Jamie Delgado Named to Jack Draper’s Coaching Team

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Jamie Delgado has a new client…

The 48-year-old Spanish-British tennis coach and former professional player, Andy Murray’s former coach, will work with Jack Draper as part of a major change to the British player’s team.

Draper, The British number one, had previously had a long-standing partnership with James Trotman and, while he’ll continue to be heavily involved, Delgado takes over as lead coach and will travel with Draper to the majority of tournaments.

A former British Davis Cup player who holds the men’s record for consecutive Wimbledon appearances with 23, Delgado began working with Murray in 2016, initially alongside Ivan Lendl, when the Scot enjoyed the most successful period of his career.

Delgado remained in Murray’s team until the end of the 2021 season and has since coached Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov.

Both players praised the impact of Delgado, and, with Trotman keen to spend more time at home, Draper has moved to secure his services after his long-time partnership with Dimitrov ended last month.

The arrangement will begin in preseason, with Draper currently battling to recover from the left arm problem that has restricted him to only one match since Wimbledon.

Following his second-round exit at the All England Club, Draper was diagnosed with bone bruising, and an attempt to return at the US Open ended with him pulling out ahead of the second round before calling an early end to his season.

That ended the 23-year-old’s hopes of appearing at the ATP Finals for the first time, with Draper slipping to eighth in the rankings during his absence.

He is set to make his return to the court in December’s Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Taylor Fritz to Reach Wimbledon Final

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz is one step closer to a three-peat…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star moved within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon championship and sixth Grand Slam title overall by taking down Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Friday.

No. 2 seed Alcaraz takes a 24-match winning streak into the final Sunday, when he’ll face No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who took apart 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday afternoon.

“Not thinking about the winning streak. Not thinking about the results at all. Thinking about … my dream,” Alcaraz said. “Right now, I don’t want to think about Sunday, to be honest. I just want to enjoy this moment, enjoy that I qualified [for] another final.”

Alcaraz opened as a -150 favorite over Sinner (+100) for the men’s Wimbledon final, according to ESPN BET odds. Alcaraz (+120) and Sinner (+190) were the sportsbook’s two favorites to win the tournament, as well as its most-popular future plays, from the beginning with a combined 76.7% of the handle going into Friday’s semifinals.

Alcaraz is 5-0 in major finals, including wins over Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon finals, and a five-set comeback win over Sinner at the French Open a month ago.

Fritz had two chances to force a fifth set against Alcaraz, leading 6-4 in the tiebreaker. But Alcaraz collected the next four points to finish off the win, then rocked back on his heels, spread his arms wide and screamed.

“I’m just really proud about the way that I stayed calm,” Alcaraz said, “and then [was] thinking clearly.”

That wasn’t the only time Fritz made things interesting. He accumulated more total points than Alcaraz through the first two sets, and he finished with more winners — 44 to 38 — and 19 total aces to 13.

When Alcaraz double-faulted, then missed a forehand, to drop the second, they were even at a set apiece.

But with five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg and celebrities like Anna Wintour and Leonardo DiCaprio looking on, Alcaraz quickly recovered from that lapse, marking some of his best shots with a shout of “Vamos!” or a raised index finger. He never faced a break point the rest of the way, while stealing two of Fritz’s service games in the third set.

“A lot of the things that I would have changed, I think would have only helped me for a point or two, and then I think Carlos would have just made an adjustment,” Fritz said, “and I don’t think it would have been a long-term answer.”

Even when Fritz did get an opportunity to get back into things, Alcaraz was ready. In the fourth set’s first game, Alcaraz provided Fritz a bit of an opening by missing two forehands for love-30. But Alcaraz shut that door just as quickly with four points in a row, including a 134 mph ace and 135 mph service winner.

Amid the tension of the tiebreaker, Fritz took time to delicately lift a butterfly off the grass and out of harm’s way. Soon, he had grabbed five straight points to reach the precipice of going to a fifth set. But Alcaraz never let Fritz get any closer, forcing four errors.

The temperature topped 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with no clouds to offer protection from the sun. For the second consecutive day, spectators had trouble in the heat; there were two brief delays in one second-set game while fans needed to be helped.

The pop of a champagne cork could be heard in the stands just before the start, and Alcaraz burst out of the gate, taking 10 of the initial 12 points, including a break for a 1-0 lead. That game featured glimpses of why Alcaraz is so great already. Indeed, the very first point was illustrative: He returned a 135 mph serve, then capped a 10-stroke exchange with a delicate drop shot.

There would soon be a forehand winner, then a good return that drew a netted response by Fritz. A return of a 128 mph serve that found chalk led to a net-cord winner for the break.

More was to come in a terrific set for Alcaraz. He even managed to out-serve Fritz, delivering six aces and 20 of his 24 service points while reaching 137 mph. Alcaraz won the point on all three of his serve-and-volley tries, including one perfect stop volley. By the end, Alcaraz was 31-for-41 when at the net.

“I feel like that’s the best I’ve seen him serve,” Fritz said.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Cam Norrie to Reach Semifinals at Wimbledon

Posted on July 8, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz is two wins away from a three-peat…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star and two-time defending Wimbledon champion has reached the semifinals at the All England Club after beating unseeded Cam Norrie, the last British player in either singles bracket, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.

Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 23 matches — the longest tour-level win streak by any man 22 or younger since Juan Martin del Potro won 23 straight matches in 2008 from Stuttgart to the US Open as a 19-year-old. Alcaraz turned 22 in May.

