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Tennis news today: Carlos Alcaraz reigns supreme once again with his 2nd straight Gentlemen’s singles Wimbledon crown in straight sets from last night v Novak Djokovic

by Sports Benches

It has been another main event rematch of the best youngster Carlos Alcaraz v the best veteran Novak Djokovic at Centre Court for the 2024 Wimbledon Gentleman’s Singles Final after an incredible two weeks through the early rounds and then the 2nd week Finals until were left with the last two remaining in SW19. The winner of the Final belongs to Alcaraz, who was simply too good all along including that 3rd set arm wrestle through the very end of that stage, as he successfully defended his crown here for the second straight year in straight sets: 6-2, 6-2 & 7-6 via the 7-4 tiebreak. Now it will be a week-long break before the next Summer Olympics will arrive on what is going to be another two weeks beginning next Friday 26th July.

It’s a bummer from Djokovic whose grand slam run this year didn’t see him hoist any of the three majors so far & he’s only got the US Open left to hopefully finish things off on a high come early September, especially being the age of 37. He gave his all with class at times including the 3rd set to try and keep himself in the game but he was way off the pace for the most part unfortunately with Alcaraz being the better player throughout the Final. He might had some great battles both past, present and the future of these Spaniards – we’ll see how long he’s got left before he eventually calls it a day alongside Rafael Nadal.

And Alcaraz is the man of the hour and the day right now at SW19’s Centre Court following another brilliant performance during a Final on the grass courts last night. As said, he was too good through the first two sets over a veteran champion who is around the mid to late 30s. Now that’s without saying that Alcaraz had the easiest time ever when Djokovic did his best to keep him in check, particularly during the 3rd set. But at the end of the day as most elite champions need to do, Alcaraz demonstrated his toughness well through the very end of that stage to close out in three straight sets. What’s next for him now is to win the Olympic Tennis gold in Paris in a few weeks time, as well as winning the US Open again later this year & then he can go and finally be the next Australian Open champ come January 2025 at Melbourne Park – more to come soon enough.

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Tennis news: Barbora Krejcikova def. Jasmine Paolini for the Wimbledon ladies’ singles title for 2024 last night via the best of three sets

by Sports Benches

Last night’s Wimbledon ladies singles’ final of 2024 was epic where there were two first time finalists with Jasmine Paolini & Barbora Krejcikova but only one can settle to take home the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy at the finish line. At the start, Krejcikova had an easy 1st set lead but that doesn’t mean Paolini can’t either who also won an easy 2nd set battle brought this Final into a final set decider. It was neck and neck between those two in a one-set drag race but Paolini’s inconsistency to get the job done including at deuces forced Krejcikova’s hand, and she too found a way to get the job done past a series championship point attempts on has been her 2nd grand slam crown since the 2021 Roland Garros on the clay courts.

The final score at SW19 was 6-2, 2-6 and 6-4 as Wimbledon 2024 will wrap up tonight on the 14th and final day’s play with a main event repeat from last year between Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) v Novak Djokovic (Serbia) for the Gentleman’s singles Final.

Commiserations to Paolini with another grand slam runner-up finish following an excellent year so far, having built on that Roland Garros breakthrough with a couple of good wins here and there until the very end. She can be exceptionally mobile despite not being the tallest where the Italian had some good moments including that 2nd set comeback. She’s probably struggled to finish off the puzzle unfortunately when trying to win that arm wrestle towards the end. This is someone Italy should be cheering for on top of Jannik Sinner & Paolini will vow to keep on chasing that breakthrough title soon enough.

And what a moment for Krejcikova with another grand slam singles crown in a while over these last few years. She might be in and out of the Quarter-Finals on a couple of occasions since her 2021 Roland Garros breakthrough win, but the Czech never let her game slip away where class is permanent that gave her country another Wimbledon women’s singles crown after Marketa Vondrousova last year. She’s got some unfinished business ahead to have a regular crack in the last 8 during the 2nd week every year where she will need to keep that consistency at times. But other than that, she played another of her best matches last night & congratulations once again to Krejcikova who is now the new Wimbledon women’s singles champion.

