Novak Djokovic is going for his eighth Wimbledon title and Carlos Alcaraz his first in a final billed as the ultimate generation game.

Djokovic, 36, is bidding to become the oldest man to take the SW19 crown while 20-year-old Alcaraz is the youngest finalist since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in 2006.

The winner will also claim the world number one spot.

Elsewhere, there is British interest in the juniors competition, with Henry Searle reaching the final of the boys’ singles, while Alfie Hewett looks to finally win an elusive wheelchair singles title in SW19.

Here, the PA news agency looks ahead to the final day of the Championships.

Will it be Novak the gr-eight?

Djokovic is making history with virtually every victory and a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (4) win over Jannik Sinner in his record-equalling 46th grand slam semi-final earned him a record-breaking 35th final, taking him past American great Chris Evert.

The Serbian is now only one victory away from matching Roger Federer by winning an eighth Wimbledon title, and Federer and Bjorn Borg by claiming five in a row.

He would also move level with Margaret Court with a record 24th grand slam crown.

It is 10 years since Djokovic lost a match on Centre Court, an extraordinary run of 45 matches going back to the 2013 final against Andy Murray.

Or king Carlos the first?

Standing in Djokovic’s way is swashbuckling Spaniard Alcaraz in what will, incredibly, be only the 18th match of his career on grass.

The world number one proved he has got the hang of the surface by winning at Queen’s Club last month and he dismantled third seed Daniil Medvedev in three sets in their semi-final.

Alcaraz already has a grand slam title to his name having won last year’s US Open, and he reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

There he was beaten by Djokovic, but only after cramping up following two evenly-contested sets.

Next stop, Searle’s court

Wolverhampton’s Searle is one match away from becoming Britain’s first boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon for 61 years.

The 17-year-old defeated American fourth seed Cooper Williams 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Backed by his noisy fan club consisting of family members and friends from his tennis club, Searle is on the brink of emulating Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed in 1962.

Jack Draper was the last British player to make the final five years ago, while Liam Broady also reached it in 2011, but both were beaten.

Searle will face 17-year-old Yaroslav Demin of Russia in the final.

There is also British interest in the junior doubles after Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy reached the final, while Alfie Hewett goes for his maiden wheelchair singles title against world number one Tokito Oda of Japan.

Order of play

Centre Court (from 2pm)
Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic
Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens v Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova

Court One (from 11am)
Alfie Hewett v Tokito Oda
Henry Searle v Yaroslav Demin
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan v James Blake/Lleyton Hewitt

Weather

Sunny changing to cloudy by late morning.

Captain Lewis Gregory savoured Somerset shedding their “nearly men” tag as they claimed a first Vitality Blast crown in 18 years.

While they won the competition in 2005, Somerset had been unrewarded on their previous seven visits to Finals Day, finishing runners-up in three successive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011 then again in 2021.

But a couple of accomplished bowling displays – in which they defended sub-150 totals against both Surrey in the semi-final then Essex in the Edgbaston showpiece – saw them belatedly end their hoodoo.

Gregory was beaming after Matt Henry’s four for 24 underpinned a 14-run win over Essex, who were all out for 131 in 18.3 overs when Daniel Sams was dismissed for a belligerent 45 off 26 balls.

“(It feels) pretty damn good,” said a relieved Gregory at the presentation ceremony. “I’ve been to finals day many, many times and this is a special feeling to get over the line.

“Everyone sees Somerset as the nearly men, and it becomes harder each time you come back. I was just praying we had a couple of guys who were having on of those days where you just can’t stop them.

“We did it the hard way throughout the day, it’s just rewards.”

A score of 142 for seven – in a match reduced to 19 overs per side because of rain – was enough for Somerset to move into Saturday night’s final, where they were all out for 145 in exactly 20 overs.

Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence flew out of the traps for Essex, putting on 27 in 11 deliveries, but they were halted in their tracks by an accomplished spell of fast bowling from Henry, who took out both batters then produced the ball of the day with a bail-trimmer to see the back of Michael Pepper.

Ish Sodhi, signed on a short-term deal last month due to injuries to Peter Siddle and Roelof van der Merwe, made crucial inroads into Essex’s batting, with the New Zealand leg-spinner taking three for 22.

