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
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- Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at the age 21 or under
Brooks Koepka wins LIV Golf Greenbrier in a playoff over Rahm
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- Koepka also won LIV Golf Singapore this year. He picked up his fifth career victory since the Saudi-funded league began in June 2022
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Virginia: Brooks Koepka picked up his second LIV Golf League victory of the year Sunday when he shot 7-under 73 at The Greenbrier and beat Jon Rahm with a par on the first playoff hole.
Rahm, who lost a four-shot lead on the back nine at the Olympics two weeks ago, started the third and final round with a two-shot lead and closed with a 65. He birdied two of his last three holes to match Koepka at 19-under 191 and force a playoff.
In the playoff at the par-3 18th, Rahm went over the green and into the bunker, a tough shot in which one one foot was in the sand. He blasted out to about 25 feet, and his par putt to extend the playoff caught the edge of the cup.
Koepka also won LIV Golf Singapore this year. He picked up his fifth career victory since the Saudi-funded league began in June 2022.
Jason Kokrak shot 63 to finish alone in third.
Richard Bland, the 51-year-old from England who won two senior majors this year, needed a birdie on the 18th to tie for the lead. He made bogey for a 65 and finished two behind.
Koepka’s four-man squad, Smash, won the team title by three shots.
Matsuyama survives wobble to clinch St. Jude Championship
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- The win was the 10th on the PGA Tour for Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters winner, and his second this season following his victory at the Genesis Invitational in California in February
WASHINGTON: Hideki Matsuyama survived a back nine near-collapse to recover and win the PGA Tour’s St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Sunday.
The 32-year-old from Japan began the day with a five shot lead and was two-under for his round until he got into trouble with bogeys on the 12th and 14th and then a double bogey on the par-4 15th.
That allowed Xander Schauffele, who had started the day nine shots off the lead, and Norway’s Viktor Hovland to join in him in a three-way share of the lead on 15-under.
But with a possible three-way playoff or even worse looming for Matsuyama, he rediscovered his touch in the nick of time.
He sank a 26-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th to regain the lead and, with his rivals already in the clubhouse, needed just a par on the 18th to clinch the first of the three events that make up the FedEx Cup playoffs.
There was no sign of nerves, however, as he attacked the par-4 final hole, making birdie to end on 17-under with Schauffele and Hovland tied second.
“After the 14th hole, I was still two up, but I knew Viktor and Xander were playing 15, 16 ahead of me. I figured they would both get to 16-under. So when I was playing the 16th hole and looked at the scoreboard, sure enough, they were both at 16-under and I was a stroke back,” said Matsuyama.
“I felt today’s victory slipping away at that point because 17 and 18 are difficult holes enough, let alone to birdie them.
“But I was fortunate enough to birdie 17. Immediately I thought, oh, man, this is going to be a tough tee shot at 18. I’ve got to keep it in the fairway. I’m grateful I was able to do it,” he said.
The win was the 10th on the PGA Tour for Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters winner, and his second this season following his victory at the Genesis Invitational in California in February.
Matsuyama had to play this week with a stand-in caddie after his regular bag carrier had his passport stolen in London in a theft which also saw the golfer’s wallet stolen.
Schauffele, who triumphed in the PGA Championship and the British Open this year, was bogey free for his seven-under round of 63.
Hovland, who shot 66, got himself in real contention with birdies on the 15th and 16th but then made bogey on the 17th.
The playoff field will be cut to 50 for next week’s BMW Championship at Castle Rock, Colorado and then slimmed down further to 30 for the final event, the Tour Championship in Atlanta starting on August 29.
Scottie Scheffler is the current leader of the playoff standings with Schauffele second and Matsuyama projected to move up to third with this win.
Nick Dunlap, the 20-year-old American who turned professional in January afer winning The American Express tournament in California, pushed himself into the top-50 after finishing tied for fifth.
Mbappe and Madrid denied in Mallorca draw
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- Madrid’s star-studded side struggled to break down Mallorca, who came closer to winning the game in the final stages at Son Moix stadium
PALMA, Spain: Kylian Mbappe was left frustrated on his Real Madrid La Liga debut on Sunday as a resilient Real Mallorca held the Spanish and European champions to a 1-1 draw in their title defense opener.
