As three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray prepares to bow out from the sport he loves at the Paris Olympics, he could soon be a man in demand.

The two-time Wimbledon victor got the fitting tribute his career deserved at his home slam, but not in the circumstances he wanted.

A back injury ruled him out of the singles, and his last match on centre court was a doubles defeat alongside his brother Jamie.

Murray will retire following the summer games, where he hopes to add to his two Olympic golds won at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
But one tennis rival may already have his next career path in mind.

When Vasek Pospisil is not on the court, he is busy pushing for improvements for players off the court with the Professional Tennis Players' Association.

Co-founded with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, the PTPA aims to 'address player challenges and calls for change within the business of professional tennis.'

What started as an idea thought up by Pospisil and Djokovic in 2019 was formally created two years later. 

Three years and 'thousands of hours' on, players across the ATP and WTA Tours are reaping the rewards.

"The first few years were just growing pains. It was so many thousands of hours. The amount of hours, especially those first three or four years to get some momentum and organise players and just try to get the building blocks in place," Pospisil told Stats Perform.

"Tennis has a long way to go from the player side. But as a sport, it's an incredible sport. It's one-on-one combat.

"That's why it's the third or fourth most watched sport in the world. So there's so much there. And players have been underserviced and it's time for change. And that's where we come in."

"We want hundreds of players to be able to make a living. When I say hundreds, I mean three or 400 on the men's side and three or 400 on the women's side.

"Currently it's about a hundred on each, right? And that's unacceptable in a multi-billion dollar industry with the value that these players are bringing to the table.

"In the meantime, we're trying to generate revenue for players, extra revenue through group licensing programs that hasn't existed prior to the PTPA."

Murray, who Pospisil has competed against on six occasions and beaten just once, has long been a voice of reason on the ATP tour, and has gained respect for his support of the WTA.

That hasn't gone unnoticed by Pospisil, who plans to reach out to the Brit once the curtain comes down on his illustrious career.

"I really like Andy. He was always so nice in the locker room and just a good guy," he said.

"And I know that in previous years, I'd seen several quotes and articles and in the press where he'd spoken out about the importance of having independent player representation.

"I haven't spoken to him in a few years since the start of the PTPA, and it's something that I definitely want to revisit. 

"When you really look under the hood, you look past all the all the nonsense that's been spewed as a counter argument to why the PTPA shouldn't exist and why it's bad for tennis.

"So I think if any reasonable person were to sit down and have a 30-minute conversation listening to the PTPA from the horse's mouth, I would be shocked if someone were to leave that conversation and say, 'oh, that doesn't make sense'.

"I'm going to follow up with Andy and some of these big players that are on their way out. I think it would be great to get their endorsement and get them involved."

Should Murray take up the offer, he'll join the likes of Ons Jabeur and Hubert Hurkacz, who sit on the PTPA executive committee.

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."

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.

Cameron Norrie could not stand in Rafael Nadal's way as the former world number one stormed into the Bastad Open quarter-finals.

Nadal made light work of the Briton on Thursday, cruising to a 6-4 6-4 victory.

The 38-year-old, who skipped Wimbledon to prepare for the Olympics, will face fourth seed Mariano Navone in the last eight.

Speaking after his victory, Nadal said: "Great feelings. I've been a while without playing on the Tour, since Roland-Garros.

"To have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron is a great feeling. I think I played good tennis, in some moments I need to play a little bit more aggressive, but that is part of the journey today.

"I haven't been competing very often, so matches and victories like today help. To be in rhythm the whole match and hold the pressure on the opponent the whole match, that's something that I need to improve, because I didn't play enough."

Data Debrief: Nadal's Norrie dominance

That is now five victories for Nadal against Norrie in six career meetings. The Spaniard's only defeat to Norrie came at the United Cup in 2023.

Nadal has won those five matches without dropping a set in any of them.

Alexander Zverev cruised into the second round of the Hamburg Open with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Jesper de Jong.

The top seed took one step closer to defending his title with a 6-2 6-2 victory on Wednesday.

De Jong took the opening game, but Zverev dominated after that, winning the next five in a row, before holding off the Dutchman's late fightback to take the first set.

The second was a carbon copy of the first, as De Jong was broken twice and given no way back in as Zverev closed out the match to set up a meeting with Hugo Gaston in the next round. 

Data Debrief: Defending champion starts strong

After clinching the title on home soil last year, Zverev was always going to come out fighting in his defence.

He hit 29 winners and twice went on five-game winning runs to take the match away from De Jong before he could get any real foothold. 

