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• Alcaraz backed to get 'very close' to Djokovic slam record

  Carlos Alcaraz "can do everything" and could get "very close" to Novak Djokovic's record of 24 grand slam titles, having denied the tennis great his 25th at Wimbledon.

  That is according to Vasek Pospisil, who believes "all the signs" point towards Alcaraz having a career to compare with Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

  Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the All England Club final to win his fourth major at the age of just 21.

  He is still 20 titles short of his opponent, who holds the men's record and has matched Margaret Court's all-time singles benchmark.

  But former Wimbledon doubles champion Pospisil, speaking to Stats Perform as the co-founder of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), believes that gap can quickly close.

  Pospisil said: "We can't see into the future, but the fact that he's just 21 and he already has four grand slams...

  "You put things into perspective: Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray both have three each, if I'm not mistaken. He already has one more, and he's 21.

  "So, for sure, unless he gets injured or unlucky or something out of his control pops up, all the signs are there that he'll be very close to those records if he keeps on the track that he's going, if not break them.

  "I mean, we never know, right? Obviously at this stage, time will tell. But these grand slams can tally up pretty quickly.

  "Just two years ago, he won his first one, and he's already got four. We just barely even blinked, and he has four slams already.

  "So, it'll be interesting to see where he's at in five or six years. He'll be just really entering his prime and he may have 10, 11, 12 grand slams in five years."

  Djokovic did not win his fourth major until he was 24, while Federer was 23.

  Of the three all-time greats, Nadal was the youngest to that mark, with a fourth successive French Open title coming days after his 22nd birthday.

  And it is a young Nadal, another Spaniard, who Pospisil sees in Alcaraz, although the Wimbledon champion might even have a more complete game.

  "He brings a similar kind of intensity that Nadal did when he burst onto the scene," Pospisil told Stats Perform.

  "It was something that we weren't really used to seeing, someone playing with that kind of force and energy in every shot that he hit, so Alcaraz brings some of that to the table.

  "But then he is also just hitting through the court a little bit more. Rafa was a little bit more passive and then started being more aggressive as he got older.

  "Alcaraz, right from the get-go, he's really just using that athleticism and power to really put a lot of pressure on players. He can do everything. He's a full-court, all-court player.

  "You see he's already won at least one grand slam per surface, so he's clearly extremely versatile."

• Rune hoping Hamburg run can atone for Wimbledon woe

  Holger Rune advanced to the Hamburg Open quarter-finals on Thursday as he looks to move on swiftly from his Wimbledon disappointment.

  Rune's All England Club campaign was ruthlessly ended by Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, beaten in straight sets by the eventual finalist.

  The Dane gave himself little time to lick his wounds and has quickly returned to the court and returned to form with his debut in Hamburg.

  Looking for his first ATP Tour title of the year, the second seed followed up a straight-sets win over Fabian Marozsan by defeating Marco Trungelliti 6-4 6-3.

  "It's been very intense since Wimbledon," Rune said. "I only had one day off, actually.

  "I was like, 'I don’t want to rest, I want to go straight back to practice', because I was very disappointed.

  "I went straight back to work on the things that needed to be done, and now I have the chance to train those things in matches."

  Next up will be Arthur Fils, who booked his last-eight place by beating 2023 Hamburg finalist Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

  Top seed Alexander Zverev remains a threat in the top half of the draw, however, and he will face Zhang Zhizhen in the quarters.

• Wimbledon champion Alcaraz not convinced tennis has entered new era

  Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz does not believe his convincing final victory over Novak Djokovic marks the start of a new era for tennis.

  Alcaraz clinched his second Wimbledon title – and his fourth at grand slams overall – in mesmerising fashion on Sunday, thrashing seven-time champion Djokovic in straight sets.

  The Spaniard needed just 73 minutes to take the first two sets before being pushed closer in the third, ultimately winning 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4).

  Djokovic – who turned 37 in May – could now go a full calendar year without a major title for just the second time since 2010, and the first since 2017.

  Alcaraz, meanwhile, is the third-youngest man to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles in the Open Era (21 years, 70 days), older only than Boris Becker (18 years, 227 days, 1985-86) and Bjorn Borg (21 years, 26 days, 1976-77).

  However, asked by Spanish publication AS whether he was the figurehead of a new era for the sport, Alcaraz said: "I don't really feel that way. 

  "I've seen a lot of people who have said it's a generational change, a new era, a changing of the guard after Sunday's match, but in the end I don't see it that way. 

  "We try to work as hard as possible to put Djokovic in trouble, to try to be there as many times as we can, but I don't feel that there is a change of era, a generational change or a changing of the guard, not at the moment."

  Sunday was a great day for Spanish sport as Luis de la Fuente's football team beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final, with substitute Mikel Oyarzabal netting the winner.

  Alcaraz believes the performances of 17-year-old Lamine Yamal and 22-year-old Nico Williams point to a bright future for football, and sport in general, in Spain.

  "When I finished my game I had a message from [Alvaro] Morata, who is the one I talk to the most, the one I get along with the best," he revealed. 

  "One of the first people I called in the dressing room was him, who was walking to the stadium before playing the final. I wished him all the luck in the world. 

  "Lamine, Nico are 17, 22-year-old boys, who have made the difference in this European Championship. It was the first time they played with the national team. 

  "They have done it in an incredible way. It's great to see new players in Spain who fight like them, who give their all for the flag, for the country. 

  "I think it's wonderful to have a national team and young athletes who are pointing the way, who are going up. Hopefully we will have many years of enjoyment."