Yesterday evening Carlos Alcaraz crushed Novak Djokovic in straight sets to defend his Wimbledon crown. Equalling the Open Era record for most Grand Slam wins, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz overpowered seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title on Sunday. Five weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee, World No.2 Djokovic renewed his inter-generational rivalry with defending champion Alcaraz in the rematch of the Wimbledon 2023 final. A fourteen-minute opening game, with seven deuces and five break points – Alcaraz and Djokovic kickstarted the final of the Wimbledon final in grand fashion on the Centre Court.

I use to be a big tennis fan. When I was 11 years old, back in 1987, I watched the Wimbledon final in which Aussie Pat Cash beat then world #1 Ivan Lendl in straight sets and then proceeded to start a new tradition – climbing into the stands and up to the player’s box at Centre Court, where he celebrated with his family, girlfriend, and coach. Since then any other players have done this, including Alcaraz. That made me a fan of the sport and I started watching the four major grand slam tournaments and the David Cup and then with the onset of cable tv a lot more matches and tournaments. However when my favourite players retired I slowly started to lose interest.

Also by 1997 I started watching club football a lot more and tennis slowly went down the rankings of things I want to watch. I barely watched any tennis in my 20s and 30s and upto now in my late 40s. Yesterday was my first full match since…….I dunno, maybe 2001. It was fun to watch and also see Kate Middleton present the trophy. That was nice to see.