Thiago Monteiro pulled off a shock in the second round of the Swedish Open, beating Casper Ruud in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

The Brazilian took just an hour and a half to see off the second seed 6-3 6-3 in Bastad on Wednesday.

Ruud successfully defended two break points in the opening game but could not gain the upper hand as Monteiro charged forwards, getting two breaks to take the set.

Monteiro continued to dominate in the second, though he only needed one break this time, and comfortably held off the Norwegian in the final game to make it into the next round, where he will face either Pavel Kotov or Duje Ajdukovic.

Data Debrief: Monteiro comes out on top

Monteiro did not give Ruud any sort of opening, winning all of his service games, and 75% of his service points (38/51).

The number two seed did not win more than one game in a row, and he will be hoping to put this result behind him quickly ahead of his doubles quarter-final with Rafael Nadal later on.

Rafael Nadal is through to the second round of the Swedish Open after holding out for a straight-sets win over Leo Borg on Tuesday.

In his singles return in Bastad, the Spaniard triumphed 6-3 6-4, to follow up his doubles win with Casper Ruud on Monday.

Nadal raced into a 4-1 lead in the first set, and though Berg was able to peg him back to 5-3, the former world number one served to love in the final game to seal it.

He got another vital break in the opening game of the second, which was enough to help him hold off the Swede's attempted fight back to book a place in the next round, where he will face Cam Norrie. 

Data Debrief: Running back the clock

Nadal last played in Bastad in 2005, winning the clay tournament as a 19-year-old.

And he made a strong start to the tournament this time around; he won 41 of his 53 service points (77%), but got a vital break in either set to put him out of Borg's reach. 

Rory McIlroy insists his U.S. Open capitulation is behind him as he aims to respond at The Open Championship, backed by support from two sporting stars.

The Northern Irishman collapsed in remarkable fashion at Pinehurst, missing two simple putts as Bryson DeChambeau sneaked in to profit and win the major.

Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal and NBA legend Michael Jordan both reached out to McIlroy in the aftermath of that disappointment.

The 35-year-old has now racked up four runners-up finishes in majors since his last such victory at the PGA Championship in 2014.

Yet McIlroy is intent on responding when The Open returns at Royal Troon this week.

"Rafa Nadal and Michael Jordan," McIlroy told The Guardian. "Two of the most unbelievable competitors that have ever been in sport.

"MJ was maybe the first person to text me after I missed the putt on the 18th but both of them got in touch very, very quickly. They just told me to keep going. MJ reminded me of how many game-winning shots he missed. Really nice."

The four-time major champion scored bogeys on three of his final four holes during his U.S. Open downfall.

"Was it a great opportunity to win a major? Absolutely," McIlroy added of his short-putting nightmare. "It hurt and in the moment it was tough, terrible.

"I'd say people would be surprised to see how quickly I got over it and moved on."

McIlroy subsequently took a short break before returning at the Scottish Open last week, finishing tied for fourth place at the Renaissance Club.

"Maybe the one drawback from me not talking [to media] afterwards was that you got three weeks of speculation," McIlroy said, referring to his swift exit at Pinehurst. 

"He should have done this, should have done that but we will never know because he didn't say. I trust the people around me. I don't need to go looking for external counsel.

"If the tournament ended after 68 holes, people would be calling me the best golfer in the world. You have to be an eternal optimist. Say you play 25 events a year and win three of those. You are one of the best players in history. We lose way more than we win.

"Yes, I was in a great winning position and should have won but it's not the first time I have let something slip away. It's probably not going to be the last.

"You have to look at it on the continuum. It was tough but it is one tournament, I play 23-25 per year. You have to keep going.

"The great thing about this game is you have an opportunity to get back on the horse right after a tough loss. You try to learn from it and do better next time."

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."

Rafael Nadal was victorious on his first outing since May, teaming up with Casper Ruud to beat second seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela in the Nordea Open doubles at Bastad.

Returning to the clay in Sweden for the first time since he won the singles title as a teenager in 2005, Nadal looked comfortable alongside the world number nine.

The Spaniard was beaten by Alexander Zverev in the first round at the French Open in May, then chose to skip Wimbledon as he prepares to play at the Paris Olympics.

He hit one tremendous forehand winner early in the second set as the star-studded pairing triumphed 6-1 6-4 in 70 minutes.

Speaking alongside Ruud after the match, Nadal said: "It's a pleasure playing with a good friend and an amazing player like Casper here in Bastad.

"Personally, I am happy and I think it was a good match. We played quite well for the first time we played together and I'm happy to be back here after almost 20 years.

"I have great memories from this place from 2003, 2004 and 2005, so I am enjoying this week and hopefully I can keep going."

