the only other men to have achieved the feat in the Open era.

“It is a great feeling even thinking about being [the] French Open winner and Wimbledon champion the same year [and] that few players just done it before,” Alcaraz said in a news conference. “It’s unbelievable.”

Despite the 16-year age difference between Alcaraz and Djokovic, it was their sixth career meeting. The series is now tied at three matches each, with Alcaraz having won both meetings in a major final. Even Djokovic couldn’t help but be impressed by Alcaraz after the match.

“Huge congrats to Carlos,” Djokovic told reporters. “[He] deserved this win today. He was the better player from the beginning till the end.”

Despite losing in the round of 16 in his lone grass lead-in event at Queen’s Club, Alcaraz entered Wimbledon as the co-favorite with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

But returning to the final wasn’t easy. He dropped the opening set in three of his six matches ahead of the final and needed five sets to defeat No. 29 seed Frances Tiafoe in the third round. But after his 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 semifinal victory over Daniil Medvedev on Friday, Alcaraz said he felt good about the state of his game.

That confidence was on full display Sunday. After the opening game, Alcaraz needed just 28 more minutes to close out the first set and 75 total minutes to take a 2-0 lead. With the crowd largely behind him, as it had been for most of the tournament, Djokovic seemed to have no answers for Alcaraz’s power and variety.

Djokovic raised his level in the third set, and Alcaraz began to show signs of nerves for the first time. Serving for the match at 5-4, Alcaraz squandered three championship points and was ultimately broken for the first time after a double fault and a string of errors. Both Djokovic and Alcaraz then held on their next service games to force a tiebreak. But Alcaraz took control and ultimately left nothing to chance, winning the match on his fourth championship point.

“It was difficult for me,” Alcaraz said. “I tried to just stay calm. I tried to stay positive from that situation, going into the tiebreak, and I tried to play my best tennis. That’s all I was thinking about. Really glad that I, at the end, could find the solutions.”

While not the result Djokovic had been hoping for, he said he was “very proud” of his performance overall and in reaching the final. After having to withdraw ahead of his quarterfinal match at the French Open last month, Djokovic underwent surgery for a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on June 5, leaving his status for Wimbledon in doubt. Even when he arrived in London the week before the main draw got underway, he told the BBC he was still unsure whether he would play but would do so only if he believed he had a chance to “fight for the title.”

En route to the final, he showed few signs of discomfort and dropped just two sets in five matches. (His quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew with a hip injury.) On Friday after his straight-sets semifinal win over Lorenzo Musetti, Djokovic said he felt as if he was “playing close to my best.”

But that wasn’t enough on Sunday, and Djokovic lost in a major final in straight sets for just the fifth time in his career. Since Djokovic took over the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in 2011, this marks just the second season in which he has not won any of the year’s first three major titles. He was reflective when speaking to the Centre Court crowd after the match.

“Obviously there’s a little bit of a disappointment right now as we’re talking 10 minutes after the match finished, but when I reflect, I’m sure on the last … four to five weeks, and really what I’ve been through along with, of course, with my team members and family, I have to say that I’m very satisfied because Wimbledon has always been a childhood dream tournament of mine,” Djokovic said.

“I always wanted to be here, play on the center stage. I try to remind myself of sometimes how surreal the feeling is of being here, and even though I was playing so many matches in my life and being really blessed to be fighting for the trophy 10 times in my career, as you mentioned, but every single time I step on the court, it feels like the first time. So I’m a child living my childhood dream once again.”

Asked in his news conference later if this would be his final Wimbledon appearance, Djokovic insisted he had no plans to retire soon and was focused on the upcoming Olympic Games and the US Open.

“As far as coming back here, I mean, I would love to,” he said. “I don’t have anything else in my thoughts right now that this is my last Wimbledon. … I don’t have any limitations in my mind. I still want to keep going and play as long as I feel like I can play on this high level.”

