Travel Blog

The men’s final on Sunday was an improvement over the women’s final on Saturday in terms of quality and – for many fans – outcome. Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian who is possibly the most beloved tennis player in the world (even the women she beats adore her) was once again overcome by the occasion and lost, this time to an unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in a match of head-scratching unforced errors.

The men’s final was a more fitting tug-of-war between the old guard – 36-year-old GOAT Novak Djokovic – and the still-not-able-to-drink-in-the-U.S superstar Carlos Alcaraz. One of the elder’s service games, which he ultimately lost, lasted almost 27 minutes – the length of some sets. Neither player was giving an inch, which meant fewer of the unforced errors that marred the women’s final. When they occurred, they were generally committed by the Serb, who, at the end of one game in the fifth set, smacked his racket against the net post, leaving a dent in the wood and a fine example for his two young boys watching from the player’s box. It was impossible to imagine Djokovic’s two old rivals – Federer and Nadal – exhibiting such behavior on the hallowed Centre Court (or any court for that matter). Djokovic became the only player that I’m aware of to intentionally cause destruction to the All England grounds, though this act went unmentioned in the post-match interview, during which Djokovic was as gracious as always in defeat. But his temper in the heat of battle – he also at one point blew sarcastic kisses to the pro-Alcaraz crowd – is a major reason he doesn’t get the love and respect that his rivals did, a love and respect he so desperately wants.