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It’s the Spanish rising star Alcaraz v Seasoned Serbian legend Djokovic now for Sunday’s Wimbledon Final following their respective semi-final wins v Medvedev and Musetti

by Sports Benches

Daniil Medvedev’s hopes of a Wimbledon breakthrough Final will have to wait next time after he lost to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz despite having the opening set via the tiebreak. However, Medvedev just couldn’t build on that good start unfortunately where he lost it the whole way through no matter how close he was before it was too late, and that puts the Spaniard to the Final spotlight once again as Alcaraz had the better pull to wrap things up (7-6 via 7-1 tie, 3-6, 4-6 & 4-6). 

Then in the 2nd semi Lorenzo Musetti put up a best show on what has been his first grand slam semi-final at age 22 including the 2nd set that gave him a 2nd chance to try close things out at the tiebreak. At the end of the day though, it was Novak Djokovic who dominated Centre Court all along in straight sets – even when going up against another young gun wasn’t easy    before he found a way to settle the score with him (4-6, 6-7 via. 2-7 tie and 4-6). 

Now it’s the rising star v the seasoned veteran for the men’s singles trophy come tomorrow night. Novak still has some unfinished business left to add yet another grand slam title onto his big trophy cabinet & he won’t let that young superstar stop him that is the next big thing after his former arch-rival Rafa Nadal. Meanwhile, Alcaraz has been at the top of his game with lots of energy to outshine the Djoker to make it two Men’s Wimbledon titles – having just won the Roland Garros on clay last month on top of his Wimbledon crown last year as well as the US Open nearly two years ago. 

Two days to go now with the women’s singles Final later tonight at SW19, which is 2024 Roland Garros runner-up Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic). Then it’s showtime to finish the 14th & final day’s play tomorrow night between Alcaraz v Djokovic on what has been another great fortnight of Wimbledon in 2024.

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2024 Wimbledon women’s singles semi-finals: Back-to-Back 3rd set finishers where four become two now with Jasmine Paolini v Barbora Krejcikova set for Saturday’s Final

by Sports Benches

Last night’s Wimbledon women’s singles semi-finals day at SW19 was really good to watch with back-to-back three set ties that went down the wire as four finalists now set to become two ahead of Saturday’s main event at Centre Court. It’s going to be Jasmine Paolini from Italy going up against another Czech Republic player but this time in Barbora Krejcikova. Three more days to go with the Men’s semi-final day kicking off tonight with Daniil Medvedev v Carlos Alcaraz followed by Lorenzo Musetti v Novak Djokovic, with Djokovic not required to play the last eight two days ago due to Alex De Minaur’s hip injury.

Semi-Final 1

Croatian Donna Vekic who defeated NZ’s Lulu Sun the other day in the last 8 got away with a fast start before Jasmine Paolini didn’t give up at all by holding Vekic back on both sets – even though it wasn’t easy to pull off at all. However, the Italian finally saw light at the end of the tunnel on what is going to be another grand slam singles final following her breakthrough at Roland Garros last month. She hopes to go one better having fell short to the Queen of Clay Iga Swiatek from Poland including her same doubles final appearance that next day as the final score was 6-2, 4-6 and 6-7 with the 8-10 tiebreaker.

This is a breakthrough Vekic should be proud of after finally being able to go through in her first grand slam semi-final hoping she can go all the way following a really good start. She just couldn’t get the best out of Paolini as the game goes on & that semi-finals exit at the deciding end was really unfortunate. Let’s hope she can overcome that inconsistency after a few past rare Quarter-Final outings.

Paolini is having the time of her life at 28 and the way she stood up to Vekic was unbelievable from the opening set down to finishing off her way towards the finish line via a close arm wrestle. She might not be tall but so quick to wrap things up that Vekic couldn’t do to stop the ball from slipping past her in its tracks. It’s not too late from Paolini to become such a late bloomer in the elite world of grand slam tennis as this next breakthrough awaits in the hope of finally winning a major there.

