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      How the War in Ukraine Turned Tennis Into a Battlefield

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      It was a few days before the start of Wimbledon this summer, and Elina Svitolina, just off a flight from Geneva, had come to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to check in for the tournament. She was returning after a year’s absence. “It feels like it has been 10 years,” she said as she got out of the car. A lot had happened since she last competed at Wimbledon, in 2021. She had given birth to a daughter named Skaï, the first child for her and her husband, the French player Gaël Monfils. Also, her country, Ukraine, had been invaded by Russia.Listen to This ArticleFor more audio journalism and storytelling, More

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      A Fan Favorite Is Still Trying to Clear Her Major Hurdle

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      Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian player who is popular among spectators and fellow competitors, is the only woman to appear in three of the last five major singles finals. But she has lost them all.Seven weeks was not nearly enough time to soothe Ons Jabeur’s emotional wounds. After losing the Wimbledon women’s singles final in July, she returned home to Tunisia to put some space between her and another painful loss in a Grand Slam tournament final — the third in her career, all in the past 14 months.In the aftermath of that tearful defeat, Jabeur’s ubiquitous smile and easygoing humor are still there, and so is her refreshing honesty.“They say time heals,” she said on Friday. “I’m still waiting a bit. The Wimbledon loss still hurts.”Jabeur is the only woman to appear in three of the last five major singles finals. But with no titles to show for those runs, the pressure mounts for a player who is so popular with fans and competitors that many of them would be delighted to see her finally take home a winner’s trophy.“She’s got the world on her shoulders, unfortunately,” said Billie Jean King, who won 12 major singles titles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including four U.S. Opens. “She is so nice. Everybody loves Ons. Everybody. So of course I’d like her to win and get that monkey off her back, because she is a real pioneer for her continent and her country.”Jabeur on her way to a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Marketa Vondrousova last month in the Wimbledon final. Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBorn and raised in Tunisia, Jabeur became the first Arab woman to win a WTA Tour title, at the 2021 Birmingham Classic in England, when she was 26. A year later, at Wimbledon, she became the first African woman to reach a Grand Slam tournament final, and later that summer, she was the first African and first Arab woman to get to a U.S. Open final.The world cheered her on, and continues to do so, both for her trailblazing accomplishments and her magnetic personality. In almost every match, she is favored by the majority of spectators, many of whom yearn to see her win the most coveted titles. Even outside her country, she is a sentimental favorite.“I do feel that,” she said last week, “especially when I step on a tennis court, most of the people cheering for me. That’s a privilege. It’s a positive thing. I don’t think anyone would hate that. But I do take it as a great energy.”Jabeur developed into an elite player relatively late in her career, and did not break into the top 20 of the singles rankings until Aug. 16, 2021. Her 29th birthday is Monday, the day before she faces Camila Osorio, a Colombian ranked 68th, in the first round of the U.S. Open. It is realization that helps her cope with the disappointment of going 0-3 in major finals. Sometimes, it just takes time.Always ready with a quick one-liner and often poking fun at herself and others in a playful way, Jabeur elicits smiles wherever she goes. At the recent tournament near Cincinnati, Iga Swiatek, the world’s top-ranked player, lamented the vicious messages she receives on social media after certain matches, often from disgruntled gamblers. They will sometimes lash out at players, even after the players win, because it was not by enough to win a bet. Swiatek said she had received abuse for winning a match in three sets instead of two.“I believe these people should not exist,” Jabeur said in support, then added, “But, yeah, next time, Iga, don’t lose a set.”She was joking, of course. And she is one of the few players who can make such a comment without incurring the wrath of fellow players. They know how she is and recognize her wit. Before she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in a quarterfinal on Aug. 18 in Ohio, Jabeur referenced her victory over Sabalenka at Wimbledon a month earlier.“I know she didn’t forgive me for Wimbledon semifinals,” Jabeur said with a smile.But when the match commenced, Jabeur injured her right foot. An athletic trainer taped it tightly and Jabeur finished the match, but she was not moving well, raising concerns for how she would fare at this U.S. Open, where she is seeded fifth. Sabalenka, despite their rivalry and despite Jabeur’s cheeky comment about not being forgiven for Wimbledon, was sympathetic toward her popular opponent.“I’m a little bit sad for Ons,” she said. “I really hope she’ll recover fast and she’ll be ready for the U.S. Open.”Jabeur was not specific when asked about her foot injury on Friday. She did, however, account for a slight bit of congestion heading into the tournament.“American A.C. kills me,” she said about the air-conditioning.Jabeur was also asked about practicing with Marketa Vondrousova, who played the villain by beating Jabeur, 6-4, 6-4, in the Wimbledon final in July. Was the practice session an attempt by Jabeur to exorcise some demons?“Tried,” she said. “It did not work.”Her humor accounts for much of her popularity. But so do her tears. Sometimes the entire tennis world aches for Jabeur.Jabeur broke down during her on-court interview at Wimbledon.Tolga Akmen/EPA, via ShutterstockAfter she lost to Vondrousova at Wimbledon, she broke down during her on-court interview, evoking heart-wrenching memories of Andy Murray and Jana Novotna, who each cried on the same court after losing finals. Jabeur called it the most painful loss of her life, and it was plain to see. Her vulnerability in the moment, allowing the world to grasp how much it all meant to her and how painful it was to leave so many supporters disappointed, made Jabeur an even more sympathetic figure.Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open men’s champion and one of Jabeur’s favorite players when she was a child, messaged her after Wimbledon and urged her to take time to recuperate — advice she followed. Roddick also told her he had more faith in her eventually winning Wimbledon than he had had in himself (that was probably because Roddick had to contend with Roger Federer, who beat Roddick in three Wimbledon finals and one U.S. Open final). Roddick discussed his admiration for Jabeur in his blog after the loss.“She’s someone I really hope wins a Grand Slam title at some point,” he wrote.But with each successive loss, the challenge grows more daunting and the pressure grows. Playing for so much and knowing that millions of people look to her to find inspiration is a weighty responsibility, indeed.“During a match she’s got to find a way not to be thinking about the world at all,” King said. “Just the ball and you. One ball at a time, in the now, play every point. She’s got to stay there for the whole match. It’s the only way she’s got a chance.” More

