It turned out to be a very good day for Spain on Sunday, starting off with 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and a straightforward straight sets win over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, a scoreline which was predicted earlier in the day by former Spanish international and big tennis fan Juan Mata.
Some of the tennis Alcaraz plays is outrageous and shouldn’t be possible. Speaking after he took the seven-time champion apart, he said: “I did an interview when I was 12 years old and I said my dream was to win Wimbledon.
Fast forward nine years and he has won it twice! Not only did he say in the video, which you can find on social media, that his dream was to win Wimbledon, he also said he wanted to win Roland Garros. That was something he achieved last month, becoming just the sixth man in the Open Era to win back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles, conquering the clay and mastering the grass.
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Carlos Alcaraz thrashed Novak Djokovic to be named Wimbledon men’s singles champion as the wheelchair singles and doubles also came to an end.
Four Grand Slam Finals played, four titles won, the second man to do that in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of Roger Federer.
The takeaway for 37-year-old Novak Djokovic has to be that five weeks on from knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, he was contesting a Grand Slam final. He admitted afterwards in his press conference: “Today I saw that I was half a step behind him in every sense. That’s the reality that I have to accept at the moment.”
Djokovic had an enviable draw, which may have influenced his decision to play, but when it came to the final the man he was facing was different class.
The view from the commentary box of the men’s singles final
It’s remarkable what he continues to achieve but you have to wonder how heavy the weight of history is on his shoulders. We saw how much the pressure told in 2021, when on for the Golden Slam he would lose to Sascha Zverev in the semi-final of the Olympics, before breaking down during his US Open final loss to Daniil Medvedev later that year in straight sets. So, the search goes on for Grand Slam singles title No 25, with a chance for Olympic Gold later this summer.
While the men’s final had its moments, but will not be one which is replayed during rain delays as a classic, the ladies’ final the day before was great and involved two first-time Wimbledon finalists in Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini – a final which no one would have predicted at the start of the two weeks, and don’t believe anyone who says they did!
Paolini showed her grit, determination and skill set as she battled from a set down, in her second final in as many Slams. Yet it would be Krejcikova, who had only won two singles matches between February and June of this year due to injury and illness, who played a superb final set, led by her serve, to claim her second Grand Slam title.
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Barbora Krejcikova takes the Wimbledon win in the women’s single final against Jasmine Paolini as both men’s and women’s doubles comes to an end.
It was all the more emotional for Krejcikova as she followed in the footsteps of her mentor and coach, the late Jana Novotna, who experienced the highs and lows of her own Wimbledon Finals, saying afterwards: “I think she would be proud. I think she would be really excited that I’m on the same board as she is because Wimbledon was super special for her.”
British winners over the weekend included Alfie Hewett, who described the final Sunday “as the best day of my life” after winning the men’s wheelchair singles event to complete the career Grand Slam and then, later in the day, defending the doubles title alongside Gordon Reid.
Hewett now has 30 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, but think back to the summer of 2021 when his future in the sport hung in the balance after changes to the classifications in wheelchair tennis. I remember commentating on Alfie during the Tokyo Paralympics that were held that year with him thinking that every match could be the last time that he represented his country, with the possibility of his passion and his career being taken away from him.
The view from the commentary box as Barbora Krejcikova lifts the Wimbledon women’s singles title
It was a very emotional time, but happily a reassessment later that year after a review of the classification process by the ITF saw Alfie given the green light to continue with his career.
Congratulations as well to Henry Patten, who alongside his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara won the doubles, making Henry the third British winner alongside Jonny Marray and Ken Skupski. You’ve probably seen this story by now but eight years ago, age 20, Henry was on the outside courts at Wimbledon working for IBM collecting match stats. They beat the Australian pair of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in a win that was described by Patten’s Dad as “like a bank robbery,” which Patten conceded was “harsh but fair,” winning 6-7 7-6 7-6.
Wimbledon 2024 will also be remembered for its farewell to Andy Murray, which came after a first-round defeat in the doubles alongside brother Jamie, to recognise the two-time champion. It was a lovely goodbye from the club, hosted by Sue Barker, who made a surprise and welcome return to Centre Court.
Gigi Salmon was joined by Ash Barty in the commentary box
Now for the players there’s a choice: Back to the clay, with five tournaments for you on Sky Sports Tennis this week, a last fling on grass in Newport, or off to the hard courts to prepare for the US Open, which is only six weeks away and will be live on Sky Sports Tennis too.
So, Wimbledon 2024 is over and during the two weeks at SW19 I brought my winter coat out of hibernation and was re-hired as Daniela Hantuchova’s coach for the invitational doubles, although I’m currently waiting to hear if I have been fired again! I was given a box of chocolates by Pat Cash that he snuck out from his Royal Box lunch, and also had my decision to retire from predictions justified with once again some awful predictions.
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