Semi-Final 2

Now that tie had same difficulty shared by both players, although that was done without tiebreaks. 2022 Champion from Kazakhstan Elena Rybakina had a brilliant charge to open the match with the opening set lead but the game wasn’t over just yet when Barbora Krejcikova had a terrific restart to level the scoreboard at 1-1. Although that 3rd set battle was another arm wrestle with Rybakina not holding back to try and hold off top spot, but it was Krejcikova who got away unscathed on what is going to be another big match-up since her 2021 Roland Garros Final triumph. The final score was 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

Good to see Rybakina bounce back from that early-round disappointment at the Australian Open back in January with back-to-back knockout matches so far this year including this tourney at Wimbledon as sure she’ll keep on doing better from here. The only thing that held back her is the inconsistency following a good start but then struggled to keep Krejcikova away from her sight including during the final set decider under pressure before it was too late that sealed her semi-final elimination outside the Top 2 spots. There’s the Olympics coming up in a few weeks time back on clay where she didn’t do bad there as said with the Roland Garros up until the last 8 & she also did well in 4th behind Elina Svitolina during the last Summer edition in Tokyo.

And Krejcikova is here to fly the Czech flag hoping to give her country another Wimbledon women’s singles trophy this time by herself. She had some issues at the beginning but has always been great to hold her ground v Rybakina for the most part where she brought up the 3rd set decider before she overcame such a tough arm wrestle towards the finish line and she has done it in the hope of taking her 2nd grand slam women’s singles’ title this time on the grass courts. Other than a couple of rare Quarter-Final appearances, she has never lost in a Final before & Saturday could be another one of her best days yet as we’ll see how the Czech will go against someone is so quick & mobile in Paolini.

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Thoughts on Alex De Minaur forced to pull out from Wimbledon due to a hip injury with Novak Djokovic now through to the another semi-final now via walkover

by Sports Benches

We thought we all have woken up this morning hoping Alex De Minaur has played in another grand slam Quarter-Final this time on the grass courts at Wimbledon, even if it means taking on Novak Djokovic. However, a hip injury stopped him from taking part unfortunately where he limped towards the end the other day v Arthur Fils in the R16, and that is going to take some time to recover at this stage. With that being said, Djokovic will go straight to the semis against 25th seed Italian Lorenzo Musetti – an opponent De Minaur would’ve like to face had he took part & win that upset.

It’s a bummer that he couldn’t bring himself to Centre Court just hours before his next scheduled match, having endured an excellent grand slam campaign so far this year. We know that recovery time means he will be out for the Olympics by representing the Australian Olympic Team, but you never know if he can recover in time for the US Open that will begin in late August-early September. If not, another good Davis Cup run followed by homecoming return in January would be the perfect chance for De Minaur to finally make such a big impact like Ash Barty.

For now, we wish De Minaur a speedy recovery while Wimbledon will continue with the semis tonight. It will begin with back-to-back women’s singles matches that will follow the same with the men’s singles matches throughout Friday night & overnight Saturday morning.

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Kiwi Lulu Sun’s fairytale Wimbledon run came to an end overnight by Donna Vekic despite leading the first set with Aussie Alex De Minaur set to take on Novak Djokovic tonight also in the Quarter-Finals

by Sports Benches

New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, who had fairlytale Wimbledon campaign up until the quarters, has just come to an end overnight despite leading the first set v Donna Vekic from Croatia. Plenty of passionate Kiwi fans stayed up overnight just to see her fly the New Zealand flag which was hug since she was born there, even though she spent most of her life across the US and Europe. As said, she fired off really well through the very end of the first set that gave Sun a 1-0 advantage going into the 2nd set.

Unfortunately, she just couldn’t hold on a bit longer when she was one set away at one stage before Vekic brought up the 3rd set decider, and Sun felt blown away & tiring towards the end with the Quarter-Final elimination on her third ever grand slams appearance at the age of 23.

The final score was 7-5, 4-6 and 1-6.

Anyways, glad Sun chose to represent NZ when she was looking to take part in the Billie Jean King Cup rather than Switzerland a few months ago. Now she will walk away with breakthroughs that will live with Sun forever when Sun first entered Wimbledon as a Qualifier much like her fourth round opponent Emma Raducanu back in the 2021 US Open that led to a spectacular breakthrough of her own with the women’s singles crown. Let’s hope this isn’t a one-off occasion by regularly going for last 16/8 runs next time.

Congratulations to the winner Vekic where she never let her standards slip away. She might have been disappointed at times earlier on that saw Sun take that 1st set advantage but she never gave up from the set down to equalise the Kiwi at 1-1 apiece and at the end of the day, she was the better player who got the away with the finishing touches as if it’s a two-horse drag race towards the final stretch. The Croatian will now take on Italian & this year’s Roland Garros runner-up Jasmine Paolini who defeated USA’s Emma Navarro easily in straight sets 6-2 & 6-1.

