Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, defeated his close friend Holger Rune in the first chapter of what should prove to be a spectacular grand slam rivalry over the next decade. The Spaniard defeated his opponent in straight sets, forcing a tiebreak in the first set but remaining comfortable for the rest of the game. He will take on Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals, with the Russian having his best run ever at Wimbledon.
Before his game against Rune, Alcaraz got involved in a small controversy because his dad, Carlos Alcaraz Sr, was reportedly recording Novak Djokovic’s practice matches at SW19. This led the Serb to ask for more privacy at training in Wimbledon: the practice grounds in Aorangi are stacked next to each other with no fences, giving spectators and reporters easy access.
During the post-match press conference, a reporter brought up the matter, but world number one Alcaraz didn’t appear especially interested in explaining or defending his dad’s behaviour. Instead, he preferred to play it off as a harmless incident.
“Oh, probably it is true. My father is a huge fan of tennis,” said Alcaraz of his father. “He doesn’t only watch my matches. I think he get into the club at 11 a.m., get out at 10 p.m., watching matches, watching practice from everyone.”
He added, “I have a lot of videos from Djokovic on every platform. I think it’s not an advantage for me.”