Second-seeded Alcaraz, making his fifth main draw appearance, improved to 23-2 at Wimbledon; among men to debut in the Open era, only Bjorn Borg has more match wins in his first five appearances at the All England Club.

After Norrie held serve to open the match on Centre Court, Alcaraz took control by rattling off the next five games against the left-hander.

He blazed through the opening set in 28 minutes, many of the Centre Court seats still empty as fans sought refreshment after watching Aryna Sabalenka‘s 2-hour-and-54-minute quarterfinal victory.

Alcaraz never let Norrie into the match — facing only five break points and saving all of them. He compiled 39 winners and 13 aces to go with 26 unforced errors.

“To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview after finishing off his quarterfinal match in 1 hour, 39 minutes.

Alcaraz won 89% of his first-serve points against Norrie, the highest mark in any major match of his young career.

He will face No. 5 American Taylor Fritz for a spot in the final.

Alcaraz will have two days off before facing Fritz on Friday, owing to the All England Club schedule.

When asked how he would use the time, one fan in the crowd suggested he could return to Ibiza, the Balearic island where Alcaraz celebrated after winning his second consecutive French Open last month.

Alcaraz is looking to become the fourth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year multiple times. He would join Borg (3 times: 1978-80), Rod Laver (1962, 1969) and Rafael Nadal (2008, 2010).

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Andrey Rublev to Advance to Wimbledon Quarterfinals

Posted on July 6, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz continues his Wimbledon winning streak.

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star’s latest up-and-down Wimbledon performance began with a dropped set. Later Sunday, he was in danger of getting broken to fall further behind in the third.

But then, as he so often does, Alcaraz seized the moment, produced some magic and moved closer to a third consecutive title at the All England Club.

Alcaraz stretched his winning streak in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament to 18 matches — and his unbeaten run across all events to 22 — by coming back to defeat No. 14 seed Andrey Rublev 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Centre Court and return to the quarterfinals.

Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, earned his 75th major match win in 87 opportunities — equaling Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe as the fastest men in the Open era to 75 victories at majors.

In this fortnight’s first matchup between two men ranked in the top 20, Alcaraz brought out his best while down 3-2 in the third set. First, he needed to fend off a break chance for Rublev, doing so with a forehand passing winner.

After eventually holding to 3-all, Alcaraz earned his own break opportunity and didn’t let Rublev escape. On an eight-stroke exchange, Alcaraz sprinted from one corner of the court to the other and, with a stomp of his right foot and a bit of a slide, flicked a crosscourt forehand winner.

Alcaraz spread his arms wide, pointed to his right ear and basked in the crowd’s loud adulation, the noise bouncing off the underside of the stadium’s closed roof.

Rublev sat in his sideline chair, looked up at his guest box and made an “OK” hand signal. Just 10 minutes later, that set belonged to Alcaraz, who will face 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie — the last British player in singles — on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals.

“I always said that it’s just about belief in yourself,” Alcaraz said. “It doesn’t matter that you are one-set-to-love down. Tennis is a sport that can change in just one point. One point can change the match completely, turn around everything.”

At 22, Alcaraz already owns five Grand Slam trophies and will be making his 12th major quarterfinal appearance, matching the second most by any man before his 23rd birthday and trailing only Boris Becker’s 13.

Alcaraz hasn’t lost a match anywhere since April 20 against Holger Rune in the final at Barcelona.

Solana Sierra Makes History By Advancing to Fourth Round at Wimbledon

Posted on July 4, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Solana Sierra continues her Cinderella run at Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old Argentine tennis player, who was out of the competition a week ago at the All England Club, has become the first ‘lucky loser’ in the Open Era to reach the women’s singles fourth round at Wimbledon.

Lucky losers are players who lost in qualifying but end up in the main draw if others withdraw.

Sierra only got 15 minutes’ notice before her first-round match that she’d be playing, following an injury to Belgium’s Greet Minnen.

And Sierra has grasped her opportunity with both hands, beating Cristina Bucsa 7-5 1-6 6-1 in the third round on Friday.

“I remember I was really sad that day [I lost in qualifying], and today is like the best day of my life,” she told BBC Sport.

“So it’s been really crazy. Seven days ago, I was out of the tournament, right now I’m into the second week. So it’s really crazy, and I’m just super happy.”

She is the first Argentinian woman since Paola Suarez in 2004 to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.

By getting to that stage, Sierra will take home a minimum of £240,000 in prize money, adding considerably to her £330,000 career earnings until this point.

“[I feel] super lucky,” said the world number 101, who beat Britain’s Katie Boulter in the second round. “But I think I also take the opportunity, and I really want to keep going and to keep dreaming in this tournament.”

Sierra has picked up her fourth different room key as she keeps up her historic progress at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Sierra has extended her latest accommodation booking until Tuesday, which means if she beats Germany’s Laura Siegemund on Sunday, she will still have somewhere to stay until the quarterfinals.

While Sierra is the first woman to achieve the feat, there have been five lucky losers to reach the men’s singles fourth round, most recently Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in 2024.

And there is a lucky loser impressing in the men’s singles this year too.

The 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Marton Fucsovics beat Gael Monfils over five sets, and across two days, to reach the third round.

The Hungarian, who said he had gone from “hell to heaven” since losing in qualifying, will play the American 10th seed Ben Shelton on Saturday.

Carlos Alcaraz ThisClose to Becoming Youngest Olympic Tennis Singles Champion

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos 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.

Alcaraz 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

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

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.

By 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.

He 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

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

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.

With 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

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

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.

In 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

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

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.

The “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.

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