Defending Champion Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Daniil Medvedev to Reach Wimbledon Final

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Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from a repeat performance…

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star has returned to the Wimbledon final after rallying from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the semifinals at the All England Club on Friday afternoon, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Carlos AlcarazWith the victory, Alcaraz extends his Wimbledon winning streak to 13 matches in a row—he won seven matches to capture the title a year ago, and he’s now won another six in a row this year.

He’s just the second Spanish man ever to reach multiple Wimbledon finals, after Rafael Nadal, who won the title in 2008 and 2010 and finished runner-up in 2006, 2007 and 2011.

He also stays perfect against the biggest names in the sport this year: Alcaraz is now 5-0 against Top 5 players this season following his victory over the No. 5-ranked Medvedev.

ALCARAZ VS. TOP 5 PLAYERS THIS YEAR (5-0):
d. No. 3 Sinner in Indian Wells SFs, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
d. No. 4 Medvedev in Indian Wells F, 7-6 (5), 6-1
d. No. 2 Sinner in Roland Garros SFs, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
d. No. 4 Zverev in Roland Garros F, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
d. No. 5 Medvedev in Wimbledon SFs, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

There were several momentum swings in the first set, with Medvedev originally going up a break and building a 5-2 lead, then Alcaraz getting back on serve and pushing the set to a tie-break, where Medvedev came out swinging, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before wrapping up the opening frame, 7-1.

Then, Alcaraz came alive—he didn’t even face a single break point in the next two sets to build a two-sets-to-one lead, and then, after the two traded breaks in the first two games of the fourth set, the Spaniard broke one last time in the seventh game, eventually serving the match out a few games later.

Both players finished the match with more winners than unforced errors, but Alcaraz’s ratio was just too good with 55 to 37. Meanwhile, Medvedev had 31 to 24 on the day.

The Spaniard also broke twice as many times, six to three.

Awaiting the No. 3-seeded Alcaraz in the final will be the seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who defeated No. 25 seed Lorenzo Musetti, in a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon men’s final.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro Defeats Wimbledon Defending Champion Marketa Vondrousova to Reach Second Round

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Jessica Bouzas Maneiro has taken down a champion…

The 21-year-old Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked No. 83 in the world, defeated Wimbledon defending champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday.

Jessica Bouzas ManeiroIn the process, Vondrousova became the first defending women’s champion at Wimbledon to lose in the first round the next year since 1994.

Vondrousova was a surprise title winner at the All England Club 12 months ago, the first unseeded woman to claim the trophy at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

Now she enters the books in another — and less desirable — historic way. The only other time

2019 in the sport’s Open era, which dates to 1968, that a woman went from a championship at Wimbledon to an immediate exit a year later was when Steffi Graf was defeated by Lori McNeil 30 years ago.

Vondrousova was seeded No. 6 this time, but the left-hander, who also was the runner-up at the French Open and a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games three years ago, was never at her best Tuesday. She appeared to still be suffering after-effects from a fall during a tune-up tournament on grass in Berlin last month that hurt her hip.

Bouzas Maneiro, meantime, has reached the second round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.

In March, Bouzas Maneiro won her maiden WTA 125 title at the Antalya Challenger. The following month, she reached the final of the Zaragoza Open, but lost to Moyuka Uchijima.

Carlos Alcaraz to Face Novak Djokovic in His First Wimbledon Final

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Carlos Alcaraz is preparing for a Wimbledon final for the ages…

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Friday to reach the Men’s Final, where the World No. 1 will face Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Carlos AlcarazThe “ultimate showdown”, as Djokovic called it, promises to be monumental in both its quality and its significance.

In addition to deciding who will claim the Wimbledon title — Djokovic is bidding for his fifth straight and eighth overall, while Alcaraz will contest his first final on Centre Court — the matchup will determine who leaves London atop the ATP Rankings.

It won’t be Alcaraz’s first rodeo in that respect: The No. 1 spot was also on the line when he beat Casper Ruud in his first major final at last year’s US Open. But a win against Djokovic, owner of a record 23 Grand Slam mens’ singles titles, might be even more significant.