The French superstar was thwarted by Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif and after Rodrygo Goes sent Madrid ahead early on the hosts levelled in the second half through Vedat Muriqi’s towering header.
Madrid’s star-studded side struggled to break down Mallorca, who came closer to winning the game in the final stages at Son Moix stadium.
Los Blancos defender Ferland Mendy was sent off in stoppage time for a high challenge on Muriqi.
“We went ahead, we had chances to score the second, and then in the second half we lacked balance,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters.
“We conceded counter-attacks, it was not a good game, it was quite a clear game to see that we need to defend better and have better balance on the pitch.”
Ancelotti selected the same starting line-up which defeated Atalanta to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, with Jude Bellingham in midfield behind the Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo attacking line.
Mbappe scored in that victory but the former Paris Saint-Germain forward was unable to celebrate his first match in his new homeland with another goal.
Ancelotti was not impressed with his team’s work-rate.
“We have to do better, with more attitude,” continued the Italian coach.
“This game can serve us to learn a lot from, it’s a game where it was quite clear where we had a problem.
“Mallorca had a very good game in a defensive sense, better than us.”
Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate was facing his first match in charge of the Copa del Rey runners-up and could not have asked for a tougher challenge on paper than the reigning champions, bolstered by Mbappe’s arrival.
However, his team rose to the challenge and earned a creditable point.
Madrid, who lost just once last season as they marched convincingly to the title, started quickly and took the lead after a slick combination between their Brazilian forward.
Vinicius rolled the ball backwards for Rodrygo to collect in the area and the winger bent a shot into the far corner, beyond the reach of Greif.
The goalkeeper tipped away another Rodrygo effort and Mbappe sent an effort wide as Madrid stayed on top but could not expand upon their advantage.
Arrasate urged his players to stay in the game until half-time and they duly obliged, shutting down Los Blancos’ array of stars.
Muriqi came close before the break for the hosts and tough-tackling defender Pablo Maffeo was booked for an ugly challenge on Vinicius.
Mallorca levelled early in the second half with burly Kosovo target man Muriqi powering a header home from Dani Rodriguez’s corner.
Greif saved low from Mbappe at his near post and Vinicius lashed over as Ancelotti’s side sought to regain the lead.
Ancelotti sent on veteran Luka Modric, who turns 39 in September, for defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, in search of more fluidity in attack against Mallorca’s bunkered-in defense.
Mbappe came close again but Greif denied him once more and Johan Mojica hacked the rebound to safety before Rodrygo could reach it.
Mallorca stabilized and held their own in the final stages to leave Mbappe disappointed on his league debut.
Madrid’s frustration showed in Mendy’s wild hack at Muriqi which earned him a straight red card.
“I’m so tired but it was worth it, it was so important to get a point against a team like Madrid, maybe the best in the world,” said Muriqi.
“I have to be honest, scoring against Madrid is so beautiful.”
Sabalenka ousts No.1 Swiatek to reach Cincinnati final against Pegula
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- Four-time Cincinnati semifinalist Sabalenka will rise to second in the WTA rankings with a week to go before the start of the US Open
CINCINNATI: Aryna Sabalenka squandered nine match points but defeated world number one Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday, breaking through to her first final at the WTA and ATP Cincinnati Open.
Four-time Cincinnati semifinalist Sabalenka will rise to second in the WTA rankings with a week to go before the start of the US Open.
“I finally broke the barrier,” Sabalenka said of her place in the final. “It was such a tough battle with Iga, and we also had to be patient with the weather.”
Raindrops required the court lines to be dried by towels during several short interruptions.
Sabalenka will play Monday’s final against US sixth seed Jessica Pegula, a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Spain’s Paula Badosa.
Pegula, who won last week’s Toronto title, is the third American in the Open Era to reach the Canadian and Cincinnati finals in the same year after Rosie Casals (1970) and Serena Williams (2013).
Sabalenka had a battle on her hands to close out her win, with Swiatek putting up a huge battle in the closing stages.
Third-ranked Sabalenka led 5-1 in the second set but Swiatek showed why she is ranked atop the WTA table as she repeatedly saved match-winners from her opponent.
