Carlos Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in a thrilling final to win his first Wimbledon title, on Sunday. The defeat was Djokovic’s first on Center Court since 2013

Alcaraz won 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 to end the Serbian’s dominance at Wimbledon.

The Spaniard looked very nervous throughout the first set but shook off the early setback to win the next two sets.

Djokovic won the fourth set leading to a winners takes all final fifth set.

The world number two lost his temper as the final set began to slip away from him and destroyed one of his rackets by smashing it into the side of the net post.

Djokovic’s wrist appeared to suffer some damage during the outburst as the Serbian looked uncomfortable following the incident.

Alcaraz, spurred on by the majority of the supporters at Centre Court, held his nerve to inflict Djokovic’s first Wimbledon defeat since 2016.

The gruelling battle lasted for 4 hours and 43 minutes, concluding just before 7pm.

The Princess of Wales presented Alcarez with the Wimbledon trophy after Djokovic received the runners up shield.

Princess Kate has been the patron of the All England Club since 2016.

The Wimbledon trophy is Alcarez’s second grand slam victory after he won the US Open in 2022.

Both men paid tribute to each other in their interviews following the match as they were applauded by the Centre Court crowd.

At just 20 years old the future looks bright for the Spaniard, who also won the Queen’s Club tournament prior to Wimbledon.

Alcarez retains his world number one ranking which he would have lost to Djokovic had the Serbian triumphed in London.

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Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon’s quarterfinals for the 14th time by eliminating Hubert Hurkacz on Monday.

The World No. 2 edged out 17th-seeded Pole 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7 and 6-4. It was the Serb’s 100th match at the tournament.

“Big credit to Hubert for playing an amazing match – tough luck for him today but he put up a great performance,” the 36-year-old said after his 32nd consecutive Wimbledon win.

“Honestly, I don’t recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games to be honest due to his incredibly accurate and powerful serve.”

Djokovic, who is on track for a record-equaling eighth men’s singles trophy, will face World No. 7 Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals.

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Novak Djokovic booked his place in the Italian Open quarter-finals for the 17th straight year with a 6-3 6-4 victory over British No.1 Cameron Norrie in Rome on Tuesday.

World No.1 Djokovic, the defending champion in Rome, complained about the quality of the courts in the build-up to the match but that did not matter as he battled past Norrie, in what was a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon semi-final.

It proved to be a feisty encounter with Norrie irked by Djokovic arriving 10 minutes late – and after some stern first-set exchanges – the animosity grew when the British star hit a smash into the 35-year-old’s left leg with his back turned.

‘I don’t know if he saw me, I mean, peripherally you can always see where the player is positioned on the court,’ Djokovic said about the incident. ‘The ball was super slow and super close to the net. I just turned around because the point was over for me.’

Djokovic was unhappy with Norrie’s medical time-out and screaming in-between points, adding: ‘From the very beginning, he was doing all the things that were allowed. He’s allowed to take a medical timeout. Allowed to hit a player. Allowed to say ‘C’mon’ in the face more or less every single point from basically [the] first game.’

Tuesday’s last-16 clash was the third time Djokovic and Norrie have faced each other and the first-ever meeting on clay, with the Serbian now winning all three times against the world No.13, as he steps up preparations for Roland-Garros.

Djokovic headed into the match as a strong favourite following wins over Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Grigor Dimitrov and will next face Holger Rune as he looks to go on and win the title in the penultimate event before the French Open.

‘So far so good!’ Djokovic said after the win when asked about his tournament so far. ‘It was an early start today. Strange conditions and we warmed up for just 20 minutes. I was rushing a little bit and we couldn’t play before because of the rain, so I am glad to overcome the challenge in straight sets and move on.’

Quizzed about spending time in the treatment room with injury before the match, Djokovic added: ‘Well, you know… everyday there is something. Thankfully I was able to play and finish the match. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel even better.’

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British tennis star Emma Raducanu said she will miss this year’s French Open and Wimbledon Championships after undergoing surgery on her wrists and ankle.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the 2021 US Open champion revealed the blow in a hand written note posted to her feed alongside a picture of her in a hospital bed.