“It gives you extra motivation. I think it’s more special to play a final against a legend from our sport,” Alcaraz said of the matchup. “If I win, it could be amazing for me. Not only to win a Wimbledon title but to do it against Novak would be super special.”

Alcaraz, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, is on the fast track to becoming one of the all-time greats of the sport himself. (The age gap is the third largest in a men’s major final.) Alcaraz has already proven his otherworldly talent on hard and clay courts, but this year his game has begun to sprout on the grass. Djokovic singled out his opponent’s successful adaptation on the lawns for particular praise, noting similarities to himself in that regard.

“I don’t think many people expected him to play so well [on grass] because his game is basically built and constructed and developed for clay mostly or slower hard courts. But he’s been incredibly successful in adapting to the surfaces and demands and challenges of opponents on a given day,” the Serbian said of Alcaraz.

“I see this as a great trait, as a great virtue. I see this as one of my biggest strengths throughout my career, that I was able to constantly develop, adapt, and adjust my game depending on the challenges basically. That’s what he’s doing very early on in his career.”

There is one key area where Alcaraz must evolve in order to avenge his semifinal defeat to Djokovic at Roland Garros. In Paris, the Spaniard had the wind in his sails after outplaying his opponent down the stretch of the second set. But with the match level at one-set all, Alcaraz began to suffer from cramps — an issue he blamed on nerves rather than fatigue.

Alcaraz is at his best when he’s playing with a smile on his face. But his joy was diminished by the gravity of his semi-final showdown against Djokovic — the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting at a major.

“I’ll try to pull out all nerves, try to enjoy that moment, because probably in the semi-final at the French Open I didn’t enjoy at all in the first set,” said Alcaraz, who will talk with his psychologist as part of his preparations for the final. “I’ll do something different from that match. I’ll prepare the match a little bit different from French Open. It’s going to be different for me. I hope not to get cramp during the final. I think I’ll be better on Sunday.”

While Alcaraz was the favorite in that Roland Garros matchup, he’ll face a different kind of pressure as the underdog at Wimbledon, where Djokovic is riding a 34-match winning streak. Adding to the stress is the size of the task before him: breaking down Djokovic’s watertight grass-court game.

“I have to get deep into [my tactics] because Novak has no weakness, so it’s going to be really tough to find the way to be danger for him,” the Spaniard said. “He’s a really complete player. He’s amazing. He does nothing wrong on the court. Physically he’s a beast. Mentally he’s a beast. Everything is unbelievable for him,” Alcaraz later added.

Djokovic has lost just three service games in his six Wimbledon wins this year, saving 16 of 19 break points. He had never been broken fewer than five times en route to any of his previous 34 Grand Slam finals. Alcaraz has dropped serve six times on 25 break points against.

In addition to his excellence on the court at Wimbledon, Djokovic has also proven to be quite the performer in front of the microphone this fortnight. Prior to his quarterfinal win against Andrey Rublev, he trialled a joke about his opponent’s “scary” grunts in the press room. After his win, he delivered a fine-tuned version of the line in front of the Centre Court crowd.

In that same on-court interview, the 36-year-old dropped one of the lines of the fortnight, describing the younger generation’s efforts to dethrone him at Wimbledon: “I know that they want to get a scalp, they want to win. But it ain’t happening, still,” he said with perfect comedic timing. “Very humble!”

As good as that was, Djokovic might have one-upped himself with his closing remarks in press, previewing the final.

“He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry,” he said of Alcaraz.

“I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast!” he added with a smile.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Holger Rune to Become Youngest Wimbledon Semifinalist Since Novak Djokovic in 2007

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Carlos Alcaraz has advanced to his maiden Wimbledon semifinal…

In a clash between two 20-year-olds, the Spaniard triumphed over Holger Rune on Wednesday, defeating he Dane 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4, to become the youngest semifinalist at the All England Club since Novak Djokovic in 2007.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz’s match against the World No. 6 Rune was the first men’s Wimbledon quarterfinal battle in the Open Era (since 1968) to be contested between two players aged under 21 and both played with youthful freedom on Centre Court to entertain the packed crowd.