If one player from the Tasman isn’t enough, there’s always another one when Australia’s own Alex De Minaur will take on Novak Djokovic later tonight also for a spot in Friday’s semi-final. Yes, it’s gonna be tough match indeed but the Demon has earned his way so much on what is going to be another major Quarter-Final of his own off the back of Roland Garros last month where he lost to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. The Aussie sports fans will be right behind him for those staying up just like Ash Barty, Nick Kyrgios & Ajla Tomjlanovic in the past and let’s hope De Minaur can make up a storm v Djokovic.

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Nick Kyrgios’ unreal Wimbledon journey this year fell short as 2nd best to Novak Djokovic in the Gentlemen’s Singles Final

by Sports Benches

Well, it’s been a fairytale run from our Aussie Nick Kyrgios but it all has to come to an end when you can’t underestimate the champion of grass right now from Novak Djokovic with the win. Nick fired off well when he narrowly shut down Novak for the opening set lead. However, he just couldn’t find a way kick on ever since, even though he was so close to take out the 3rd or 4th set in order to stay in this fight. In the end, it’s Novak who now won his fourth straight title here apart from the 2020 cancellation due to COVID – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 via 7-3 tiebreaker.

He may not have taken home that precious gentlemen’s singles trophy but what an unreal journey nonetheless for Nick Kyrgios. It was a great start with the opening set lead to hold off Novak Djokovic all along before he was tied at 1-1 apiece. He never gave up as this final goes on where he was so close from converting a set that would’ve seen him re-gain the lead while edging closer towards C’ship Point himself, but he just couldn’t find the finishing touches needed to get ahead of Novak. As said earlier, he will have to settle 2nd best after his first ever grand slam singles final appearance at 27. However, let’s hope he continues to build on his fairytale Wimbledon campaign & be a regular Top 8 performer in future grand slams.

And congrats to Novak on his 21st grand slam title as he continues to conquer on the grass with title No.7 at SW19. He was on the same page as Kyrgios at the beginning where Novak fell short in the opening set run. He did turn around however, when Novak responded easily at 1-1 before he overcame his opponent through the very end, in which was enough to deny Kyrgios a 5th set decider & wrap it up in three sets as the champ once again. It’s been a while when Novak was runner-up last year to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open, before he was unable to play earlier this year in Melbourne & also being taken out in the Quarter-Finals last month at the French Open by Rafa Nadal. While he can go & celebrate Wimbledon right now, it remains to be seen if his exemption will allow him to play at the next Australian Open in January since he won’t be able to play at the US Open next month.

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Elena Rybakina’s fightback & all-round game beats Ons Jabeur’s fast start for the 2022 Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles title

by Sports Benches

What a way to end this ladies’ singles final on Day 13 at Wimbledon. Ons Jabeur was off to a very easy start with the early lead, but the match wasn’t over just yet when Elena Rybakina held at 1-1 apiece to bring an exciting 3rd set decider. In the end, it’s Rybakina – who overcame Jabeur at the final restart – before she pulled a comfortable finish with a huge breakthrough moment right here on Centre Court. The final score was 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Yes, it’s been so emotional when Jabeur ended up being 2nd best on her first grand slam final appearance. She came here with a fast start to get the ball rolling which blew Rybakina away. However, it’s just not enough to pile the pressure even further when it comes to the 2nd and later 3rd sets. If she had the execution and 2nd half fight to match her opponent’s standard, then this would’ve been a different story via a tiebreak or even regaining the lead. Unfortunately, she couldn’t have them ready to stop Rybakina in its tracks & finish it off her way. But there’s still a whole lot of tennis to look forward to, as Jabeur should continue working hard & try to go one better in the next few grand slams.