However, Sams played a lone hand to keep Essex in the game, prompting Gregory to turn to his ace Henry, who saw the first ball of his final over dispatched for a towering, straight six.

It was his third maximum of the game and left Essex needing 15 off the last 11 deliveries with just one wicket left, but a dot was followed by Henry offering width and Sams carving to short third, where Tom Kohler-Cadmore plucked the ball out of the air with a terrific one-handed grab.

“It’s going to be played a lot over the next wee while,” said Sodhi.

“He took an absolute hanger and it’s definitely one of the most exciting moments in my cricketing career so far, I’m glad he hung on to it because Sams is a dangerous player.

“T20 is a fickle game, with 15 runs left it’s effectively two and a half hits and you win the game, and Sams is well capable of that. It makes that catch that Tom took all that more special.”

Victory for Somerset marks the fifth successive occasion that the team who prevailed in the second semi-final also won the final.

While Sams was at the crease, Essex were always in with a chance but captain Simon Harmer felt the Australian’s dismissal to a breathtaking catch was one of many things that did not go their way.

Harmer conceded Somerset, who lost just twice in the entire campaign, were worthy winners but rued what he perceived to be luck being against them, having reached the final by defeating defending champions Hampshire.

“Hats off to Somerset, they were the better team – they outplayed us,” Harmer said. “We didn’t get the rub of the green, in my opinion, and on days like this, you need a bit of luck.

“I can’t fault the way the boys played it. At the very end Daniel Sams just needed someone to bat with him and unfortunately we kept losing wickets. Such is the nature of the game.”

Gerwyn Price advanced to the second round of the World Matchplay as he recovered from a slow start to defeat Stephen Bunting 10-3 in Blackpool.

After Bunting won the first two legs, Price hit back to level things up before sweeping to victory, claiming each of the last seven.

The Welshman, runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in last year’s competition, said on Sky Sports: “I was 2-0 down, could have been 3-0 down – it was a slow start. I didn’t play brilliant, but I did what I had to do.

“I was up and down. It was just first-round jitters. Getting through the first round is always tough, but I’ll be better next round.

“It’s one of the tournaments I haven’t won, so you try a little bit too hard sometimes, especially in finals. But I’ve plenty more years left in this game so if it’s not this year, it will be sometime soon hopefully, and fingers crossed it is this year.”

Price’s opponent in round two will be Joe Cullen, who saw off Belgian debutant Mike De Decker 10-7 in the first match of the tournament’s opening night.

The Winter Gardens action also saw 2019 champion Rob Cross eliminated after losing a thrilling contest to Daryl Gurney.

Cross came back from 4-0 down to force a tiebreaker, and then led for the first time in the match at 10-9, before Northern Ireland’s Gurney turned things around again to triumph 12-10.

Gurney now faces Gary Anderson, the winner in 2018 and runner-up in 2020, after the Scot beat Dave Chisnall 10-6.

Matt Henry starred with four for 24 as Somerset ended their Finals Day hoodoo by beating Essex to claim a first Vitality Blast title in 18 years at Edgbaston.

Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence flew out of the traps in pursuit of 146 in the final, but Henry dismissed both and produced the ball of the day with a bail-trimmer to see off Michael Pepper.

Daniel Sams threatened to pull off a dramatic finish with 45 off 26 balls but Henry, who was held back until the penultimate over, had the last laugh as Essex were all out for 131 to lose by 14 runs.

Neal Skupski revealed he had no choice but to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title after his brother and coach Ken returned from his family holiday in Ibiza to watch the final.

Skupski became just the second Briton to win the SW19 men’s doubles in the open era, after Jonny Marray 11 years ago, as he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court.

The 33-year-old Liverpudlian thought he would have to play his final without Ken in his box after his older sibling drove home following Thursday’s semi-final to go on holiday.

But his big brother hot-footed it back to the tournament and, wearing his brother’s clothes, saw history being made as Neal completed a Wimbledon hat-trick following 2021 and 2022 wins in the mixed doubles.

“There was a lot of pressure on me this morning after he came back,” Neal said. “He did go to Ibiza for probably 14 hours.

“He drove home straightaway after the semi-final, back to Liverpool and it obviously took four or five hours.

“He got back around 11pm, had a 2am alarm and drove to Manchester airport with his family. Got to Ibiza around 9.30am and enjoyed the day there.