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      Jessica Pegula Is Still in the Hunt for her First Major Title

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      She is the top female American tennis player and knows that she has to be more aggressive to win more.Jessica Pegula strode into Wimbledon’s cavernous interview room, bucket hat perched on her head, and stared at the empty room. When she realized that there were no media members there to ask her about her second-round win over Cristina Bucsa, Pegula chuckled, got up and walked out.Pegula is never entirely shocked when attention is diverted away from her. Though ranked No. 3 in the world, the highest among American women, and the champion at the Canadian Open two weeks ago, Pegula, 29, has never advanced to the semifinals in singles at a Grand Slam tournament. She is 0-6 in quarterfinal appearances at the majors, including at this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon. The United States Open, where she lost to Iga Swiatek in a tight two-setter last year, is her final chance this season.At 5-foot-7, Pegula doesn’t have a thunderous serve, like Aryna Sabalenka. And she doesn’t possess flashy movements like the No. 1 Swiatek. Pegula can also flutter emotionally, as when she let a 4-1 lead slip in the third set against the eventual Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Instead, it is her consistency that sets her apart.“Her ball-striking is really, really good,” said David Witt, her coach since 2019. “If I were to think of a player who hits this clean it would be [former No. 1] Lindsay Davenport.”Pegula’s game is durable and reliable. She has a wide wingspan and hits with tremendous power off the forehand and backhand. Because of her doubles success with Coco Gauff, she has become a more-than-competent volleyer.She also studiously avoids the histrionics that many of her compatriots get entangled in.“I’m pretty chill, pretty laid-back,” said Pegula in an interview during Wimbledon in July. “It takes a lot to get me going emotionally, excited or upset. Maybe that’s good for the U.S. Open, because I’m able to stay well-balanced.”For Pegula, the Open is a mixed bag. A Buffalo native (her parents own the Buffalo Bills of the N.F.L. and the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League), she likes the fan support in New York but struggles with the mayhem.“I feel like the Open is really hot and crowded,” said Pegula, who failed to qualify four times at the Open before reaching the third round in 2020. “Everything is kind of against you. There’s so much going on. You’re usually really hyped up, and it’s kind of like you’re running on fumes. There’s just so much energy, and it can be really fun, but it can also zap a lot out of you. It’s something you have to learn how to balance.”Jessica Pegula serving during a singles semifinal at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Aug. 5. “Her ball-striking is really, really good,” said her coach, David Witt.Geoff Burke/Usa Today Sports, via ReutersBalance is particularly important for Pegula, who weathered career-threatening knee and hip injuries that kept her out of the U.S. Open a decade ago, and then she faced the emotional turmoil of her mother’s heart attack last June.Jimmy Arias, a former top five player who has worked with Pegula, once tried to impress upon her that there were two types of competitors: a lion and a rat. Pegula, with her fearsome ground strokes, has long been a lion. What she needed to adopt was the rat part.“In a nuclear explosion, a rat is the only animal to survive,” Arias said. “J.P. had the weapons of a lion, but she needed the mentality of the rat. She had to learn how to dig, claw and scratch her way out. Now, when she’s in trouble, she can find her way out of a point.”Pegula understands that; it’s just the execution that can be tricky.“I’m doing everything to put myself in a good position,” she said. “It’s just a little more belief in myself in the later stages of tournaments and being more aggressive in the bigger moments.”And if she doesn’t break through and win a major, will she feel unfulfilled?“If I had to stop tomorrow, I think I’d be pretty satisfied,” she said. “I got to have this amazing career, proved a lot to myself and to a lot of other people. Obviously, there’s more that I want to do, but I’ve gotten through the really tough parts and a lot of really big lows. To come out of that has been a win in itself.” More

