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LONDON — Carlos Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, shattering the Serb’s dream of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown.

World No. 1 Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first set and saving a set point in the second to win 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre Court.

It was a second major for the 20-year-old Spaniard following his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s champion.

The result will also spark feverish speculation over the start of a generational shift, with 36-year-old Djokovic carrying the torch of the “Big Three” now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is sidelined, perhaps permanently.

Australian Open and French Open champion Djokovic had been bidding to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and match Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 Slams.

When he won his first major at the Australian Open in 2008, Alcaraz was still three months shy of his fifth birthday.

Djokovic was playing in his ninth final at Wimbledon and 35th at the majors, while for Alcaraz it was just a second in the Slams following his US Open triumph.

The Serb went into the match not having lost on Centre Court since his 2013 final defeat to Andy Murray and he hit with relentless precision in the first set. 

Alcaraz, who had been crippled by body cramping in his loss to Djokovic in the French Open semi-final in June, was unable to settle and let a break point slip away in the seven-minute opening game.

Djokovic took advantage and raced into a 5-0 lead on the back of a double break before the Spaniard got on the board.

It was too little, too late as Djokovic claimed the opening set with a smash.

But Alcaraz finally freed himself of his shackles and broke for 2-1 in the second set.

Djokovic hit straight back in the third game before saving a break point in the fourth, coming out on top of a 29-shot rally.

The Serb was hit with a time violation in the tie-break before seeing a set point saved.

Alcaraz needed no second invitation when he carved out and converted a set point to level the contest with a backhand winner.

The marathon set had taken 85 minutes as Djokovic’s run of 15 tie-breaks won in a row at the majors ended.

Alcaraz broke in the opening game of the third set and again after an exhausting 26-minute fifth game, which went to 13 deuces and saw Djokovic save six break points before he cracked on the seventh.

Alcaraz backed it up with a rapid-fire service game which took just two minutes in comparison and broke again against the dispirited defending champion to move two sets to one ahead.

Djokovic argued with umpire Fergus Murphy over his monitoring of the shot clock and did little to endear himself with the crowd by taking a lengthy toilet break before the fourth set.

However, the break worked wonders as the Serb broke twice in the set, levelling the final courtesy of Alcaraz’s seventh double fault of the final.

Djokovic wasted a golden chance to break for 2-0 in the decider with a wild smash and Alcaraz made him pay, breaking for 2-1.

A frustrated Djokovic collected another code violation for destroying his racquet against the net post before he slipped 3-1 down.

Alcaraz was not to be denied and he claimed a famous victory when Djokovic buried a forehand in the net.

LONDON — Marketa Vondrousova admitted even she was stunned by her historic Wimbledon triumph as the injury-plagued Czech became the first unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era.

Vondrousova upset the odds in Saturday’s final on Centre Court as she powered to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur.

The 24-year-old clinched an unexpected maiden Grand Slam title at the second attempt after losing to Ash Barty in the 2019 French Open final.

“After everything I have been through, I had a cast last time, it’s amazing I can stand here and hold this trophy,” said Vondrousova, who was sidelined with a wrist injury in 2022.

“I don’t know how I’ve done it. Tennis is crazy.”

Vondrousova joins Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova as the only Czech women to win a Wimbledon title.

She is just the ninth unseeded champion at a Grand Slam tournament.

Vondrousova’s triumph completed a remarkable comeback after a rash of injuries stalled her promising career.

Just 12 months ago, she was an injured bystander at Wimbledon, reduced to watching her best friend Miriam Kolodziejova attempt to qualify for the main draw.

Vondrousova’s second wrist surgery had ruled the Olympic silver medallist out for six months, although her absence from the tour at least allowed her the space and time to get married.

“The comebacks are not easy. You never know what to expect,” she said.

“I was hoping I could come back to this level and now I am here. It’s an amazing feeling.”

At 42 in the world, she was the second-lowest ranked player to reach the Wimbledon final — only Serena Williams in 2018 was lower at 181.

So unexpected was her run that she told her husband Stepan Simek to stay at home in Prague to look after their cat Frankie until the final, when a pet sitter was found to allow her partner to make the trip to Wimbledon.

“It’s amazing, tomorrow is our first wedding anniversary,” said Vondrousova, who had a dismal record on grass prior to this year’s Wimbledon.

“I think I’m going to have some beer. It’s been an exhausting few weeks.”