And congratulations to 23-year-old Rybakina – who now the Wimbledon ladies singles’ trophy – in her hands for the first time. Now she may have to improve on her build-up base where Rybakina was exposed by Jabeur earlier on. But how about we applaud her fightback, all-round game, patience and execution that helped earn her first major at SW19 – especially with a impressive tall build at 6 foot that got the best of her mind games. She quickly made up lost time from the 2nd set restart when Rybakina tied Jabeur at 1-1, before the path was hers once she took over the lead & controlled the court ever since on the run home. What a moment, what a championship win for the Kazakh. Let’s see if she can continue to be a consistent elite Top 5-10 grand slam player from now on.

For now, Australia is ready to back Nick Kyrgios later night in a bid to take home the gentlemen’s singles trophy against none other than Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

#Tennis #Wimbledon #GrandSlam #OnsJabeur #ElenaRybakina #Tunisia #Kazakhstan #CentreCourt

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Nick Kyrgios is now one win away from taking home the Gentlemen’s Singles title at Wimbledon after Rafa Nadal’s exit due to injury yesterday

by Sports Benches

Earlier this morning here in Australia, we woke up to the news that 22 x grand slam champion from Spain Rafa Nadal made a difficult decision to exit in this year’s running at Wimbledon ahead of tonight’s semi-final due to injury. That paves the way for our own Nick Kyrgios – who is now one step away from winning his first grand slam championship on Sunday – thanks to Rafa’s withdrawal via walkover. For now, he will watch the other semi final in a few hours time & see who will be his next challenger – either Britain’s Cameron Norrie or Novak Djokovic from Serbia.

Yes, it’s been heartbreaking not to see him continue if you’re a Rafa fan, but recovery comes first before getting back up to speed with fitness on the tennis court. We would’ve liked to see him win his third straight grand slam title this year, as well as make it title No.23 & go one better to complete the clean sweep at the US Open.

Although he can take home the fourth & grand slam tournament of the year in mid-September, but he will be approaching age 37 now going into mid-2023. So there will be plenty of decisions made if Rafa is gonna bounce back or else retire next year. If he still chooses to play, then he will try and be the third player to win all four grand slams in a single year before retiring from the sport for good – after Rod Laver back in 1962 & 1969 & Don Budge in 1938.

Meanwhile, what a moment to savour from our Aussie own Nick Kyrgios in his first grand slam final appearance – with the Wimbledon Men’s Singles trophy now on his sights. This is the moment he has been waiting for a long time after he took the world by storm out of nowhere – especially when he shocked 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece in the 3rd Round a few days ago.

Yes, there’s going to be talk about his off-court life over the next few weeks but now it’s not the time to talk about it. Instead, Australia is right behind him on the cusp of making history at Wimbledon – which would mean another golden moment in Australian tennis and sport in general – alongside the now retired Ash Barty earlier this year at the Australian Open.

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Two first-time grand slam finalists: Ons Jabeur & Elena Rybakina are ready to battle it out for the one and only Wimbledon Ladies Singles’ Title tomorrow

by Sports Benches

We now have two first-time ladies singles’ finalists going into tomorrow night on Day 13 here at Wimbledon. We have Tunisian Ons Jabeur where she had an very easy first set spell before she reacted to Tatjana Maria’s 2nd half fightback with a supercharged sprint towards the finish line – which was impossible for Maria to catch her down in 1st. And on the other hand, it’s Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan. She was just too good all along to wrap up in straight sets from start to finish against a two-time Grand Slam Champion – Romania’s Simona Halep. The final score was 6-3, 6-3.

It’s not been the return she wanted in the end when Halep last played in a grand slam final four back in 2020 at the Australian Open. She finally found a way to get the ball rolling after a poor start when Rybakina was way ahead in the opening set. Although she did well to try and stay in contention going into the 2nd set, but Halep just didn’t have the 2nd half momentum to match her opponent’s standard to stand any chance possible of upsurging Rybakina. It’s good to see her back at her best though, as there’s plenty of unfinished business ahead for Halep.

And congratulations to Rybakina on another outstanding display that secured her first-ever grand slam final appearance. There’s a lot of things to say about her natural game & playing style – especially when she got off to a fast start before she read really well on Halep’s strengths earlier in the 2nd set & pulled off another easy run with a straight sets victory past the finish line. It gave us plenty of reasons as to why she’s here to win grand slam silverware, as she has unbelievable potential at age 23. But it remains to seen if Rybakina can overcome Jabeur with the same mindset & fight on what it should be an amazing finish to this women’s singles final tomorrow.

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