LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz overpowered seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title on Sunday in a brutal statement that the new era of men’s tennis has arrived.
The Spanish third seed produced a performance combining awesome power with delicate touch to win 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), collecting the fourth Grand Slam of his young career.
Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at the age 21 or under, joining Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.
And he is just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back.
Djokovic, 37, who had knee surgery just weeks ago, was aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam — which would have been a record in the men’s and women’s game.
But he had no answers in the Center Court sunshine as the electric Alcaraz pounded him from the back of the court and treated the crowd to an array of his trademark drop shots.
“Honestly, it is a dream for me winning this trophy,” said the Spaniard. “I did an interview when I was 11 and I said my dream is to win Wimbledon.
“For me this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and the most beautiful trophy.”
Alcaraz paid tribute to his beaten opponent, who only found his range in the third set.
“Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he was going to have his chances,” said Alcaraz who had needed five sets to defeat the Serb in the 2023 final.
“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.”
Alcaraz seized the initiative in a first game of breathtaking quality lasting 14 minutes, taking advantage of his fifth break point.
The Spaniard settled quickly into his routine on serve and went up a double break when Djokovic double-faulted in the fifth game.
The shell-shocked Serbian, playing in his 10th Wimbledon final, held serve to love to close the gap to 5-2 but dumped the ball into the net to hand the Spaniard the first set.
Alcaraz was immediately on the front foot in the second set, forcing a break in the first game and fending off pressure on his own serve to take a 2-0 lead.
A Djokovic backhand into the net in the seventh game handed Alcaraz another break point and a double fault put the defending champion 5-2 up and on the cusp of a two-set lead.
The Center Court crowd, including Catherine, Princess of Wales, looked on in disbelief as their hopes for a titanic tussle evaporated.
The under-par Djokovic fended off another of clutch of break points early in the third set to stay alive and showed signs that he was finding his rhythm.
But Alcaraz broke for a 5-4 lead and moved to 40-0 on his own serve, only to suffer a wobble as Djokovic saved all three championship points, breaking for the first time in the match.
He recovered his composure quickly and the set went to a tie-break.
Djokovic went wide with a forehand to give Alcaraz a 5-3 lead and the Spaniard won the title with his fourth championship point, clambering up to the players’ box to celebrate with his family and coaching team.
The champion struck 42 winners to Djokovic’s 26 over the course of the match.
Princess Catherine, patron of the All England Club, handed over the trophy.
Last month she tentatively returned to British public life for the first time since her diagnosis, attending a military parade in London to mark King Charles III’s official birthday.
Djokovic, still without a title this year, will now turn his attention to the Paris Olympics as he seeks to win gold for the first time.
“It obviously was not the result I wanted but of course in the first couple of sets the level of tennis wasn’t up to par from my side,” he said.
“But credit to Carlos for playing elite tennis, especially from the back of the court, he had it all today.”
Carlos Alcaraz dominates Novak Djokovic to retain Wimbledon crown
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Carlos Alcaraz dominates Novak Djokovic to retain Wimbledon crown
- Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at the age 21 or under
England’s Mark Wood out for 2024 with elbow injury, to miss Pakistan Test series
- The 34-year-old pacer says he needs time to rest, fully expects ‘to be back and firing in early 2025’
- Wood aims to return for England’s white-ball tour of India, the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan
LONDON: England fast bowler Mark Wood said Friday it was “rubbish news” he had been ruled out for the rest of the year with a right elbow injury.
The 34-year-old express quick had already been sidelined from the concluding two matches of England’s three-Test series against Sri Lanka after suffering a right thigh muscle strain while bowling in the series opener at Old Trafford.
But Friday’s statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said Wood, a key member of England’s squad as they build toward next year’s Ashes in Australia despite a career blighted by ankle and back problems, had noticed increasing stiffness and discomfort in his elbow during the Test series against the West Indies earlier in the season.
It added Wood had “managed the discomfort” while bowling in Manchester, where England won by five wickets in a Sri Lanka series they are now looking to wrap up with a 3-0 clean sweep in the ongoing third Test at the Oval.
Wood will now miss England’s upcoming three-Test tours of both Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December.
“During what I thought was a routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow,” Wood wrote on Instagram.
“Me and the medical team felt it was a good time to get my elbow looked at as it was a bit irritated. I’d put that down to the normal niggles every fast bowler gets and which I was playing through.”
He added: “I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. I will miss the rest of the year, needing time to rest and build up, (I’m) fully expecting to be back and firing in early 2025.
“I have been down this path before and will put in all the hard yards behind the scenes. I am very proud to represent my country and there is no better feeling. See you for some rockets in 2025!”
The ECB said Wood would aim to return in time for England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, scheduled to begin in February 2025.
Napheesa Collier scores 26 and Lynx overcome Caitlin Clark’s 25-point night for 99-88 win over Fever
Napheesa Collier scores 26 and Lynx overcome Caitlin Clark’s 25-point night for 99-88 win over Fever
- After trailing 50-45 at halftime, the Lynx bounced back to snap the Fever’s five-game winning streak
INDIANAPOLIS: Napheesa Collier scored nine of her 26 points in the third quarter, Bridget Carleton made three 3-pointers in the final four minutes and the Minnesota Lynx overcame a 25-point night by Caitlin Clark to snap Indiana’s five-game winning streak with a 99-88 win over the Fever on Friday night.