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      Alcaraz Wins Wimbledon in a Thrilling Comeback Against Djokovic

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      Carlos Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon title and left Novak Djokovic, the overwhelming favorite, with his first finals loss at the All England Club in a decade.After years of false starts, men’s tennis finally has a proper war between the generations.In a startling comeback that rocked the All England Club’s venerable Centre Court, Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old Spanish star who has blitzed the sport in his brief career, pulled off the nearly impossible, beating Novak Djokovic in a Wimbledon final on the grass that the man widely recognized as the greatest ever to play the sport has long treated as his back lawn.Besides chasing the Grand Slam, Djokovic was aiming to extinguish the dreams of another heralded upstart challenging his hold on the game, which, so far, has amounted to 23 Grand Slam tournament titles. Alcaraz is the standard-bearer of the next group of players who are supposed to move the sport beyond the era of the Big Three, an era that includes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and that Djokovic has ruled longer than many expected.Alcaraz won the U.S. Open last year in thrilling, acrobatic fashion, serving notice that men’s tennis was going to be shaken up by an unusual talent. This year, he withdrew from the Australian Open to nurse an injury and was defeated by Djokovic in the semifinals at the French Open. But the buzz around him and his future never diminished.“It’s great for the new generation,” Alcaraz said, “to see me beating him and making them think that they are capable to do it.”Down after the first set and struggling simply to avoid embarrassment, Alcaraz rediscovered his unique combination of speed, power and touch and figured out the subtleties of grass-court tennis in the nick of time.He clawed his way back into the match in an epic, 85-minute second set in which he was a point away from what figured to be an insurmountable two-set deficit.He seized control of the match midway through the third set, then teetered in the fourth set as Djokovic, Wimbledon’s four-time defending champion and seven-time winner, rediscovered the footwork that has long served as the foundation of his success.Djokovic is as dangerous a player as there has ever been when facing defeat, but Alcaraz rose once more to claim victory, 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, not only overcoming Djokovic’s endless skills and talents but breaking his spirit, too.When the momentum swung one last time, as Alcaraz cranked a backhand down the line to break Djokovic’s serve early in the fifth set, the Serb with the steely mind smashed his racket on the net post. A few points earlier, he had frittered away his chance to seize control, swinging at a floating forehand in the middle of the court and sending it into the net. Now, just a few minutes later, the thing that has so rarely happened to him in recent years — a loss to a relative newcomer on a grand stage, especially this grand stage — was happening.Last month, Djokovic, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, finally eclipsed his longtime rivals, Nadal and Federer. But this loss cost him a shot at one of the few prizes he has not achieved — becoming the first player since 1969 to achieve the Grand Slam in men’s singles, winning all four major tournaments in a single year. He was within one match of pulling off the feat two years ago. This time, at 36 years old, an age when most champions have retired to the broadcast booth, he was eight matches away.It seemed so close, but in the final game, Alcaraz showcased why everyone has been making such a fuss about him for so long. He finished Djokovic with his sexiest weapons — the silky drop shot, the artful topspin lob, a blasting serve and one last ripping forehand that Djokovic reached for but could not lift over the net.Alcaraz dropped to the ground and rolled on the grass, his hands over his face in disbelief. He hugged Djokovic at the net, shook hands with the umpire, picked up a loose ball from the grass and punted it into the crowd before heading into the stands to hug his parents and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero.“Beating Novak at his best, in this stage, making history, being the guy to beat him after 10 years unbeaten on that court, is amazing for me,” Alcaraz said.After taking the champion’s trophy from Catherine, Princess of Wales, on a day that brought out A-list celebrities like the actors Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, Emma Watson and Hugh Jackman and the singer Ariana Grande, he got to joke with King Felipe VI of Spain, who also watched the young Spanish player’s triumph.