The hill of Alcaraz: "He will be one of the best tennis players in history"
Henman's Hill, named in the 1990s in honor of British tennis player Tim Henman, became the final of Wimbledon on 'Charlie's Hill'. Shouts of “Come on!” on center court they found a wide echo in what the Scotsman Ami McQuarrie also renamed “the Alcaraz amphitheatre”, due to the popular clamor in favor of the Spanish, despite the headwind that slipped through the cracks of the All England Club in the start of the match.
“It's exciting to see him play with that energy and with so many expectations placed on him,” Ami admitted.. “I believe that most of the British have been with him throughout it all because of that combination of youth and humility, because of his status as 'underdog' against Djokovic and the challenge to take up the torch of the new generation,” he added.
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Ami was accompanied by the Scottish Lindsay Archibald (Alcaraz fan) and Liz Wayner, an American living in London, who stood out from her thirty-year-old friends and confessed her weakness for the Serbian, implacable in the first half hour of play.
The three of them got up at four in the morning to sign up for the ticket queue for the day (they made number 250) and get, for eight pounds, a privileged position in front of the giant screen installed outside track number one, already the foot of the legendary hill, where tradition dictates eating strawberries.
“This is the moment when the relief should take place,” Lindsay pointed out.. “I think we are facing a tennis player who will make history in the next ten or fifteen years. His forehands and his serve impress me, but I think it's also a matter of attitude and personality. He has something that his generation colleagues still do not have, although there are very good ones,” he valued.
In the role of killjoy, Liz Wayner acknowledged that Djokovic can sometimes be “arrogant”, and that this biases him against the public. “But I have always admired his way of playing tennis.. In fact, I had a broken heart for a while between him and Federer, who for me are still the greatest.”
Inside the center court, suffering like all Spaniards in the first sets, was King Felipe VI. In the Royal Box, Prince William appeared for the first time in the tournament, wrapping up the ubiquitous Kate Middleton and her children George and Charlotte. Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Guy Ritchie rounded out the all-star roster in the final.
The center court erupted in a clamor of “Carlos, Carlos!”, in the last two balls of the second set, when Alcaraz managed to turn the “tie break” around.. Brad Pitt joined the party applauding wildly for the Spaniard, who put his hand to his ear after finishing off the second round and to the general uproar.
Brad Pitt watching the match between Alcaraz and Djokovic. AFP
During their “big week” at Wimbledon, Carlitos was seen by none other than Queen Camila, Shakira, David and Romeo Beckham, Emma Watson, Cara Delevinge, Jon Bon Jovi and Orlando Bloom among others.. Alcaraz could not, however, fulfill the dream of seeing his idol Roger Federer in the stands, although he was very close (he was honored on center court the same day that the Spaniard debuted on court number one).
With the initial 15/15 and with the first “break” ball available to the Spaniard, the public's favor was clear, appeased for a large part of the first set, but redeemed when the Spaniard finally managed to break Djokovic's service and channel (temporarily) the second round in their favor.
The specter of Rafa Nadal, and his epic victory over Federer in 2008, also swarmed the hill of Carlitos, where the Asturian Miguel Olay (with the Sporting de Gijón shirt) and his son Ricardo were also there from very early on.. “For me, Alcaraz is more versatile than Rafa,” revealed Miguel. “He serves better and has many strong points, and he still has years ahead of him,” he commented.
“He is going to be one of the best tennis players in history,” his son Ricardo predicted meanwhile, who could not believe his luck in having seen him warm up early in the morning on one of the nearby courts and having been “two meters from from Alcaraz and one from Djokovic”.
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Father and son were doing an English course and the family with whom they spend these days advised them to get up early and queue to watch the game: “This is something that perhaps we will be able to count on in a few years. We can always say, 'We were there.
Alcaraz aroused passions not only among the public and among sports journalists, but also among society chroniclers such as Jane Fryer, who dedicated one of the most glowing praises to him in the local press: “Come on Carlitos! The new tennis titan is a ” total suprestar”.
“He is compared to Federer for his amazing footwork, Nadal for his ability to cover the court and Djokovic for his ability to focus,” Fryer writes.. “He was born a winner…. Did I mention he's an incredibly nice, down-to-earth guy with the best smile in the world?”
Adam Jones, professional tennis player and number 1,150 in the ranking, also had the opportunity to exchange warm-up shots with the two finalists. “The way I hit the ball is not very different from how they do it,” he acknowledged after the double experience.. “Although there are many other factors that make them very good.”
De Alcaraz highlights his explosive game and his variety of blows, Djokovic remains with his flexibility and his mental integrity that makes him overcome the low moments: “I have noticed that when he loses a ball on serve, he breathes deeply, and I assume that he visualizes that he can do better, he does exactly the serve he has planned and he doesn't stop until he gets it”.