New King and Queen of Centre Court Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova celebrate their new Wimbledon titles at Champions Dinner (but the Czech winner keeps her trainers on for glitzy event)
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The new King and Queen of Centre Court were unveiled at a glitzy Champions Dinner yesterday after Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz won his maiden Wimbledon men’s singles title.
Alcaraz, 20, and Marketa Vondrousova, 24, who the day before won the women’s singles title, were seen posing with their trophies at a celebratory dinner after winning their finals at SW19.
Vondrousova on Saturday was congratulated by the Princess of Wales after the unseeded Czech became the first-ever unseeded Grand Slam champion.
And in a gripping men’s singles final yesterday, Alcaraz served his rival Novak Djokovic a crushing defeat in front of a very excitable Prince George and Princess Charlotte who punched the air in victory.
His stunning win came after two of the world’s best male tennis players battled it out during the gripping match, filled with outbursts of anger from both sides.
The annual champions’ ball is a longstanding tradition of the tournament. Winners and runners-up from that year will dress to the nines to celebrate the victors.
The new king and queen of Centre Court: Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova pose with the winners trophies at the Champions Dinner
Marketa Vondrousova poses in a stunning black dress and trainers as she attends the Champions Dinner in Wimbledon last night
Carlos Alcaraz poses for pictures with an umbrella at the Champions Dinner last night
Marketa Vondrousova attends the Wimbledon Champions Dinner at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club yesterday
Carlos Alcaraz attends the Wimbledon Champions Dinner at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club yesterday
Ms Vondrousova emerged as one of the most unlikely champions at the All England Club and the first unseeded women’s winner with a 6-4 6-4 victory against favourite Ons Jabeur.
While her parents were not in London, the Czech player was able to celebrate with her younger sister and husband, who passed over cat-sitting duties to fly over for the final.
The couple were planning to celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday with a special date at the Champions Dinner.
Ms Vondrousova’s best run at Wimbledon prior to this year had been in 2021 when she lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round.
Her game, though, built on touch, slice and angles rather than power, is a good fit for grass, making this victory slightly less unexpected than at first glance.
She credits an early coach and her slightness of stature for the way her game has developed, saying: ‘I had one coach in my home town who taught me how to slice and everything.
‘I just feel like I was always the smallest one and I just didn’t have that much power, so I had to do something else to win. You can use it really well and you have many options, so that’s a great thing to have.’
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday evening after defeating Novak Djokovic in one of the greatest finals of all time
He was presented with his trophy by the Princess of Wales, before emotionally holding it up to the crowd
Princess Charlotte and Prince George punched the air in celebration as they watched the end of the almost five-hour long match
The 20-year-old said it was a ‘dream come true’ to win Wimbledon and ‘make history in this beautiful tournament’ – after falling to the ground in victory
Carlos Alcaraz with the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy on the balcony following his victory
Celebrity crowd! Jonathan Bailey, Zawe Ashton and Tom Hiddleston couldn’t contain their emotions
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates winning his Men’s Singles final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia
The player couldn’t believe it as he fell to the ground, sending his racket flying
The young champion celebrated winning his first ever men’s single title at Wimbledon
A beaming Alcaraz addressed the crowd after his victory, saying he now ‘loves’ playing on a grass court
Defending champion Djokovic welled up when he saw his son Stefan and said: ‘Thank you for supporting me.’
During one tense moment, the usually composed Djokovic even slammied his racket into the net after losing his serve, denting the net post and resulting in huge boos from the crowd.
Both players had fallen to the ground in their desperate attempts to return the ball in a match that critics have already begun to hail as ‘one of the greatest’ of all time.
World number one Alcaraz – who grew up with a poster of Federer on his wall – said it was a ‘dream come true’ to win Wimbledon and ‘make history in this beautiful tournament’.
He added: ‘I have to congratulate Novak. It’s amazing to play against him. You inspire me. (When) I was born, you were winning tournaments.’
He was presented with his trophy by the Princess of Wales, before emotionally holding it up to the crowd, who had backed him throughout the nearly five-hour-long game.
READ MORE: The royal seal of approval: Tennis fans Prince George and Princess Charlotte cheer on the new Wimbledon men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz
Meanwhile an emotional Djokovic was reduced to tears as he accepted the runners-up plate and spotted his son Stefan in the crowd, offering his congratulations to Alacaraz in his post-match interview.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner also accepted his runners-up plate and welled up when he saw his son Stefan, saying: ‘Thank you for supporting me.’
He broke down in tears as he waved goodbye to the crowd while holding his plate after losing on the Centre Court for the first time in ten years.
Alcaraz was blown away 6-1 by Djokovic in just 34 minutes in the opening set, but the World No 1 pulled it back to 1-1 in the second – and got revenge by winning the third 6-1.
However, Djokovic seemed to regain momentum in the fourth set, cruising through with a series of powerful shots against his young opponent to level the match 2-2.
Alcaraz managed to knock Djokovic off his post in the fifth set, falling to his knees as he sent his winning shot across the net – after claiming a 3-2 victory in a match that had seemed impossible.
The final scores for the five-set game were 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 as Alcaraz toppled the long-standing champion.
After his captivating win, two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal was also quick to offer his congratulations to the young tennis star.
He said: ‘Congratulations Carlos Alcaraz. You have given us immense joy today and I am sure that you’re our pioneer in Spanish tennis, Manolo Santana has also been cheering wherever he is, such at Wimbledon whom you have joined today.
‘A very strong hug and enjoy the moment, Champion!!’
Djokovic said after the match: ‘Not so good for me, but good for Carlos. Praises to Carlos. You deserve it absolutely, congratulations.
The Spaniard celebrated on the balcony after the game as crowds cheered him from below
The beaming player, the top seed in Wimbledon and the world number one, claimed victory after one of the greatest finals of all time
He blew a kiss to the crowd, who had chanted his name throughout the match – in awe of the young player’s skill
Djokovic lost his cool and smashed his racquet into the net during the tense men’s final against Alcaraz
The Serbian player was seen with his head in his hands after losing to Alcaraz, 20, in the men’s single Wimbledon final
‘As for me obviously, you never like to lose matches like this. But when all the emotions are settled I have to still be very very grateful.
‘Maybe I have won a couple of finals I should have lost. So maybe this is ‘even Stevens!’
‘It is a tough one to swallow when you are so close. I lost to a better player, I have to congratulate him, and move on – stronger hopefully.’
The victory means that he is the first person outside of the ‘big four’ – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – to win the Wimbledon men’s single title since 2002, when Alcaraz wasn’t even born.
It is his second grand slam title after winning the US Open in 2022.
The last time 36-year-old Djokovic lost on centre court, in 2013 to Andy Murray, Carlos was still in primary school.
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