“Now that I won I hope you are coming to more of my matches,” Alcaraz said to the king.King Felipe VI of Spain was among those who watched Alcaraz’s triumph.Sebastien Bozon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesOne of Alcaraz’s many mentors, Nadal, the great Spanish player who had dethroned another Wimbledon icon, Federer, in 2008, wrote on social media that Alcaraz had brought “immense joy” to Spanish tennis.“A very strong hug, and enjoy the moment Champion!!!” wrote Nadal, who missed the tournament because of recent hip and abdominal surgery.The loss created a rare moment for Djokovic, who acknowledged that on this day at least he had lost to a better player.“A tough one to swallow,” Djokovic said of the loss. He then choked back tears as he looked at his son, who was smiling at him from a courtside seat. “Thank you for supporting me,” he told his family. “I will give you a big hug and we can all love each other.”On Saturday, Mats Wilander, the seven-time Grand Slam winner who is now one of the most respected voices in the sport, put Djokovic’s chances of beating Alcaraz and winning the four 2023 Grand Slam events at 90 percent.“He’s got too many weapons,” Wilander said. “He knows everything there is to know about the sport. He’s got it all down to a science. The opponents aren’t ready for him.”In the first minutes of Sunday’s final, Wilander looked prophetic. The most important men’s match on the tennis calendar looked like a contest between two players who had walked onto Centre Court under completely different circumstances.It was the usual July Sunday for Djokovic. But Alcaraz was playing in his first Wimbledon final, and that weight was made heavier after the stress-induced, full-body cramps he suffered during his semifinal showdown with Djokovic at the French Open last month. That had been the first major moment when Alcaraz, the top seed and the world No. 1, failed to live up to his hype.Sunday was different. But not at first.Alcaraz finished the match much stronger than he began.Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesFrom the opening moments, Djokovic pinned Alcaraz in the back corner of the court with low slicing shots that made it impossible for Alcaraz to go on the attack. He crushed service returns, aiming at the brown patches of dirt at Alcaraz’s feet and sending him running backward.Djokovic was a set up before the match was a half-hour old but Alcaraz held a 2-0 lead in the second.Alcaraz’s chance to salvage his maiden Wimbledon final came down to a crucial tiebreaker at the end of an epic second set that lasted three times as long as the first one. Tiebreakers are Djokovic’s specialty. Entering the final, he had won 14 straight in Grand Slam matches.The moment brought out the best in both players — the big serves to the corners; nasty drop shots; crisp, point-saving winners with the opponent closing in at the net — and the packed crowd, with alternating chants of “Novak, Novak,” and “Carlos, Carlos” echoing around the Centre Court overhangs.And then just when it looked as if Djokovic was poised to grab a commanding two-set lead, he sent two backhands into the net to give Alcaraz a chance to draw even. Alcaraz then cracked a backhand return of Djokovic’s serve down the line to knot the match at a set each.Djokovic struggled against Alcaraz’s combination of power and speed and lost the second and third sets.Dylan Martinez/ReutersThe former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson once said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.Alcaraz had landed a shot to Djokovic’s jaw, and Djokovic felt it. The third set became an array of Djokovic errors. He battled to regain a foothold in the match, never more so than a game midway through that went to 13 deuces, that ended with a Djokovic forehand into the net.As he usually does when he is down, Djokovic took a lengthy bathroom break before the fourth set. He splashes water on his face and talks to himself in the mirror. Usually, he emerges a different player, and Sunday was no different, as he seized the initiative once more, breaking Alcaraz’s serve midway through, getting back in his head and taking the set as Alcaraz, once more edgy and on the defensive, double-faulted.After nearly four hours, they were back where they started. Nearly five hours of drama would come down to a few moments.“He surprised me. He surprised everyone,” Djokovic said of Alcaraz, who, in his eyes, had taken elements of his style, Nadal’s and Federer’s and produced a prowess on grass — his grass! — far sooner than he expected. “I haven’t played a player like him, ever.”Alcaraz with his first Wimbledon trophy but probably not his last.Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press More