They went blow for blow with their destructive shot-making for two hours and 20 minutes, but the World No. 1 Alcaraz had the answers in the big moments.

“It is amazing for me,” Alcaraz said. “It is a dream since I started playing tennis, making good results here at Wimbledon, such a beautiful and great tournament for me. It is a dream to play a semi-final here. I think I am playing at a great level. I did not expect to play at such a great level on this surface. For me it is crazy.”

With his 45th tour-level victory of the season, Alcaraz advanced to his third major semifinal and improved to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rune, having defeated the Dane en route to the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals title.

“It was tough. At the beginning I was really nervous, playing a quarterfinal at Wimbledon and even more against Rune, who is the same age as me,” Alcaraz said. “He plays at a great level and it was tough to play against him. But I have said it a few times, once you take to court you are not friends you have to be focused on your side and I think I did great on that part.”

Standing in the Spaniard’s way from a second major final will be World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, who earned his 46th victory of the season against Christopher Eubanks on Wednesday, defeating the American in five sets.

Beatriz Haddad Maia Advances to Fourth Round at Wimbledon for First Time

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Beatriz Haddad Maia has advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time at Wimbledon.

The 27-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player moved into the fourth round at the All England Club by besting Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-2 on No. 3 Court on Saturday.

Beatriz Haddad MaiaHaddad Maia came into the match behind in the head-to-head, with Cirstea having won four of their five prior meetings.

But this time, Haddad Maia perfectly mixed powerful hitting with outrageous defense to earn the victory in exactly 90 minutes — mere seconds before a two-hour rain delay hit the grounds.

Haddad Maia, who cracked the Top 10 for two weeks last month, won 80 percent of her first-serve points on the day. She also dominated when returning the Cirstea second serve, winning 15 of those 21 points, and turning that into five service breaks.

After not passing the second round in her first 11 Grand Slam main draws, Haddad Maia has now reached the second week at two consecutive majors. She broke her second-round barrier with a historic semifinal appearance at Roland Garros last month, only falling to eventual French Open champion Iga Swiatek.

She’ll face defending champion Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16.

Daniel Elahi Galán Reaches Round of 16 for First Time at a Major Following Third Round Win at Wimbledon

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Daniel Elahi Galán has made it to the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career…

The 27-year-old Colombian professional tennis player defeated Mikael Ymer 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1 at Wimbledon on Friday to reach the fourth round, his first at this major and in his career.

Daniel Elahi Galán,Galan’s previous best performances at a Grand Slam were a third round loss at the 2020 French Open and third round loss at the 2022 US Open.

As a result Galan has moved to a new career high in the top 55 in the ATP world rankings.

Galan will next face No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner at the All England Club on Sunday.

Guido Pella Upsets No. 13 Seed Borna Coric in Wimbledon First Round

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Guido Pella has pulled off a first round upset at the All England Club.

The 33-year-old Argentine tennis player advanced to the second round of Wimbledon on Wednesday afternoon by beating Borna Coric, the No 13 seed.

Guido Pella

In a match that went the distance, Pella beat Coric by a score of 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1.

Pella, ranked No 308, will next face qualifier Harold Mayot.

His best showing at Wimbledon was in 2019, when he reached the quarterfinals. It’s also his best-ever showing at a Grand Slam tournament.

Tomás Martín Etcheverry Outlasts Bernabe Zapata Miralles to Earn First Main Draw Victory at Wimbledon

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Tomás Martín Etcheverry is still alive at Wimbledon..

The 23-year-old Argentine professional tennis player, the tournament’s No. 29 seed, advanced to the second round at the All England Club after outlasting Bernabe Zapata Miralles in a highly competitive first round match.

Tomás Martín EtcheverryEtcheverry was two sets down to Zapata Miralles before coming alive to claim a 6-7 (5), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory.

It’s his first victory in the main draw at Wimbledon.

He will next face Stan Wawrinka in the second round.