The tattooed Vondrousova has a fondness for body art and her victory means coach Jan Mertl has to get inked as well.

“I made a bet with my coach. He said if I win a Grand Slam he’s going to get one also. So I think we’re going to go tomorrow!” she said.

Ice-cool Vondrousova

While Vondrousova celebrated, Jabeur wept during an emotional trophy presentation after her latest heart-breaking Grand Slam loss.

Jabeur was the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final last year at Wimbledon, but defeat to Elena Rybakina in three sets took the shine off that achievement.

She endured more misery just weeks later when she lost to Iga Swiatek in the US Open final.

“It’s going to be a tough day but I am not going to give up,” she said while wiping away her tears.

Even for a player known as the ‘Minister of Happiness’, Jabeur’s positive personality will be tested after her bid to become the first African and Arab woman to win a Grand Slam singles title ended in failure again.

“It’s the most painful loss of my career. I’m going to look ugly in the photos so that’s not going to help!” she said.

“But we’re going to make it one day, I promise you. I’m going to come back stronger.”

Jabeur had no answer to the big-hitting Vondrousova despite the support of 15,000 partisan fans under the closed Centre Court roof.

Trailing 4-2 in the first set, Vondrousova seized the momentum as she reeled off four consecutive games to take the opener.

Jabeur moved 3-1 up in the second set with a pair of breaks, only to falter again as her unforced errors reached 31 by the final game.

In contrast to Jabeur’s troubles, Vondrousova remained ice-cool and sealed her unlikely triumph with a perfect volley before falling to the turf in delight.

PARIS — Ukraine fencing great Olha Kharlan believes she and her teammates should be allowed to compete in individual events and carry the fight to the Russians on “all fronts”, she has told AFP.

The 32-year-old quadruple world sabre individual champion is angry at the Russian invasion of her country and concerned for her family — her father has slept in the bomb shelter in Nikolayev for the past year, telling her “It is better to stay here.”

Kharlan is furious with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Fencing Federation for permitting Russians and their allies Belarus to compete again, albeit as neutral athletes.

But she also strongly takes issue with the Ukrainian government barring its athletes from taking on the Russians individual events.

“[IOC President Thomas Bach] keeps saying the IOC and international federations have to give hope to everyone,” said Kharlan.

“But how many chances do we have to give the Russians? The war is not finished yet.

“Bach talks about there being so many other wars in the world but to my mind no one apart from Russia has started three in recent memory. 

“How are Ukrainian athletes meant to feel when the IOC should be on our side and delivering justice but in fact they are doing things totally against us?”

As a result of Kyiv’s policy of refusing to let Ukrainian athletes take on the Russians, Kharlan risks missing out on winning a possible individual Olympic gold in Paris next year.

The two-time Olympic bronze individual medallist — she also collected team gold in 2008 and silver in 2016 — could miss out on qualifying for the Games if the ban stays in place.

She will however be able to compete in the team event at the upcoming world championships in Milan, a short journey from where she and her female sabre teammates’ base in Bologna.

‘Speechless’

However, she would prefer the fencers can compete like their tennis counterparts, who have had to grit their teeth and play Russians and Belarusians.

“It is important to our nation we do not remain on the couch,” she said.

“I am really proud of our tennis players and imagining myself in their place, playing or fencing against the people whose country is bombing and killing our compatriots.

“It must be very hard but you know you have to as it is a way of fighting, you are the fighter in your own way.”

Kharlan believes the tennis players’ refusal to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian opponents is an eloquent enough expression of their disgust.

“They are right not to shake hands, I cannot imagine a scenario where I would,” she said. 

“We have different fronts, we also have sport which is about the fight and the struggle.

“I am really proud of the tennis players, it must be really tough.”

Kharlan says support for Ukrainian athletes competing stretches to the frontlines.

“I hope I will compete in the individuals because I think it is very important for Ukrainians in general,” she said.

“The soldiers who are protecting us follow our results.

“When I heard someone on the frontline watched my bout online I was speechless.

“You cannot imagine how is it possible! Oh my God! They take the time when they are protecting my family to watch fencing.

“You feel like proud of yourself, it is so cool, what an honour!”

‘Stay calm’

Kharlan has been back to Ukraine twice since she left in mid-February 2022 — she lives with her Italian boyfriend — and they have been salutary reminders of what her family and compatriots face daily.

She was in Lviv last October for the Ukrainian championships — “amazing even in war it is possible to hold them”, she said.