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      Carlos Alcaraz Shows Novak Djokovic That His Championships Are Numbered

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      Djokovic had won the past three Grand Slams he played in to reach 23 major titles, but Alcaraz, Wimbledon’s newest singles champion, proved on Sunday he is not invincible.With the driving force of a forehand winner, Novak Djokovic slammed his racket into a net post, then quickly picked up the twisted wreckage and sat down. It was an uncharacteristic outburst of rage from the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, and it seemed to be about more than the point he had just lost.Djokovic, who fully expected to win Wimbledon on Sunday, and perhaps a few more times in the coming years, appeared to be gaining a realization in that moment: His singular dominance of the men’s tennis tour in recent years may be over.Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old Spaniard, was demonstrating incredible mental strength and tennis skill in a five-set gem, and an enticing new rivalry was being born.“Ha, I hope so,” Djokovic, the 36-year-old Serb, said with a laugh. “For my sake. He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around.”Just when Djokovic had outlasted Roger Federer and peak Rafael Nadal, now he has to contend with a composed, talented and versatile young bull who has everything it takes to be one of the greats of the game.If a torch was not passed on Sunday, it was at least up for grabs.“Novak’s got someone to deal with now, for sure,” said Chris Evert, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who watched from the royal box as Alcaraz beat Djokovic in an electrifying conclusion to Wimbledon. “It’s like when Steffi Graf came up and started beating me and Martina. We saw right away how good she was, and she went on to win more Slams than either of us.”From 1981 until 1986, Evert and Martina Navratilova, who was also in the royal box Sunday, won 18 of the 20 major titles, including a run of 15 in a row. Then Graf vanquished Navratilova in the 1987 French Open final and went on to win 22 major championships in all.Until Sunday, Djokovic seemed invincible in best-of-five-sets matches at Grand Slam tournaments and especially on Centre Court, where he had not lost in 10 years. With Federer retired and Nadal dealing with chronic injury problems at 37, one could have envisioned Djokovic vacuuming up several more trophies over the next few years while Alcaraz honed his game.It’s plenty honed.Alcaraz was known for being good on clay and hardcourts but he surprised Djokovic with his skill on grass.Isabel Infantes/EPA, via ShutterstockAlcaraz put it all on display in the 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory that gave him his first Wimbledon singles title and robbed Djokovic of the chance to win five Wimbledons in a row and a record-tying eighth for his career.Djokovic was also hoping — and was favored — to win his 24th major title, which would have tied Margaret Court for the most in a career and left just the U.S. Open later this summer to complete the Grand Slam. It all seemed virtually inevitable, but now he may have to recalibrate.“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “Roger and Rafa have their own obvious strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for successful career on all surfaces.”Perhaps the reason for the racket slam, which Djokovic attributed to the frustration of the moment — Alcaraz had just broken his serve in the fifth — is because the Wimbledon grass was where Djokovic had hoped to enjoy a slight edge over his precocious new rival in the coming years.Alcaraz grew up playing mostly on clay, but he quickly adapted to hard courts and won the U.S. Open in September when he was only 19. Djokovic was absent from that event and Alcaraz’s victory came against Casper Ruud of Norway, who is a good player, but no Novak Djokovic.Now he has shown his mettle on grass, against the best players in the most prestigious tournament in the world. During an on-court ceremony after the match, Djokovic, who teared up when mentioning his son, graciously lauded Alcaraz. He noted that, yes, he knew Alcaraz would be an instant force on red clay and blue paint. Now, grass, too? Already?“I didn’t expect him to play so well this year on grass,” Djokovic said. “But he’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt. He’s playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces and he deserves to be where he is.”Even before the racket smash, there was another extended moment when Djokovic might have gotten the signal that he was in for a challenging few years.With Djokovic serving at 1-3 in the third set, the two men played a 32-point game with 13 deuces that lasted over 26 minutes. Both players ran and dove and made amazing shots, and the spectators hollered in delight at the extraordinary play, and the guts on display.“The nerve Alcaraz showed was absolutely remarkable,” Evert said.Finally, after Djokovic hit a forehand into the net, Alcaraz had broken serve again. He put his finger to his ear, asking the crowd for more noise, and right there Djokovic had to know. For as many years as he can hang on, Alcaraz will probably be there, too, even on grass.“I think it’s good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hour, five-set thriller,” Djokovic said. “Couldn’t be better for our sport in general.” More

