LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales arrived at the All England Club on Sunday for the Wimbledon men’s final, only her second public appearance since announcing she was diagnosed with cancer.
Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, was greeted by a standing ovation from the Centre Court crowd as she took her seat in the Royal Box before the start of the championship match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz defeated Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to collect his fourth Grand Slam title at age 21.
It was a rematch of last year’s championship match on the grass of the All England Club, which Alcaraz won in five sets.
This one — played in front of a Centre Court crowd that included Kate, the Princess of Wales, in a rare public appearance since announcing she has cancer — was much easier for Alcaraz, at least until he stumbled while holding three match points as he served for the victory at 5-4 in the third set.
Still, Alcaraz regrouped and eventually picked up a second major trophy in a row after last month’s triumph on the clay at the French Open.
The Spaniard won his first Slam title at the 2022 U.S. Open as a teenager, and no man ever has collected more Slam hardware before turning 22 than he has.
He improved to 4-0 in major finals.
The 37-year-old Djokovic, wearing a gray sleeve on his surgically repaired right knee, was denied in his bid for an eighth Wimbledon title and record 25th major overall. He tore his meniscus at Roland Garros on June 3 and had an operation in Paris two days later.
Less than six weeks later, Djokovic was hardly at his best on Sunday — and Alcaraz certainly had something to do with that.
It was when Alcaraz was right on the brink of victory that things finally became a tad more intriguing, as some spectators offered chants of Djokovic’s two-syllable nickname — “No-le! No-le!” — while others replied with choruses of “Let’s go, Carlos! Let’s go!”
Alcaraz was up 5-4, 40-love in the third set when the occasion got the better of him. He frittered away his first championship point with a double-fault, beginning a run of five mistakes by him that donated points — and that game — to Djokovic. There was a backhand that went awry. A forehand volley. A forehand. Another forehand. That was the only time all match that Djokovic broke Alcaraz.
Suddenly, it was 5-all. Suddenly, Alcaraz appeared rattled. Suddenly, Djokovic could hope.
But in the ensuing tiebreaker, Alcaraz earned his fourth match point and stayed cool as can be this time. Soon he was climbing through the stands to hug his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and others.
Just under 2 1/2 hours earlier, at the outset, the opening game appeared to portend an engrossing, back-and forth contest — and a long one, perhaps worrying some folks about getting to a pub or a couch in time to see England face Spain in the men’s soccer European Championship final in Germany on Sunday night. Alcaraz, of course, had a rooting interest.
All told, that game consisted of seven deuces and 20 points across a hair shy of 14 minutes, containing brilliant moments by both men. Sprinting, sliding, stretching defense by Djokovic. Return winners by Alcaraz. When he slapped a strong reply to a 125 mph (202 kph) serve and drew a wide forehand from Djokovic, Alcaraz cashed in his fifth break chance.
That, it turned out, was the most competitive portion of the proceedings until the third set.
Not to say there weren’t hints of brilliance the rest of the way. Just the outcome never really seemed in dispute.
In the trophy presentation ceremony, the Princess of Wales presented Novak Djokovic with his runner-up plate, followed by presenting the trophy to Alcaraz.
During the match, she was joined in the front row of the Royal Box by her 9-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, and her sister Pippa Matthews.
Since 2016, the princess has been the patron of the All England Club, which hosts Wimbledon each year. Her ceremonial duties include handing out the winner’s trophies after the singles finals, although she was not on hand Saturday when Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini for the women’s title.
Kate revealed in March that she has cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. Her lone public appearance since then was attending last month’s birthday parade for King Charles III. Before that event, she released a statement saying she was “making good progress” but still had “good days and bad days.”
Prince William has been a regular at Wimbledon finals but was not going to be there Sunday. Instead, he planned to go watch England face Spain in the final of the men’s soccer European Championship in Germany. He is the president of the English Football Association.