“I was with my mother... and for the first time in my life I heard explosions, air raid sirens and rockets.

“I was scared but my mum looks at me and says ‘It is like this OK, it is like this, you have to stay calm’.”

Kharlan saw her family for the first time in five months in Krakow, Poland in June.

“Pops came for the team event which did not end so good for us,” she says, laughing.

In an ideal world — “everyone knows the world is not perfect” she says — Kharlan would love to have her family watch her compete in Paris next year.

“It is not my dream, that would be the war ending, but it is my goal to be in Paris, and my family to be there watching,” she said.

LONDON — Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will meet in Saturday's Wimbledon women's final, helping the All England avoid a potentially embarrassing diplomatic headache.

Tunisian World No. 6 Jabeur fought back from a set and 4-2 down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3 to reach a second successive final at the tournament.

Czech left-hander Vondrousova ended Elina Svitolina's dream of delivering a Grand Slam title for Ukraine with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win, becoming the first unseeded woman to make the final in 60 years.

Had Sabalenka gone on to win the title on Saturday, she would have received the trophy from Princess Catherine, the wife of the heir to the British throne, a year after all Belarusian and Russian players were banned from the tournament following the invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus is a key ally of Moscow.

If she had reached the final, Svitolina would have maintained her policy of not shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals in protest at the war.

Tunisian trailblazer Jabeur has now fought back three times from dropping the first set at this year's tournament.

"I'm very proud of myself because maybe old me would have lost the match today and went back home already but I'm glad that I kept digging deep and finding the strength," she said.

Saturday's final will be her third at the Slams after losing to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Iga Swiatek at the US Open last year.

Sabalenka, 25, playing in her fourth successive Grand Slam semifinal and sixth in total, recovered from 2/4 down in the tiebreak to clinch the first set.

She also unleashed the fastest women's serve at Wimbledon this year with a 194.7 km/h rocket.

Sabalenka, who had defeated Jabeur on her way to the last four at Wimbledon in 2021, broke for a 3-2 lead in the second set.

That stretched to 4-2 before Jabeur hit back from the brink to reel off the next four games and level the contest.

Sabalenka's spirit ebbed away and she was broken in the sixth game of the decider before Jabeur claimed victory on a fifth match point with a clean ace.

'Lot of responsibility'

Sabalenka hit 39 winners but committed 45 unforced errors as her hopes of adding the Wimbledon title to her Australian Open victory and of taking Swiatek's World No. 1 ranking were dashed.

"I had so many opportunities and didn't use them. She played better in the key moments," said the Belarusian.

World No. 42 Vondrousova will be playing in her second Grand Slam final after finishing runner-up at the 2019 French Open.

On Thursday, the 24-year-old was rewarded for her attacking approach, breaking serve six times and hitting 22 winners to Svitolina's nine.

"I cannot believe it. I am very happy that I made the final. Elina is such a fighter and a great person," said the Czech. "I was crazy nervous."

Reaching the final comes after a miserable time for the Czech — she underwent a second wrist operation last year, which ruled her out for a huge chunk of 2022.

World No. 76 Svitolina, who only returned to the sport from maternity leave in April, dropped serve three times in the opening set.

She managed to retrieve the first to level at 3-3 but the Czech broke again in the seventh and ninth games to edge ahead.

An error-plagued Svitolina quickly fell 4-0 down in the second set.

However, Vondrousova, who had seen off four seeded players to reach the semifinals, suddenly suffered mid-set jitters as she handed back the breaks to allow Svitolina to pull to 3-4.

Svitolina then undid all her hard work to be broken again in the eighth game before pushing a forehand long to hand her opponent a place in the final.

Svitolina said representing war-torn Ukraine was a major motivating factor but added: "It's a lot of responsibility, a lot of tension."

"I try to balance it as much as I can. But, yeah, sometimes it gets maybe too much."

SYDNEY — Samantha Kerr says the only thing missing in her life is a major trophy with Australia — and the Chelsea forward plans to change that by winning her home World Cup.

Kerr made her Australia debut aged just 15 and has gone on to become one of the best players in women’s football.

Now 29, she is set to be the face of the World Cup when it kicks off on July 20, her profile having soared to new heights since moving to Chelsea in 2020 and steering them to the domestic double this year.

“She is a nightmare to defend. Her energy levels are like a 12-year-old. She is infectious,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said recently.

“I don’t know a striker in world football who can do what she does. She’s the best.”