Nadal will open his singles campaign at the competition on Tuesday, with home hope Leo Borg his first opponent at the ATP 250 event.

Novak Djokovic knows there is still plenty more to come from Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard's dominant display in the Wimbledon final.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to retain his crown at All England Club and clinch his fourth major title overall.

At 21 years and 70 days, he is the youngest player to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

And while Alcaraz said he does not count himself among the list of tennis' great champions, Djokovic has no doubt that the next generation's superstar is destined to scale such heights.

"Obviously, not the result I wanted, in the first couple of sets, the level of tennis wasn't up to par from my side," Djokovic said.

"But credit to Carlos for playing some amazing tennis, very complete, he had it all today.

"I tried to push him, saved the three match points and extended the match a little bit, but it wasn't meant to be.

"He was a deserved winner today, so a huge congratulations to him for an amazing performance.

"To his team, his family, an amazing job you guys are doing, clearly. Everything you have done so far, he's only 21, it's incredible, we'll see a lot of you, I'm sure."

Alcaraz and Djokovic have already met six times, with three of those matches coming in finals, including last year's Wimbledon showpiece. They share an even 3-3 record.

Novak Djokovic is "living his childhood dream" every time he steps out on Wimbledon's Centre Court, despite his straight-sets defeat to Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.

Djokovic, who has played in each of the last six finals at All England Club, faced Alcaraz in a repeat of last year's championship match but fell to a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) defeat.

It was his 10th Wimbledon final overall, with this one even more impressive due to his recovery from a knee operation that he suffered at the French Open, which was also won by Alcaraz.

A win would have made Djokovic the most decorated player in grand slam history, and taken him level with Roger Federer's record of eight men's singles crowns at SW19.

And the 37-year-old chose to look on the bright side as he took in Centre Court after the match.

"I have to be very proud," Djokovic said.

"Obviously, it's a bit of a disappointment right now, but when I reflect on the last couple of weeks and the last four to five weeks and what I've been through, along with my team members and family, I'm very satisfied, because Wimbledon was always the childhood dream of mine, playing on the centre stage.

"I try to remind myself how surreal it is to be here, even if I've been blessed to be in 10 finals, every single time I step on Centre Court, it feels like the first time. I'm living my childhood dream."

Djokovic is a 24-time major champion and after a glittering career, he claimed he may end up moving into coaching for his children in the future... if they in fact do want to take up tennis.

"My kids, they now start to like tennis a little bit," he added with a smile over at his family.

"I don't know if I have the nerves to keep on going with a coaching career for my son. There are a lot of beautiful things other than tennis, but if you wish to pursue it, I'll be there for you.

"I want to say thanks to my whole team, physio, everyone, for sticking with me through good and bad times. We're the only ones who know what we've been through. Let's keep it going."

Carlos Alcaraz "repeated the dream" after securing back-to-back Wimbledon titles by overcoming Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz was in dominant form from the off on Sunday and, despite a late wobble, clinched his fourth major title in straight sets.

The Spaniard did have to settle his nerves in the final set, having squandered three championship points on his own serve.

But having found his rhythm again in the tiebreak, Alcaraz played two exceptional drop shots to set the stage for a loose return from Djokovic to round off a 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win.

"It's a dream for me, winning this trophy," Alcaraz said.

"I did an interview when I was 11 or 12, saying my dream is to win Wimbledon. I've repeated my dream. I want to keep going, but it's a great feeling to play on this beautiful court, win this beautiful trophy. It's the most beautiful tournament, court and trophy.

"Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, I knew he would have his chances again. I tried to win it on my serve. I couldn't, but I tried to stay calm, stay positive and play my best tennis in the tiebreak. I found the solutions."

The 21-year-old has become the youngest player in the Open Era to triumph at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

"Just fighting, believing, it's a huge tournament for me and a huge achievement for me to be part of those players who have won Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in the same year," said Alcaraz.

"[They are] huge champions. I don't consider myself as much of a champion yet as them, but I'll keep on going, keep on building my path."

Djokovic made a miraculous recovery from knee surgery to feature at SW19, where he reached the final for the 10th time in his career, a tally bettered only by Roger Federer (12).

"Some words for Novak and his team," Alcaraz added as he addressed the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

"It's been a really difficult few weeks for you, unbelievable work to play this tournament after the surgery. I have huge respect for you and your team."

Carlos Alcaraz turned on the style as he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title.

In a repeat of last year's final, Alcaraz prevailed 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) on Sunday to become the youngest player in the Open Era to triumph at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.

Alcaraz started as he meant to go on, breaking Djokovic in the very first game to immediately put the seven-time champion on the back foot.