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      Ons Jabeur Calls Wimbledon Loss ‘the Most Painful’ of Her Career

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      “Honestly, I felt a lot of pressure, feeling a lot of stress,” Jabeur said after losing the women’s singles final to Marketa Vondrousova.With the hopes of a country, a continent and a world of tennis lovers who felt she was long overdue urging her toward history, Ons Jabeur fell agonizingly short. For the second time at Wimbledon, and the third time in a year at a Grand Slam, Jabeur had hoped to become the first woman from Tunisia, the first from Africa and the first Arabic speaker to win a major women’s singles tournament.The pressure of playing for so much and so many may have caught up to her, again.“Honestly, I felt a lot of pressure, feeling a lot of stress,” Jabeur said Saturday after losing the women’s singles final, 6-4, 6-4 to Marketa Vondrousova. “But like every final, like every match I played, I was telling myself, ‘It’s OK, it’s normal.’ I honestly did nothing wrong.”For years on tour, Jabeur has done everything right, except win a title that she and her fans so desperately desire. Tears flowed again on Centre Court, as Jabeur joined the likes of Andy Murray and Jana Novotna, two former Wimbledon finalists who each cried after losing finals they had hoped would be their breakthrough championships.Jabeur, who lost last year’s Wimbledon final — and the final of the last U.S. Open — struggled against Vondrousova, who won to become the first unseeded Wimbledon women’s champion.Shortly after, during the on-court ceremony, Jabeur broke down, wiping tears from her pink eyes as she spoke to spectators, and holding the runner-up trophy like a dirty dish. She called it “the most painful loss” of her career. Then, when she receded into the elegant hallways of Wimbledon’s main stadium, Catherine, Princess of Wales, offered a consoling hug.“I told her hugs are always welcome from me,” said Jabeur, who required the same sympathetic shoulder last year after losing to Elena Rybakina in the final.Another famous royal hug was given in 1993 by the Duchess of Kent to Novotna, after Novotna had lost to Steffi Graf in the final and began to weep during the trophy ceremony. Five years later, Novotna won it all.In 2012, Murray was in pieces after losing to Roger Federer in the final, barely able to speak to the fans — and to a nation — during his on-court speech. Carrying the hopes of British sports fans yearning for their first men’s champion in 77 years at their home grand slam, Murray’s voice cracked and he dabbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. A few weeks later he won the U.S. Open and the following year he won Wimbledon, by beating Novak Djokovic, this year’s men’s finalist who plays on Sunday against Carlos Alcaraz.There is precedent, and perhaps some luck, for popular players who demonstrate their vulnerability and shed a tear after a gutting loss. Jabeur also received a hug from Kim Clijsters, who lost four finals in major tournaments before finally winning the U.S. Open in 2005. She eventually finished her career with four Grand Slam singles titles, one for every loss.“It brings back a lot of memories and thoughts about how you go about it,” Clijsters said in an interview Saturday after the match. “I was trying to remember the process I went through. There is no real secret, it’s just trying to give yourself the opportunity to get to that stage again.”At the 2001 French Open, Clijsters sought to become the first Belgian woman to win a major tournament. She lost to Jennifer Capriati, 12-10, in an epic third set, one day after her 18th birthday. Clijsters said she was too young to handle all the attention, scrutiny and on-court challenges if she had won that day.Jabeur showed flashes of resilience early in the second set against Vondrousova, but could not make the most of it.Andrew Couldridge/ReutersJabeur, who turns 29 in August, feels more than ready to win. But the pressure only increases with each failed attempt. Clijsters noticed that Jabeur had poor body language Saturday, slumping after mistakes and showing zero positive emotions following a good shot.“That shows that the doubt was overpowering everything during the match,” Clijsters said. “The biggest thing she has to learn is to fake it. Fake it until you make it.”Faking it could be hard for Jabeur, who appears as genuine as she is talented; one of the many reasons fans are so drawn to her. As the No. 6 seed, she played magnificently here, avenging last year’s devastating loss to No. 3 Rybakina in a quarterfinal and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in their semifinal. Many thought it was Jabeur’s time, making the loss more excruciating and eliciting sympathy even from Vondrousova’s camp.“When I saw her, I started to cry, too,” said Stepan Simek, Vondrousova’s husband. “Ons is a very lovely human. She has a good heart and is very friendly with opponents, and even to me. I was very sad because she deserves to be a Grand Slam champion. She will make it one day.” More