“Then he had a 1am flight this morning back from Ibiza that was delayed a couple of hours so got into Gatwick at 4.30am, slept in a pod at Gatwick airport. Got the car at 9am here.

“He was on court with me borrowing my clothes. Yeah, he’s already left to go back to Ibiza with the family. He probably wants a pay rise!

“He always said, ‘If you make the final, I’m coming back’. I don’t know if he ever believed that I’d make the final. But, yeah, amazing for him. Unbelievable commitment.”

After winning the mixed doubles with Desirae Krawczyk in the last two years, Neal said the men’s doubles title would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam triumph in the men’sevent, having lost in the US Open final last year.

He also becomes the first British man to win a hat-trick of titles since the great Fred Perry in the late 1930s.

“I’m speechless really,” he added. “It’s something I never thought would ever happen. Obviously I won the mixed doubles a couple times with Desirae Krawczyk.

“It’s just an amazing feeling right now.

“It’s an amazing achievement, when you said about Fred Perry, the last person to win three in a row.

“But, yeah, it’s nothing that I was thinking about coming into the event. It was more thinking about me and Wesley, what we were going to do.

“The goal this year was to win a grand slam. Obviously we’ve done well in previous grand slams, making the quarter-finals and the US Open final last year.

“But now to call ourselves grand slam champions in the men’s doubles, an amazing achievement for not just us but the whole team.”

Rossa Ryan had just one thing on his mind after riding his first Group One winner with Shaquille – his parents.

After all the interviews were done in a windswept Newmarket winner’s enclosure following the Pertemps-sponsored July Cup and the horses had long since departed, the young rider still had plenty of emotion in his voice, almost overwhelmed by a victory that meant so much in so many ways.

Ryan had been at something of a crossroads when parting company with the burgeoning Amo Racing operation, a move announced last August.

To his credit, one of the first to congratulate him amid the throng of well-wishers was Amo’s founder Kia Joorabchian, who wrapped an arm around the jockey with hearty words of congratulation.

The parting may have been amicable, yet Ryan can be forgiven if he ever doubted himself. No need. He has been riding as well as anyone over the past few months, and the length-and-a-half success aboard Shaquille – not for a big yard, but that of an underdog form Norton, North Yorkshire – was testament to his immense ability.

He had only come in for the ride after Oisin Murphy, who was aboard when the colt had been victorious against his own age group in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, had been suspended.

And against the older horses not everything had gone to plan, with Shaquille falling out of the stalls and then lit up.

Ryan said: “I had to make a move in the middle part of the race – that was him. I had no option. I just let him blow out and grab his wind and he just went away.

“He doesn’t have to do anything right – he has got the ability.”

He added: “I didn’t have much of a choice. I tried to settle him in behind, but he wasn’t having it.

“So once he put his head in front three out, he filled up for me and I just managed to grab hold of him and pull him back a bit.

“Two out, he kicked and he stayed going. I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and he kicked again for me at the half-furlong pole. It was just an incredible performance.

“It is not like he’s shown up a bad field. And he’s doing it in a fashion.”

Ryan was full of praise for the Julie Camacho-trained three-year-old, who showed plenty of guts to fend off Run To Freedom.

But he had just one thing really on his mind, and he was abundant in his acknowledgement of his parents.

“It means the world – everything I’ve worked for,” Ryan said.

“Mum and dad starting me off at home, everything they have put into me, I can’t thank them enough.

“They are the backbone behind it all. They have kept me on the straight and narrow for so long.

“I am so grateful to them. It will mean a lot to them as well.

“It has been a big year. It is down to my agent and I couldn’t do it without him.

“I am looking to build on it every season and it is going the right way so far. I just hope we can keep it going.”

Injury and suspension aside, it would be a brave man to back against him doing that.

Carlos Rodriguez moved up to third overall after taking a maiden Tour de France stage win as Tadej Pogacar was left to rue a “wasted bullet” in his bid to wrest the yellow jersey from Jonas Vingegaard.

At the end of a dramatic 152km stage 14 to Morzine that began with an almost half-hour delay following a huge crash in the peloton, Rodriguez descended off the Joux Plane to take a second consecutive win for the Ineos Grenadiers while Vingegaard and Pogacar battled it out behind.

There was controversy at the top of the climb, where Pogacar tried to beat Vingegaard to vital bonus seconds only to find his path blocked by a motorbike as he accelerated, leaving question marks over the crowd management on the mountain.