Pictured with her hand in a cast, the 20-year-old wrote: “It is safe to say the last 10 months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring injury one a bone of both hands.

“I tried my best to manage the pain and play through it for most of the year and end of last year by reducing practice load dramatically, missing weeks of training as well as cutting last season short to try to heal it, unfortunately it’s not enough.

“I’m having a minor procedure done on both hands to resolve the issues. I’m disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it will have another minor procedure on my ankle.

“It pains me that I will miss the summer events and I tried to down play the issues so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts. Looking forward to seeing you all back out there.”

Just two years ago, Raducanu made history as became the first woman in the Open era to win the US Open in just her second grand slam main draw appearance.

She also became youngest grand slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004.

Since then though, she has struggled to achieve the same success, most recently withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to injury.

Reports also suggest she could miss the US Open this year too, which starts at the end of August.

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World number one Novak Djokovic will be able to compete at the US Open this year after the US government said on Monday it will end its COVID-19 vaccination requirements for international travelers on May 11.

Djokovic, one of the most high-profile athletes unvaccinated against COVID-19, missed the US Open in 2022 due to his vaccine status.

The 35-year-old Serb was unable to enter the country this year after unsuccessfully applying to the US government for special permission to play at Indian Wells and Miami.

Djokovic missed last year’s Australian Open and was deported from the country due to his vaccine status and has said he would skip Grand Slams rather than have a COVID shot.

Djokovic has won three of his 22 major titles at the US Open. The hardcourt Grand Slam will be held from Aug. 28-Sept. 10 this year.

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Ace tennis star Novak Djokovic said he had no regrets about missing tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

But the Serbian star – who was not allowed to compete at Indian Wells and Miami due to his refusal to be vaccinated – still hopes that he will be allowed into the country to play at the US Open later this year.

Djokovic’s vaccine stance resulted in him missing six significant tournaments last season, including the Australian Open and US Open.

With vaccination against Covid-19 no longer required to enter the country, he competed in this year’s Australian Open in January and claimed a 22nd Grand Slam singles title.

The US currently bars unvaccinated foreigners from entering the country, though the policy is expected to be lifted when the government ends its Covid-19 emergency declarations next month.

Djokovic, 35, unsuccessfully applied to the US government for special permission to play at Indian Wells and Miami. Carlos Alcaraz leapfrogged the Serb back into top spot in the world rankings after winning the Indian Wells title on Sunday.

Djokovic, who will be back in action at the Monte Carlo Masters beginning on April 9, said he has no regrets about his decision.

“I have no regrets,” Djokovic told CNN. “I’ve learnt through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past.

“I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment but of course think about future, create a better future.

“So I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to number one.”

Djokovic said it was unfortunate he was not allowed to compete in the US where he won three of his 22 major titles.

“But at the same time, it’s the conscious decision I made and I knew that there is always a possibility that I won’t go,” Djokovic said.

“It’s the current state or current situation that I hope will change for later this year, for the US Open. That’s the most important tournament for me on American soil.”

The US Open begins at Flushing Meadows in New York on August 28.

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Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com

Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a hip injury after his run to the Qatar Open final.

The former world number one was paired with Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the opening round, with a potential quarterfinal matchup against Novak Djokovic.

“We regret to inform you that Andy Murray is unable to participate in this year’s tournament. Andy has been dealing with a recurring hip injury that has unfortunately forced him out of Dubai. We wish Andy a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the court in Dubai soon,” the organisers said in a statement.

The 35-year-old played exhausting matches before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the Qatar Open final on Saturday, preventing him from earning his first ATP Tour championship since 2019.

In order to reach the Doha final, Murray had to defeat Jiri Lehecka of the Australian Open quarterfinals and Alexander Zverev. The British player rose 18 spots in the rankings to return to the fringe of the top 50 despite losing to Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 in the summit match. He is right now in position 52.

Next up for the two-time Grand Slam champion is the season’s opening Masters 1000 match in Indian Wells, which gets underway on March 6.

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Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2023 Australian Open final 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), to win his 22nd Grand Slam title (5).