The Lynx trailed 50-45 at halftime before Collier scored nine of their opening 20 points of the third quarter for a 65-57 lead.
Collier blocked Clark’s shot in the paint and Courtney Williams made a jumper from the free-throw line at the other end to extend Minnesota’s lead to 70-60. Clark went to the bench and Myisha Hines-Allen scored the next three points to give Minnesota a 13-point lead.
Indiana made just three field goals in the third quarter before making three in the opening two minutes of the fourth to get back in it.
The Fever were within 81-80 before Carleton sank a 3-pointer from the corner. She added a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 87-80 and she grabbed an offensive rebound on the Lynx’s next possession, leading to Williams’ 3-pointer.
Carleton’s third 3-pointer of the frame gave Minnesota a 96-85 lead.
Clark, coming off her second career triple-double on Wednesday, continued her record-breaking season for Indiana (18-17). She made one 3-pointer in the first quarter to become the franchise leader for made 3-pointers in a single season, passing Kelsey Mitchell (102). Clark was 5 of 10 from 3-point range for 107 this season.
Mitchell added 23 and Aliyah Boston scored 20 for Indiana. Mitchell has scored 20-plus points for the eighth time in her last nine games.
Carleton scored 16 points for Minnesota (25-9). Williams added 15 points, to go with seven rebounds to go over 1,500 for her career. Collier also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Carleton closed the first half on a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left off a nice pass from Hines-Allen. Then the Lynx scored the opening nine points of the third quarter for a 52-50 lead, their first since 7-6.
Frustrating farewell for Suarez as Uruguay held by Paraguay
MONTEVIDEO: Luis Suarez bade a frustrating farewell to international football on Friday as Uruguay were held to a 0-0 draw by Paraguay in South American 2026 World Cup qualifying.
Suarez, 37, announced on Monday he was stepping down from international duty after a glittering 17-year career for Uruguay that saw him finish as the country’s top scorer with 69 goals from 143 appearances.
But the former Barcelona and Liverpool star, who now plays in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, was unable to add a 70th goal to his international tally in Friday’s farewell game at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
Despite enjoying 65 percent possession, Uruguay were unable to find a way through a dogged Paraguay defense in a disjointed match littered with some 24 fouls.
Suarez, whose career at international and club level was dogged by controversies such as his ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, was one of four Uruguay players to be shown a yellow card in a fractious encounter.
The result leaves Uruguay in second place in South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying tournament with 14 points from seven games, four points behind leaders Argentina.
Colombia can leapfrog over Uruguay with a victory over Peru in Lima later Friday.
The top six teams in the South America standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.
Fritz wins an all-American matchup against Tiafoe in 5 to reach the US Open final against Sinner
NEW YORK: Taylor Fritz surged with a six-game run against a fading and frustrated Frances Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an all-American matchup at the US Open on Friday night to reach his first Grand Slam final.
The No. 12-seeded Fritz’s momentum-shift-filled victory against No. 20 Tiafoe — a pair of 26-year-olds who are close pals and have known each other since they were playing in tournaments for kids younger than 14 — earned a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the championship on Sunday.
Fritz will be the first US man to appear in a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. And if he can get past Sinner, Fritz would become the first US man to win a Slam trophy since Roddick got his 21 years ago at the US Open.
From 4-all in the fourth set Friday, Fritz seized control as Tiafoe’s strokes and usual confidence betrayed him. After a double-fault handed over a break to make it 4-0 in the fifth, more than three hours into the proceedings, Tiafoe chucked his racket. Fritz repaid the favor by double-faulting to end the next game, but broke right back and soon it was over.
Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy exonerated in a doping case less than three weeks ago, finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jack Draper earlier Friday that featured simultaneous treatment of both competitors by trainers deep in the 1 1/2-hour second set.
“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”
He got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice in a game with the temperature in the high 70s and the humidity above 60 percent. During that break in the action, a vacuum was used to clear the ground behind the baseline and finish the cleaning job Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, tried to do himself by wiping his, um, mess with a towel.
There was none of that sort of drama away from the actual play in Tiafoe vs. Fritz, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd might have been forgiven for not knowing for whom to cheer in the first semifinal in New York between two American men in 19 years.
Saudi players arrive in China ahead of World Cup qualifier
- The Green Falcons face China on Tuesday in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 tournament, following a disappointing draw against Indonesia
DALIAN: The Saudi national team arrived in the Chinese city of Dalian on Friday ahead of their World Cup qualifier there next week.
The Green Falcons will face China on Tuesday night at the Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium, in the second game of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The Saudi squad wasted no time as they immediately began their preparations on Friday evening with a training session overseen by head coach Roberto Mancini. The players who participated in Thursday’s match against Indonesia took part in recovery training, while the rest engaged in general training exercises.
The previous day in Jeddah, Indonesia held the Saudis to a surprise 1-1 draw in the opening game of the third round of qualifiers. It was a case of two points dropped to the lowest-ranked team in Group C, not least because Salem Al-Dawsari had a penalty attempt saved with 11 minutes remaining.
Indonesia might be Asia’s most improved team of late, bolstered by the naturalization of several Europe-based players, but were nonetheless ranked 133 in the world, 77 places below their hosts.
The Saudi squad was greeted on arrival at the airport in Dalian by Jaber Rashid, a representative of the Kingdom’s embassy. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, Yasser Al-Misehal, thanked the embassy for the warm welcome and assistance it has provided to the team.