That allowed the Dane to gain three seconds there, although Pogacar took two of them back on the finish line. Vingegaard’s lead in the yellow jersey is now 10 seconds as these two very different riders, head and shoulders above the rest, remain evenly matched.

Pogacar had attacked a little under four kilometres from the top of the mountain, which crested 12 kilometres from the finish, initially distancing the defending champion but never by more than 20 metres.

Vingegaard kept his cool, pacing his way back still with 1,700 metres to the summit. The Slovenian attacked again with 500 metres left, but had not noticed two motorbikes struggling to part the huge crowds and was forced to knock it back, allowing Vingegaard to regain the advantage.

“It was one wasted bullet after already doing the big climb to do one sprint for nothing,” Pogacar said. “It’s a bit of a shame but I don’t think it will change the outcome. OK, I messed it up a little bit but it is what it is.”

As the pair eyed each other Rodriguez, having lost around a minute when Pogacar put in his first acceleration, paced his way back on and then rode by to go clear on the descent.

“It’s incredible,” the Tour debutant said. “I have no words. Being here was a dream and getting a victory is incredible in the best race in the world. It was always something I focused on and to achieve now a victory I’m super happy…

“It was also a goal to gain some time and we accomplished it so I’m very happy on that side. I have to be happy and enjoy this victory but also think and recover a little bit for tomorrow as that is going to be a big day also.”

Jai Hindley started the day in third but was one of dozens of riders caught in the early crash just after the start in Annemasse, and was dropped five kilometres from the top of the final climb.

The Australian came in one minute 46 seconds after Rodriguez, losing third place to the 22-year-old Spaniard by one second.

But it was not all good news for the Ineos Grenadiers, with Tom Pidcock – also caught in that crash – distanced on the penultimate climb and slipping out of the top 10 overall.

Adam Yates is up to fifth after sticking with team-mate Pogacar, but his twin brother Simon dropped to seventh after also losing contact on the penultimate climb.

Seven riders did not finish – Britain’s Tour debutant James Shaw and French darling Romain Bardet were caught in a second incident after the big crash that would force Esteban Chaves, Louis Meintjes and others from the race.

Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma team bossed the peloton from the moment the race resumed, their relentless pace soon defeating the day’s breakaway as the group of favourites was mercilessly whittled down.

“We wanted to make the race hard,” Vingegaard said. “I want to thank my team today. They’ve been amazing. In the end I only get one second but it’s good.”

Marketa Vondrousova is the women’s Wimbledon champion after she beat Ons Jabeur in the final to win her first grand slam.

Neal Skupski completed his hat-trick of titles at SW19 by winning the men’s doubles with Wesley Koolhof, while Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid continued their domination of the wheelchair doubles with a fifth title here.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day 13 of the Championships.

Vondrousova’s moment of history

Marketa Vondrousova created history when she became the first unseeded player to win the women’s title at Wimbledon after her 6-4 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.

The Czech’s victory marks an impressive comeback after injury stalled her career having made the French Open final as a 19-year-old and she was only at Wimbledon last year to support her best friend in qualifying while wearing a cast following wrist surgery.

But now her name is on the honours board and she has a place in history, becoming just the third Czech woman to lift the title following Martina Navratilova and Petra Kvitova.

Spare a thought for Jabeur, though, who lost in the final for a second year in a row. She was inconsolable at the end, having firmly believed that this was her time, but vowed to come back and win Wimbledon in the future.

Tweet of the dayHat-trick for Skupski

Neal Skupski became just the second Briton to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles in the open era after he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof triumphed on Centre Court.

Only Jonny Marray had previously won in SW19 back in 2012, but Skupski and Koolhof lived up to their top seed billing with a 6-4 6-4 win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Victory ensured home success at this year’s tournament and also gave Skupski a Wimbledon hat-trick after glory in the 2021 and 2022 mixed doubles.

Skupski, 33 and from Liverpool, said this would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam title in the men’s doubles, having lost in the US Open final last year.

Picture of the dayHewett eyes full set after more doubles joy

Alfie Hewett is one win away from completing the set of grand slams after making his way through to the wheelchair singles finals.

The Briton has won at the Australian Open, the French Open and US Open but his home slam has so far evaded him.