Kerr is Australia’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Tim Cahill last year as the nation’s most prolific among men or women with 63 goals in 120 appearances.

She has been shortlisted for the women’s Ballon d’Or and nominated for the Best FIFA Women’s Player consistently since 2017.

In 2019 Kerr became the first Australian, man or woman, to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, but winning a major trophy with her country has eluded her.

“I just want to win a major tournament with the national team,” the Australian skipper said in a documentary, “Matildas: The World at Our Feet”, released in April.

“It’s the only thing missing in my life right now... if we win the World Cup, that would just be everything.”

The tournament in Australia and New Zealand will be Kerr’s fourth — but easily her biggest — World Cup.

Born to an Indian father and Australian mother, Kerr played Australian Rules as a youngster and was convinced she would one day represent her beloved West Coast Eagles, like her brother.

She switched though to football aged 12 and made her debut for the Matildas as a substitute against Italy in 2009.

Kerr admits that shifting from Australian Rules — where there was little hope of earning a living as a woman — was not easy.

“I remember I struggled a lot,” she previously said.

“I’m really thankful for my time in the AFL, but I’m also thankful I had to make the switch because there was no pathway for me at that time in AFL.”

By now a footballer, she made her debut for the W-League’s Perth Glory aged 15, spending four years at the club before moving to Sydney FC.

Known for her pace, agility and heading ability, as well as her trademark backflip goal celebrations, Kerr left for the United States in 2013.

She went first to Western New York Flash, then Sky Blue FC in New Jersey and finally Chicago Red Stars.

Inspirational

It is since moving to Chelsea that Kerr has risen to a whole new level.

She has scored more goals than any other player in the Women’s Super League since moving there in 2020. Moreover, she has a sense for the big occasion with her goals often proving decisive.

While her onfield achievements have grabbed attention, she has also won plaudits for her work behind the scenes as an advocate for women’s sport.

Named “Young Australian of the Year” in 2018, she was hailed as “inspirational, well-grounded, professional and mature”.

Kerr has helped drive change in Australian football with a minimum wage now in place in what has become A-League Women, and players treated as professionals.

“We work hard first and foremost but we also enjoy it. We love being a part of this team and we love representing Australia,” she said.

LONDON — Mauricio Pochettino admits he has to deliver from “day one” as Chelsea’s new manager vowed to win the trust of the troubled club’s demanding owners.

Pochettino used his first press conference since being hired in May to make it clear he understands the size of the task facing him at Stamford Bridge.

The Argentine arrives in west London to find a club in crisis after Chelsea ended last season 12th in the Premier League — their first bottom-half finish since 1996.

Chelsea, who last won the title in 2017, went through four managers last season and failed to win a trophy despite a £550 million ($702 million) spending spree on new players.

Pochettino faces a tough job to restore the club to its former glory and the former Tottenham boss knows he has to hit the ground running to avoid coming under fire. 

“In football, there is no patience. It is difficult to wait. If you are at Chelsea it is not about asking for time, you need to deliver from day one,” Pochettino told reporters.

“Football is about today or yesterday, you can’t talk long term, you cannot tell the people we need six months. That is not good.

“We have a squad that can deliver. From day one we need to think about winning.”

The key to Pochettino’s success could lie in his ability to handle owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and the club’s sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.

Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter were both sacked by Chelsea after losing the owners’ trust last season, with Bruno Saltor and then Frank Lampard picking up the pieces on an interim basis.

Pochettino reportedly endured a rocky relationship with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in the final months before his sacking in 2019, while the 51-year-old’s spell at Paris Saint-Germain also ended in his dismissal last year.

‘I trust in the owner’

Adamant that he had no problems with a collaborative relationship with his employers, Pochettino said: “They were very honest with me. They showed the plan, all the good and not so good things that need to happen.

“I trust in the owner that they are going to provide the tools to be competitive.

“I’m not a coach that needs to ask for power. I need to show they can trust me. They need to really believe in my judgement and that is my job. That is the biggest power you can have.”

Handed a bloated squad after 12 months of lavish spending under the new ownership, Pochettino has quickly rubber-stamped a host of departures.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Kai Havertz, Cesar Azpilicueta and Mateo Kovacic have all left, with Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku and Villarreal striker Nicolas Jackson the only new recruits so far.

“The most important priority is to finish the squad, to have a very balanced squad. In the plan, the club also wanted to reduce the numbers,” he said.