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      Marketa Vondrousova Wins Wimbledon Over Ons Jabeur

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      Vondrousova of the Czech Republic overpowered Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the first set and never looked back, winning 6-4, 6-4.Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic became one of the most unlikely Wimbledon champions Saturday, beating Ons Jabeur, a trailblazing Tunisian, in straight sets.Vondrousova, 24, became the latest in a long line of Czech-born women to lift the most important trophy in the sport, going back to Martina Navratilova’s domination of Wimbledon in the 1980s, after Navratilova had defected to the United States.Like Navratilova, Vondrousova is a left-handed player with a nasty slice serve that she used throughout the afternoon in the tensest moments when Jabeur tried to take control of the match or mount yet another comeback.For Jabeur, the loss in a second straight Wimbledon final, against an opponent who had accomplished far less than other women she beat on the way to the precipice of tennis history, was nothing less than heartbreaking. Jabeur has now lost three of the last five Grand Slam finals, falling just short of becoming the first woman of Arab descent and from Africa to win the most important championships in tennis.Like most tennis players, Jabeur has long dreamed of winning Wimbledon and last year used a picture of the women’s trophy as the lock screen on her phone.Jabeur started fast, breaking a nervous Vondrousova’s serve repeatedly in the first set. She was in tight form the beginning, but holding a 4-2 lead in the first set she unraveled, sending forehands into the net, floating backhands beyond the baseline.Ons Jabeur struggled uncharacteristically throughout the match.Tolga Akmen/EPA, via ShutterstockBefore she knew it, Jabeur was down a set and had lost her serve to start the second. For her part, Vondrousova was doing all she needed to, keeping the ball in play, whipping her curling, spinning shots that were so different from the power which Jabeur had faced in her recent matches.While Jabeur steadied herself, and even surged to another lead in the second set, at 3-1, it all went away once more, as Jabeur struggled to find the court and sent too many balls into the middle of the net.She lost five of the last six games, and another woman from Czech Republic was the Wimbledon champion. More

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      Carlos Alcaraz Gets a Shot at Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon Singles Final