Another break followed in game five, as the Spaniard truly took control, wrapping up the opening set in just 41 minutes and offering up only one break point, which he clawed back anyway, en route.

It was a similar story in set two - Alcaraz crisply putting himself a break up and playing some immaculate shots as he made even lighter work of making it 2-0.

Djokovic fended off four break points to go 2-1 up in the third set and had a fantastic chance of pulling a break of his own back in game six, until Alcaraz hit back with some venomous serves to claim a crucial hold before then setting himself up for apparent glory.

Yet a remarkable wobble saw Alcaraz squander three championship points on serve, and Djokovic needed no second invitation to edge himself ahead, with a tiebreak required.

A bad miss on a forehand pass compounded Alcaraz's frustration, yet the 21-year-old recovered and, with two exquisite drop shots, teed up his fourth championship point.

And this time, there was to be no mistake, a loose return into the net from Djokovic marking a resounding success for tennis' bona fide superstar.

Changing of the guard

For the vast majority of this final, Alcaraz dazzled on Centre Court. Djokovic, in his 10th Wimbledon final, simply could not cope during the opening two sets.

Indeed, even in the third, Alcaraz had the match in his hands until that incredible slip-up. But he recovered, and even if he does not top the ATP rankings, there can be no doubting Alcaraz will always be the man to beat.

At 21 years and 70 days, Alcaraz is the third-youngest player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon in back-to-back editions, after Boris Becker (18y 227d, 1985-86) and Bjorn Borg (21y 26d, 1976-77).

Only Rod Laver (19) has registered more wins from his first 20 matches at the All England Club than Alcaraz (18/20) during the Open Era, who is the youngest player to win all his first six seasonal matches against top-five ranked players since the ATP Rankings were published in 1973.

It is now four grand slam titles for Alcaraz, who will be hoping his victory set the tone for a great sporting day for Spain, with their national football team in action against England in the Euro 2024 final later in the day.

No joy for Novak

At 37, time is running out for Djokovic as he looks to match Roger Federer's haul of eight Wimbledon titles.

For a fleeting moment in that final set, Alcaraz's stumble looked like it might open the door for the Serbian great, but as it was, Djokovic will have to come back and have another shot at that Federer record next year.

Djokovic is also still one away from overtaking Margaret Court for the player with the outright most major titles in history, while he has also been made to wait for his 99th ATP Tour-level title (only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have more in men's singles during the Open Era).

He is the only player to reach 10 men's singles finals at three of the four majors, but the day belonged to Alcaraz, who is just the second player in the Open Era to win his first four singles finals at grand slams, after Federer.

Novak Djokovic knows "history is on the line" as he prepares to face Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final for the second year running.

The Serb can move clear of Margaret Court and become the most decorated player in Grand Slam history with a 25th title, while matching Roger Federer's record of eight men's singles crowns at SW19.

Djokovic will appear in his 10th Wimbledon final on Sunday, aiming to avenge his defeat by Alcaraz in a five-set thriller on Centre Court 12 months ago.

The 37-year-old acknowledges there will be huge expectations on his shoulders when he steps out for a sixth consecutive championship match at the All England Club, but he will attempt to use it as "fuel" for success.

"Obviously, I'm aware that Roger holds eight Wimbledon [titles]. I hold seven," he said. "History is on the line. Also, the 25th potential Grand Slam.

"Of course, it serves as a great motivation, but at the same time, it's also a lot of pressure and expectation.

"Any Grand Slam that I play, there's always history now on the line. I will try to use that as a fuel to play my best tennis.

"Every time I step out on the court now, even though I'm 37 and competing with 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win 99% of the matches that I play.

"I always have to come out on the court and perform my best in order to still be at a level with Carlos, Jannik [Sinner], Sascha [Zverev], Daniil [Medvedev], or any of those guys."

Incredibly, Djokovic has endured a silverware-free season up to this point, while he withdrew from last month's French Open at the quarter-final stage to undergo knee surgery.

However, the 24-time major champion highlighted 2018 as a previous example of a successful campaign that had started slowly.

Indeed, he recovered from an elbow operation earlier in the year - along with fourth-round and quarter-final exits from the Australian Open and French Open respectively - to win Wimbledon and the US Open.

"This year hasn't been that successful for me," he added. "It's probably the weakest results in the first six months I've had in many years.

"That's okay. I had to adapt and accept that, and also really try to find a way out from the injury that I had and regroup.

"At Wimbledon, historically, there have been seasons where I maybe wasn't playing at a desired level, but then I would win a Wimbledon title and then things would change.

"Wimbledon just extracts the best of me and motivates me to always show up and perform the best I can."