After easing past Martin De La Puente in the semi-finals he will now go for glory against top seed Tokito Oda, who beat Gordon Reid on his way to the final.

While the singles title at Wimbledon has proved problematic, Hewett has had no problems in the doubles with his partner Reid and they claimed a fifth title in SW19.

The home pair beat Japanese opponents Takuya Miki and Oda to post an 18th grand slam crown together.

Quote of the daySearle closing in on history

There is a chance of even more British success on Sunday as Henry Searle is in the boy’s final.

The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton is one match away from becoming Britain’s first singles champion in the boys’ tournament for 61 years.

Having earlier knocked out the top seed he ousted American fourth seed Cooper Williams 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the semi-finals.

If he can beat Russian Yaroslav Demin in the final he will emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed back in 1962.

Shot of the dayStat of the day

Tyrrell Hatton believes it would be “mega” to become the first English winner of the Open on home soil for more than half a century.

Sir Nick Faldo has lifted the Claret Jug three times since Tony Jacklin’s victory at Royal Lytham in 1969, but all of those wins – two at Muirfield and one at St Andrews – came in Scotland.

Hatton saw at close quarters the atmosphere generated by having a home player in contention when he finished sixth behind Shane Lowry at Portrush in 2019 and would love to be part of similar scenes next week at Royal Liverpool.

“It would be mega,” Hatton said during the Genesis Scottish Open. “When Shane won at Portrush a few years ago the scenes were just epic.

“It would obviously be great. Even if it wasn’t myself, it would be nice to see another Englishman in that position walking up the 18th.

“With the likes of Tommy [Fleetwood] and I, it’s not something we would necessarily speak about away from the golf course. But there are obviously certain things you don’t need to say.

“You could see it in Canada [the RBC Canadian Open] when we were able to stick around and watch Tommy in the play-off. You want to see your friends do well and hope they can go on and win.”

Hatton’s early record in the Open was nothing to write home about as he missed the cut on his first four starts, but he was fifth at Troon in 2016, sixth in 2019 and 11th last year.

The 31-year-old also won the Dunhill Links Championship in 2016 and 2017 – and was second the following year – and said: “The experience is definitely there for me now. It’s a case of me going out and trying my best.

“If I go there and play well, I feel like I will definitely give myself a chance.

“Potentially the Open is my best chance of winning a major, but I wouldn’t want to have that added pressure on myself by looking at it like that.

“As a British player, you definitely feel like you’re playing in a special tournament. But, ultimately, you’re just trying to treat it the same as any other week.”

Hatton’s bid for a first major title has been boosted by the return of long-time caddie Mick Donaghy, who had been sidelined for several months following a knee operation.

“It’s great having him back,” Hatton added. “He’s happy to be back out on the bag. He’s been out here since the late 80s.

“I had a really good stretch with Bo (Martin) on the bag, but me and Mick have been working together since May 2019. I feel really comfortable with Mick and we’ve had some good weeks together.

“Mick understands how I am. If I say certain things on the golf course, it’s not in a personal way. I’m just venting. Some guys and their personalities wouldn’t be able to deal with that, which is fine. Everyone is different.

“But Mick is good. He can handle the s*** that comes out my mouth at times.”

British duo Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid thrilled a packed Court One by winning their fifth Wimbledon wheelchairs doubles title.

Hewett and Reid reclaimed the trophy, having been runners up last year, with a 3-6 6-0 6-3 victory over Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in three sets.

It was an 18th grand slam win for the pair and a measure of revenge for Scotsman Reid, who was beaten by Oda in the singles semi-final earlier on Saturday.

“That was something else, I’ve got goosebumps,” said Hewett.

“We dream of atmospheres like this, it doesn’t come around often and I’m glad we rose to the occasion.”

Reid added: “It was a great match. I think we’re going to have a lot of battles in the future.

“Me and Alfie, on match point, we were both tearing up a little bit, the atmosphere was electric.

“My first Wimbledon was in 2008 on court 53 or something in front of three men and his dog, my mum and my sister.

“If you’d told me then we’d be on a nearly full Court One with the crowd going berserk, I would never have believed you.

“It’s an incredible atmosphere and an incredible occasion for us and for wheelchair tennis.”

Hewett will look to win his first Wimbledon singles title on Sunday when he takes on 17-year-old Oda in the final.