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      “For Novak, it is one more day, one more moment,” Alcaraz said of Sunday’s final. “For me, it’s going to be the best moment of my life, I think.”If Carlos Alcaraz were more patient, perhaps he could just wait for Novak Djokovic to fade away. At 20, Alcaraz is 16 years younger than the great champion, and the day is likely to come when Djokovic is either retired or in decline, and Alcaraz can claim the tennis kingdom as his own.But Alcaraz has never demonstrated an inclination to wait. When he won the United States Open in September at 19 years 129 days, he became the youngest male player to reach the No. 1 ranking, and he was the second youngest, after Pete Sampras at 19 years 28 days, to win that tournament in the Open era. Djokovic was absent from that event.Now, with one more win, he would become the fifth male player in the Open era to win more than one Grand Slam tournament title before his 21st birthday. What better way to do it than to grab it now, straight out of Djokovic’s steely grip? In boxing, it is said that to capture the crown, one must convincingly vanquish the champ, and Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s singles final could be the grass court equivalent of a 15-round heavyweight bout.It features a potentially riveting matchup between Alcaraz, who defeated Daniil Medvedev, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, in their semifinal on Friday, against Djokovic, who also dismissed Jannik Sinner in straight sets. It is No. 1 against No. 2 — the 23-time Grand Slam tournament winner, who is 7-1 in Wimbledon finals, against a young Spaniard playing in his first.It is also a network programmer’s dream, a premier matchup that will determine whether Djokovic will extend his record of 23 Grand Slam tournament titles by winning his fifth consecutive Wimbledon trophy, or whether the heavy-hitting newcomer overcomes past nerves to ascend the throne.Alcaraz with Russia’s Daniil Medvedev after their semifinal match on Friday.Dylan Martinez/ReutersAlcaraz wants it now, and he wants to do it against Djokovic with millions of people watching — not against a lesser-known player like Casper Ruud, his opponent in the U.S. Open final, which was a mostly one-sided affair.“It’s more special to play a final against a legend of our sport,” Alcaraz said. “If I win, it will be amazing for me, not only to win a Wimbledon title, but to do it against Novak. I always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”Alcaraz and Djokovic have met only twice on court, and each has won. Alcaraz took a best-of-three match on clay at the 2022 Madrid Masters. Djokovic’s victory was perhaps more telling. It was in a semifinal at the French Open last month, a match that included a second set of remarkable tennis. But then Alcaraz began to cramp up across his entire body. First it was assumed it was from heat or a lack of fluids. But Alcaraz admitted it was from nerves.He managed to play through it, but a match that had been developing into a classic soon deflated into a gentle cruise for Djokovic, who went on to win the French Open, his second major title of the year.“He does nothing wrong on the court,” Alcaraz said. “Physically he’s a beast. Mentally he’s a beast.”Alcaraz promised on Friday, after he had run Medvedev off the court, that he would employ brain exercises to cope with the pressure, and he did not fear a repeat of his last encounter with Djokovic. But when he walks into that Centre Court coliseum in front of an audience thirsting for some sort of history, all of the intellectual games and self-assuring mantras could be worthless, especially against a player of Djokovic’s talent, determination and experience.Sunday will be unlike anything Alcaraz has experienced, even in his one previous major final, against Ruud. Djokovic will be playing in his 35th major tournament final. In Alcaraz’s mind, Djokovic might as well be taking out the trash.“For Novak, it is one more day, one more moment,” Alcaraz said. “For me, it’s going to be the best moment of my life, I think.”“For Novak, it is one more day, one more moment,” Alcaraz said. “For me, it’s going to be the best moment of my life, I think.”Andrew Couldridge/ReutersOne element of intrigue goes back a few days, to when Alcaraz’s father was spotted videotaping Djokovic as he practiced. Alcaraz dismissed the notion that he could gain any competitive advantage from it. All the video evidence he needs of Djokovic’s tactics and tendencies is easily accessible from Djokovic’s eight previous Wimbledon finals, which were shown on television.When Alcaraz was asked about the matter at a news conference, it was presented as a gotcha moment. But he did not hide it.“Oh, probably it is true,” he said. “My father is a huge fan of tennis. He doesn’t only watch my matches. I think he get into the club at 11 a.m., get out at 10 p.m., watching matches, watching practice from everyone. Able to watch Djokovic in real life, yeah, probably it is true he filmed the sessions.”More important than the practice courts is what happens on Centre Court. Alcaraz certainly looked ready on Friday, using his combination of overwhelming forehand and deft backhand slices to outlast Medvedev, who has beaten both and has lost to both.“Interesting match,” Medvedev mused. “We cannot say who is going to win for sure.”We can say that the winner will be one of the two best in the world. More