Pochettino’s association with Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham — where he spent five years and reached the 2019 Champions League final — has led some to suggest he will come under fire from Blues fans if his side struggle.

But he said he never had any doubts about accepting the job and admitted he had a point to prove to Tottenham.

“Always. This is our motivation. We try to prove we are right, that is part of our nature,” he said.

“I’m very proud of my past but now I need to look forward. This is a club that only talks about winning. 

“If you don’t win at a club like Chelsea for sure you are going to struggle.”

In a pointed message to the Chelsea hierarchy, he highlighted the sustained success Pep Guardiola has delivered in a stable environment at treble-winners Manchester City.

“It’s amazing to see how a club works for many years with stability, giving the tools and resources to the coach,” Pochettino said of City.

“We need to believe that we can create good things. We need to believe we can compete with a team like City.”

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom — Max Verstappen claimed his first British Grand Prix victory on Sunday to deliver a record-equalling 11th consecutive win for his Red Bull team and his sixth in successive races. 

In a race of attrition, interrupted by safety cars and influenced by tyre-wear, the Dutchman came home almost four seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris who held off Mercedes’ seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in a thrilling finale. 

It was Verstappen’s 43rd career win and his eighth in 10 races this year as he increased his lead ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in the drivers’ championship to 99 points.

Norris’s McLaren teammate Australian rookie Oscar Piastri finished fourth ahead of George Russell, Perez, two-time champion Fernand Alonso of Aston Martin and Williams’ Alex Albon. 

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz came home ninth and 10th, a disappointing result for the Italian team after they had started from fourth and fifth on the grid. 

For Norris, who led the opening laps after beating Verstappen at the start, it was his best result since finishing second at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix while for Hamilton, a record eight-time winner at his home race, it was a 14th British podium. 

“Yes, a good race,” said Verstappen.

“The last stint was more difficult than I would have liked on these tyres, but a great job by the team again. 

“Eleven in a row! That’s pretty crazy. Well done everyone.”

Hollywood twist

Red Bull drew level with McLaren who reeled off 11 wins in 1988. 

The race began in warm and dry conditions, following light rain, as Norris, from second on the grid, took advantage of a sluggish start by Verstappen who held off Piastri to retain second.

The pre-event pomp and ceremony had been given a unique Hollywood twist with film star Brad Pitt joining the drivers for Damian Lewis’s rendition of the British anthem, standing close to Verstappen, who may have been distracted. 

The Dutchman recovered his poise and when Drag Reduction System (DRS) was initiated, he swept past the Briton on lap five to lead while Hamilton, after a difficult start, climbed from ninth to seventh.

By lap 15, Verstappen’s lead was 3.1 seconds as light drizzle began. Further back, Perez was carving through the field from 15th, following his fifth consecutive qualifying flop.

Leclerc was the first leading contender to pit after 19 laps, switching from mediums to hards and re-joining 12th. Spotting this, on a trackside big screen, Verstappen quizzed his team for reaction only to be told it was of “no concern”. 

It was a clear signal of spare performance capacity. He responded with a series of fastest laps to stretch his lead to 6.5sec by half-distance on lap 26 when Sainz pitted for hards. 

Ferrari’s strategy handed fourth and fifth to the Mercedes duo, behind the two McLarens, with Alonso sixth, six seconds adrift before Russell, Perez and Piastri came in, shaking up the top order. 

Leclerc and Russell were soon engaged in an exciting scrap for seventh before Kevin Magnussen pulled up his Haas with an engine failure on Wellington Straight. 

A virtual safety car was deployed, followed by a full one offering ‘cheap’ pit stops for Albon and Leclerc followed by Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton and Alonso. 

In the confusion, it worked perfectly for Hamilton who came out third behind the top duo and ahead of Piastri, Russell and Alonso.

Intriguingly, Verstappen and Hamilton were on used softs while Norris and Piastri took hards, as did Ferrari, for the final 14 laps’ sprint.

Norris was unimpressed with his team’s cautious decision and reacted slowly when Verstappen darted clear. Hamilton attacked but his compatriot defended brilliantly before DRS was re-introduced. 

With 10 laps to go, Verstappen led by 3.2 seconds while Perez climbed to seventh and, astonishingly Albon sliced past Sainz for sixth.

On the day Williams celebrated their 800th Grand Prix, it was a timely thrill and, with McLaren shining, a throwback to another era.