Sabalenka was broken for 5-3 but finally claimed the hard-fought victory a game later with a concluding break of Swiatek on a return winner on her 10th match point after nearly two hours.
“That was a brilliant performance from me. I’m really happy with the win, especially against Iga,” said Sabalenka.
“We always have tough battles and get this win in straight sets... that’s kind of like achievement for me.”
Pegula and Badosa were hit by a rain delay of well over an hour midway through the second set with Badosa leading 4-3 and trailing a set.
They resumed with the Spaniard forcing a third set before Pegula broke for 5-3 in the third and served out victory a game later.
“We had tough conditions, but I was able to not get frustrated with the rain delay,” Pegula said. “I felt I was playing and competing well.
“Paula was hitting so hard, I didn’t know what to do sometimes. I had to remind myself to be aggressive and serve well. I knew it would be hard to break her.
“But I played a couple of good points and was able to serve it out.”
Pegula said she expects to give Sabalenka “some trouble” in the final.
“It will be a good test to go up against her,” Pegula said. “I’ll do my best. It has been a long couple of weeks.”
Sabalenka’s victory served as revenge after losing to Swiatek in Masters-level clay finals at Madrid and Rome last spring.
“Aryna was just playing better today and using her advantages,” Swiatek said. “I didn’t serve well at the beginning, which threw me off my rhythm. For sure, it wasn’t a good performance for me.”
Swiatek she played overall better than she expected, adding, “I’m happy with the result anyway. I’m already kind of focusing on what I need to do to feel even better in New York. And we’ll work on stuff for sure.”
Manchester City beat Chelsea to start Premier League title defense
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- Haaland marked his 100th appearance for the club with his 91st goal
- None of Chelsea’s nine summer signings to date were included in Maresca’s starting line-up
LONDON: Manchester City got their Premier League title defense off to a winning start as goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Enzo Maresca in his first match in charge of Chelsea.
Haaland marked his 100th appearance for the club with his 91st goal before Kovacic struck on his return to Stamford Bridge to give Pep Guardiola’s men the perfect start to their attempt to win a record fifth consecutive English top-flight title.
City were shorn of all four of their Euro 2024 finalists — Rodri, Kyle Waker, John Stones and Phil Foden — from the start as Guardiola opted to give them extra time off to recover from their summer exertions.
Yet, the champions were still able to lay down a marker against one of the few sides they failed to beat in the league last season.
Maresca has the tough task of molding a functioning team unit from a bloated Chelsea squad that has 43 players and over 50 on the books including those on loan.
The consequences of those difficult decisions played out even before kick-off as Raheem Sterling’s camp released a statement expressing his dismay at being left out of the matchday squad.
Ben Chilwell was another to face the cull, while Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku are among those not to have been handed squad numbers.
None of Chelsea’s nine summer signings to date were included in Maresca’s starting line-up.
Even more surprisingly, Enzo Fernandez was named captain despite being embroiled in a race row for a post on social media after Argentina’s Copa America victory last month.
City, by contrast, are a model of continuity and consistent excellence.
Haaland was one of City’s few stars to have had a summer off from international tournaments and took just 18 minutes to make his mark.
Jeremy Doku’s low cross was deflected by Bernardo Silva into the Norwegian’s path and he coolly dinked over Robert Sanchez.
Kevin De Bruyne curled inches wide and Sanchez leapt high to turn over Doku’s deflected shot.
But Chelsea ended the first half in the ascendency and should have been level before the break.
Ederson spilled Cole Palmer’s tame shot but was bailed out by Nicolas Jackson’s straying needlessly offside before he turned in the rebound.
Foden was forced into action earlier than Guardiola would have hoped at half-time as the lively Savinho was forced off injured on his Premier League debut.
The lack of pre-season minutes for many on show was apparent in the more pedestrian pace than normal for a major Premier League clash.
Chelsea did most of the pressing for an equalizer but offered City chances to extend their lead in doing so.
Sanchez made a fine save to deny Haaland a second before De Bruyne again fired inches off target when unmarked at the edge of the area.
However, the Chelsea goalkeeper was at fault for the goal that sealed their fate.
Kovacic was allowed to burst through the midfield unchallenged and took aim for the top corner, which he found thanks to a weak hand from Sanchez.