Carlos Alcaraz was the toast of world sport after his stunning victory over Novak Djokovic handed him the Wimbledon men’s singles title for the first time at the age of just 20.
The Spaniard triumphed in a five-set epic to deny the Serbian a 24th grand slam title after a 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 arm wrestle on Centre Court.
His heroics prompted praise from the tennis glitterati and beyond as they took to social media after a thriller at SW19.
Compatriot Rafael Nadal, who has 22 grand slam titles to his name, tweeted: “Congratulations @carlosalcaraz. You have given us immense joy today and I am sure that our pioneer in Spanish tennis, Manolo Santana, has also been cheering wherever he is, such as Wimbledon whom you have joined today.
“A very strong hug and enjoy the moment, champion!!!”
Last year’s beaten finalist Nick Kyrgios, who was a late withdrawal this year because of injury, added: “Haven’t watched a whole tennis match in a long time haha. Thank you @DjokerNole and @carlosalcaraz for putting on that incredible performance. Congratulations to you both.”
There was praise two from the organisers of the other three slam tournaments.
A series of posts on the US Open’s official Twitter account said: “What a match”, “That match was everything we hoped for” and “Can this rivalry continue on for a few more years, please?”, while Roland-Garros described the victory as “Prince of Wimbledon” and the Australian Open said simply, “Unstoppable”.
Alcaraz was presented with the trophy by the Princess of Wales, who watched from the Royal Box with Prince William and their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte as well as Spain’s King Felipe VI, and a message on their Twitter acount said: “What a match! Congratulations @carlosalcaraz.”
There were celebrations at Spain’s UK Embassy as officials also took to Twitter, saying: “Unbelievable, amazing, superb, fantastic… What a match, what a champion. Carlos Alcaraz wins his first #Wimbledon title, but certainly not the last.”
The young Spaniard’s triumph also impressed current and former athletes outside his sport with Spain’s former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea leading the tributes.
De Gea wrote: “Absolutely crazy @carlosalcaraz”, while Roma frontman Paulo Dybala said: “What a game we just saw @carlosalcaraz @DjokerNole! Congrats to both for the great final @Wimbledon!”
There was also a message from Real Madrid, the club the Murcia-born star supports.
It said: “Congratulations on your brilliant victory at @Wimbledon, @carlosalcaraz. And congratulations on maintaining top spot in the world tennis rankings. You are a source of pride for Spanish sport and all of the madridistas.”
Former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker put his Spanish to good use, with his tweet translating as: “Spectacular! What a game! What a player. What a champion. Congratulations to @carlosalcaraz. Magnificent.”
Retired cricketing superstar Sachin Tendulkar was equally effusive in his praise.
Tendulkar said: “What a fantastic final to watch! Excellent tennis by both these athletes! We’re witnessing the rise of the next superstar of tennis. I’ll be following Carlos’ career for the next 10-12 years just like I did with @Rogerfederer.
“Many congratulations @carlosalcaraz!”
There was recognition for Hollywood royalty too in the shape of Ben Stiller, who tweeted: “Congrats to @carlosalcaraz. What an incredible final.”
Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge
Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.
Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.
The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands.
However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.
Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.
Sabalenka overcomes injury concerns to reach Rome semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka is through to her second Italian Open semi-final after a straight-sets victory over Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday.
The Belarusian, who recovered from a lower back injury sustained in her previous match against Elina Svitolina, breezed through 6-2, 6-4 after just 72 minutes on the court.
Sabalenka broke her serve in the third and fifth games, with Ostapenko opening the door with two double faults, while a single break in the seventh game settled the second set.
The second seed almost let it slip with her only double fault but came back with two big serves to close out the win.
Sabalenka will face Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final on Friday.
Data Debrief: Top 10
Sabalenka (10) has become only the second player to reach 10 or more WTA-1000 semi-finals since the start of the 2020 season, along with Iga Swiatek (16).
With Sabalenka joining Swiatek and Coco Gauff, it is the first time the WTA’s top three players have reached the semi-final at the same WTA event since Roland Garros in 2013 – excluding the WTA Tour Finals.
Sabalenka has spent the most time out on the court in WTA clay events in 2024, with this match bringing her up to 25 hours and 34 minutes.
Gauff sets up Swiatek semi-final meeting after downing Zheng in Rome
Coco Gauff will have the chance to down world number one Iga Swiatek after progressing to the Italian Open semi-finals with Tuesday's victory over Qinwen Zheng.
The 20-year-old breezed into the last-four draw in Rome after her straight-sets victory over Zheng, winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-1.
Gauff faced just one break point throughout the match, failing to hold her serve at 5-3 up as seven-seed Zhen battled back in the first set.
Yet Gauff eased through the tie-break and never looked back from there on, teeing up a meeting with Swiatek, who overcame Madison Keys in straight sets in her quarter-final clash.
Data Debrief: Young Gauff powers on
No player has won more matches than Gauff (61) in WTA-1000 events before turning 21, since the introduction of the format in 2009, as the American moved past Caroline Wozniacki (60) with victory here.
Wozniacki (eight) is also the only player to manage more WTA-1000 semi-final appearances before her 21th birthday, with Gauff's last-four qualification here taking her onto six – one ahead of Swiatek.
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