The victory in Melbourne means that Djokovic matches Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles, and the Serbian celebrated this one with a huge grin after winning match point.

Djokovic was in control of the match from the very beginning, breaking the Greek early in the first set to race into an early 3-1 lead, which he converted into a 6-3 first set win. The second set was much more evenly contested, as Tsitsipas didn’t want to give up without a fight.

The Greek even had a set point on Djokovic’s serve, but couldn’t take it as the Serbian struck a perfect forehand at a decisive moment, beating his chest in celebration and eventually taking the set to a tiebreak, which he won 7-4.

After a change of clothing in between the second and third set, Djokovic looked rusty and started with a double fault and with an early loss of serve, but he recovered to take the set to another tiebreaker. There, Djokovic won the first five points of the tiebreak, eventually winning it 7-5 off a powerful serve.

Djokovic matches Nadal on 22 Grand Slam titles

With this win, the Serbian has now pulled level with Nadal on 22 Grand Slam titles during their careers, which is the joint-record and ahead of Roger Federer’s 20. The Serbian and the Spaniard are both still going at 35 and 36 years of age respectively.

Although Nadal has suffered an injury in Australia this winter, he’ll hope to win once again at Roland-Garros, while Djokovic will be the favourite when Wimbledon comes around.

By the time these two legends finally retire, the Grand Slam record might be even higher than the 22 that it is now.

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On Saturday, Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam by defeating Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Australian Open final.

The Belarusian tennis sensation won the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup and $2 million after coming from a set down.

It wasn’t an easy climb for Sabalenka. She started the game in the most anticlimactic fashion as they come – serving a double fault upfront and later doing the same on the championship point.

22nd-seed Rybakina took the initiative and broke Sabalenka 2-1 and comfortably wrapped the set 6-4 in under 34 minutes to drop the first blood.

Not playing at her optimum, Sabalenka improved her court coverage in the second set and managed to impose herself into the match, earning her first break at 3-1.

Rybakina was forced on her wide forehand and made to work hard as Sabalenka’s menacing groundstrokes came to the party. She wrapped the second set 6-3 with an ace to level the match.

Serving first in the final set, last year’s Wimbledon champion took the game 40-30 before the Belarusian returned the favour with a powerful serving game.

Playing with laser precision, Rybakina’s first double fault of the match came in the fifth game of the set. However, the 23-year-old sent in two booming serves to deuce the game and later win it.

The first break in the set came for Sabalenka at 4-3 when she fashioned some sumptuous forehand and backhand winners down the line.

Rybakina’s body language at the end of the particular game suggested Sabalenka had wrestled some of the momentum away from her.

Afterwards, it was only a matter of time before Sabalenka applied the finishing touches. Rybakina, however, did not go down without a fight. She pushed Sabalenka to four championship points before finally failing to come up with an answer.

With the win, Sabalenka will rise second in the ATP world rankings. Meanwhile, Rybakina will break into the top-10 after having received no points for her Wimbledon win last year.

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Navratilova has breast and throat cancer. The 66-year-old Czechoslovakian, who was diagnosed this week, told Tennis.com that the ailment is treatable. The tennis legend was diagnosed with cancer again after 2010 when she was clear after six months of his initial diagnosis.

“The double whammy is serious, but fixable, and I’m hoping for a favourable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all I have got” she said in the interview according to AFP.

Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her illustrious career and she will be beginning the treatment in New York next week. She initially noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck and the resultant biopsy tested revealed stage one throat cancer. During the tests, the doctors found another lump in her breast leading to the discovery that the breast cancer has returned.

Due to the diagnosis, Navratilova announced that she will not be commentating at the Australian Open 2023. She has also cancelled all her future commitments due to the upcoming treatment.

“I really didn’t talk much about breast cancer before I had it,” Navratilova told PEOPLE magazine.

“Now, I’m approached by women and we share our stories. It’s encouraging to see that there’s life after cancer.” Navratilova has been a major advocate of LGBTQ+ rights and although she faced criticism when she came out in the 1970s, she ended her career with 59 major titles.

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