The Russians returned, a Ukrainian charmed Centre Court, an American punched above his weight, there were protests, curfews, boos and even a spying controversy. But most unusually of all, Novak Djokovic did not win.
He came close, though. Wimbledon 2023 looked set to go the same way as the previous four in the men’s draw, Djokovic bidding to take his number of titles to eight – level with Roger Federer – and his total of grand slam wins to 24 to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record.
But along came Carlos Alcaraz, the swashbuckling 20-year-old bundle of Spanish energy, a smiling assassin, and suddenly the irresistible force had beaten the immovable object.
Djokovic was supposed to stroll to the title, a testament to his enduring greatness, but also a damning indictment of the rest of the field if a 36-year-old can knock them all over with ease.
But Alcaraz struck a blow for the young pretenders with a five-set victory over four-and-three-quarter dramatic hours, in what was only his 18th match on grass.
Alcaraz had earlier in the week shrugged off ‘spygate’ claims that his father had been seen filming Djokovic practising with all his wide-eyed, boyish charm, simply saying: “Oh, probably it is true. My father is a huge fan of tennis.”
The breakout star of the Championships was American Chris Eubanks, who landed some heavyweight shots on his run to the quarter-finals, knocking out British number one Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas along the way.
Wild card Liam Broady flew the British flag the furthest in the men’s draw, accounting for fourth seed – and renowned grass-phobe – Casper Ruud before falling to Dennis Shapovalov in round three.
The women’s champion was not so easy to pick, as has been the case for the last few years, and although a ‘big three’ has started to emerge, both world number one Iga Swiatek and defending champion Elena Rybakina exited at the quarter-final stage, and second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semis.
Unseeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina became the darling of Centre Court, reaching the semi-finals just nine months after her daughter Skai was born.
Svitolina’s stance in not shaking hands with players from Russia or Belarus, who were banned last year due to the conflict in her homeland, led to fourth-round opponent Victoria Azarenka being booed off Centre Court, with spectators assuming it was her who had snubbed the handshake.
The Wimbledon crowd evidently know more about Pimm’s and strawberries than they do about the world political landscape.
Sabalenka’s loss to Ons Jabeur – and Daniil Medvedev’s defeat by Alcaraz in the men’s semi – did at least spare the All England Club from the awkward optic of the Princess of Wales handing over the trophy to a Belarusian or Russian player.
Svitolina beat Swiatek in the last eight but her run was ended by Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the world number 42, who went on to become the first unseeded woman to win the title after a straight-sets demolition of Jabeur.
British number one Katie Boulter, unfazed by Just Stop Oil’s bizarre orange confetti/jigsaw puzzle interruption – the second such protest on day three – made the third round but was brutally taken down by Rybakina, 6-1 6-1.
The rain, frustratingly a feature throughout the fortnight, meant only an hour’s play was possible on the outside courts on day two, causing a backlog of matches and a headache for the schedulers.
That did not affect the show courts, but Wimbledon’s stubborn insistence that play should not start before 1.30pm on Centre meant too many late finishes and, on two occasions, matches being unable to finish due to the strict 11pm curfew.
Djokovic disposed of Stan Wawrinka with 14 minutes to spare, but not even he could beat Hubert Hurkacz inside their allotted two hours after two lengthy matches beforehand, and the Serbian had to come back in on his day off to finish the job.
The same happened to Andy Murray, the latest leg of his extended farewell tour ending in the second round when he was outlasted over five sets and two days by Tsitsipas.
Djokovic suggested play should start at 12pm, but that is another contest at Wimbledon that he probably will not win.
Djokovic thrilled by prospect of 'one last dance' with Nadal
Novak Djokovic is thrilled by the prospect of meeting Rafael Nadal for "one last dance" at the Paris Olympics, if the Spaniard overcomes an injury setback to feature at Roland-Garros.
Thursday's men's singles draw saw Djokovic paired with Australia's Matthew Ebden in the first round, with Nadal taking on Marton Fucsovics.
The legendary duo – who have won 46 grand slam singles titles between them – will meet in the second round if they both advance through their openers this weekend.
Djokovic and Nadal have previously faced off on 59 occasions, with the Serbian winning 30 of those contests but losing four of the last six, the most recent being a Nadal victory in four sets in the 2022 French Open quarter-finals.
Nadal's participation at the Games was thrown into doubt when his coach Carlos Moya said he had suffered a "setback" on Thursday and required 48 hours of rest.
If Nadal – who is widely expected to retire later this year – does make the tournament, Djokovic is looking forward to the prospect of facing him for a 60th time.
"Obviously he hasn't played much. His ranking dropped, so there was always going to be that possibility of me meeting him in an early round and there we go," Djokovic said.
"It's going to be a spectacle, definitely, if we get to meet. We will spread some fireworks on the court, like the good old times.
"I hope we get to meet because it will probably be one last dance for the both of us."
Djokovic is set to appear at his fifth Olympics in the French capital, the joint-most by any male player since the sport returned to the Games in 1988 (with Yen Hsun Lu).
He is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Roger Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
However, his best result at the Games remains a Bronze medal at Beijing 2008, when he was beaten by eventual gold medallist Nadal in the semi-finals.
Djokovic lost the bronze medal match to Pablo Carreno Busta at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, also losing to Juan Martin del Potro at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Linette dominates first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague Open
Magda Linette rounded off her Olympic preparations in style as she claimed her third WTA title with a comfortable win over Magdalena Frech at the Prague Open.
Linette, who beat Viktoriya Tomova and Linda Noskova on her way to the final, won in straight sets 6-2 6-1 as she now heads to Paris to face Mirra Andreeva.
The world number 41 was in the ascendency from the off, forcing a break in the fourth game and never looking back.
Despite the best efforts of Frech, who saved one set point, Linette continued to apply the pressure and another break put her a set up.
Linette would again break in the fourth game of the second set, winning three games on the bounce to secure her first career win over her compatriot.
Data Debrief: Linette prevails in first all-Polish affair
The final in Prague between Linette and Frech was the first all-Polish WTA level final in the Open Era.
Linette's triumph over her opponent was her first, having lost in the pair's previous encounter in Saint-Malo back in 2022.
During the contest, the world number 41 gave nothing away, saving all four of the break points she faced while converting three of the seven she had against Frech.
Nadal suffers injury 'setback' as Olympics participation thrown into doubt
Rafael Nadal may be facing another injury setback at the Paris Olympic Games after his coach warned over the Spaniard's fitness.
The 22-time major champion is widely expected to retire at the end of this year, though is preparing for a final swansong at Roland-Garros, where he has won 14 titles.
Nadal is set to play in the singles and doubles tournaments of the Olympics, partnering current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz for the latter competition.
Yet his participation has become doubtful after coach Carlos Moya confirmed Nadal had cancelled his training session on Thursday due to a hamstring issue.
"It was a setback and we decided that today Rafa would rest and not train to recover," Moya said, as quoted by Spanish journalist Rafael Plaza.
"We are going to give ourselves 48 hours, we have to wait."
The 38-year-old is reportedly feeling soreness in both his left and right hamstring having pulled out of a scheduled practice session with Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz had been partnering Nadal throughout the week during training on the clay courts of Paris, though the veteran's feature has now been thrown under a cloud of doubt.
Nadal is one of just two players to have won Olympic gold in both singles and doubles since the sport returned to the Games in 1988, doing so at Beijing 2008 (singles) and Rio 2016 (doubles).
In the singles in the French capital, Nadal has been drawn against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the opening round, and the prize could be a second-round date with long-term rival Novak Djokovic.
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