July 16, 2023. 5th set, the score at 5 games to 4 in favor of Alcaraz, with the championship point on the way, there was a sudden rush in the air. Perhaps, the tennis fraternity knew a revolution was afoot. Fast-forward to July 14, 2024, the revolution is well and truly established. 21-year-old powerhouse Carlos Alcaraz etches his name in history, becoming a part of the elite group of players to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles. One of the names on that illustrious list was on the opposite side of the final result. And to quote the great Novak Djokovic on Carlos Alcaraz, “Boy, you never give up.”

Alcaraz’s rise to the top of the tennis world has truly been fascinating. At just 21, the Spaniard already has 4 Grand Slam wins, becoming the youngest to ever do so. And similar to another great Spaniard before him, Alcaraz’s dominance stretches across grass, clay and glass. And to consider the stature of players he has beaten on the way to the titles puts into perspective just how good he has been.

With Roger Federer, it was his technical mastery. Rafael Nadal had the pace and power. Djokovic has the relentless drive. Yet somehow, Alcaraz feels like a culmination of them all. Extremely composed placement on the line. That never-say-die attitude. No room for complacency, even for a single point. This is what sets Alcaraz apart from the rest. And of course, the icing on the cake is his smiling mug at the end of every single one of his wins.

Alcaraz has risen to the top of the game. But that doesn’t mean his fellow youngsters are going to make it easy for him to stay there. Over the last 5 years, we have seen the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Matteo Berrettini rise to the top and compete with the best of the best. Alcaraz, however, is the youngest of the crop, and already probably the best all-round. But it is fair to the say the stage is set for some fiery tennis in the coming years.

After leading Team India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title, skipper Rohit Sharma has switched to vacation mode with his family in London. Team India defeated South Africa in the summit clash by seven runs and ended their 11-year-old ICC title drought. After clinching the title, Rohit, star batter Virat Kohli, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements from T20 cricket. The India skipper is having a great time in London and he was also spotted watching the Wimbledon men’s singles semi-final match.

Rohit was spotted during the first men’s singles semi-final match between Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

Welcome to #Wimbledon, Rohit Sharmapic.twitter.com/9JtzTMvXzp

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2024

CAPTAIN ROHIT SHARMA STUNS AT WIMBLEDON pic.twitter.com/wFQt8oz4ra

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 12, 2024

The aura of World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma. pic.twitter.com/o0VCDSpaAZ

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 12, 2024

The second semi-final of men’s singles Wimbledon will be played between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti.

Earlier, former India cricketer and National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman stated that Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja will continue to contribute in the longer format after they brought down the curtain on their T20I careers.

“My message to these three stalwarts of the game, you know, Virat, Rohit, and I consider Ravindra Jadeja also an extremely talented player who has contributed immensely to the development of the Indian and the progress of the Indian cricket team. A big congratulations. Thank you for all the contribution they’ve given to this great game and set an example for the youngsters to follow and the passion, the pride with which they played the game is exemplary,” Laxman said in a video posted by BCCI on X.

“So while they’ve retired from this format, I’m sure that they will continue to prepare the way they did so far in their career and continue to bring laurels to the country. So big congratulations for excellent T20I career, but I’m sure that they’re going to contribute in the longer version of the game and the 50-year format of the game,” Laxman added.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz shrugged off the loss of the first set to beat Tommy Paul on Tuesday and set up a repeat Wimbledon semi-final with Daniil Medvedev. The Spanish world number three, seeking a fourth Grand Slam title, beat his 12th-seeded opponent 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 under the No. 1 Court roof. Alcaraz was slow out of the blocks, broken twice by the in-form American in a 72-minute first set. Paul raced into a two-game lead in the second set as Alcaraz again faltered on serve but the Spaniard got back on level terms and broke again to level the match.

Three breaks in the third set put the world number three in charge and he stepped up another gear in the fourth set, winning 92 percent of first-serve points and making just four unforced errors.

Alcaraz, seeking to become just the sixth man to capture the French Open and Wimbledon titles back to back, said it had been a tough start to his quarter-final against the recent champion at Queen’s.

“If I’m struggling a little bit to find the solutions, if the opponent is playing great tennis and I don’t get him in trouble, I believe at the end that I’ll be able to come back and be able to find solutions,” he said.

Looking forward to his match against Russian fifth-seed Medvedev, whom he beat last year on his way to winning his first Wimbledon title, he said: “Hopefully I’m going to get the same result.

“He just won against Jannik Sinner, the best player right now, so I know that he’s in really good shape so I have to play my best, I have to believe in myself and try to keep going if I want to beat him.”

Daniil Medvedev defeated world number one Jannik Sinner in five sets on Tuesday to reach a second successive Wimbledon semi-final, subduing the gallant challenge of the Italian, who suffered a worrying mid-match health scare. The fifth-ranked Medvedev triumphed 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3 to avenge his Australian Open final loss to Sinner in January. His four-hour victory also ended a five-match losing streak against the Italian as Medvedev reached his ninth Grand Slam semi-final. The 28-year-old former US Open winner will face either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Tommy Paul of the United States for a place in Sunday’s final. In a tight first set in which neither man gave up a break point, Medvedev edged ahead in the tie-break on the back of a lung-busting 33-shot rally.

However, he squandered a set point and his game suddenly fell apart, serving up a double fault as Sinner pocketed the opener.

The mercurial Russian carved out the only break of the second set in the third game on his way to levelling the quarter-final.

Sinner slipped another break down at 2-1 in the third set and immediately summoned the tournament physio.

The Italian, appearing distressed, had his blood pressure taken courtside before he left for a medical time-out.

After a 10-minute delay, the 22-year-old resumed play and thrilled the Centre Court crowd when he bravely clawed his way back to 5-5.

He then wasted two set points which allowed Medvedev to sweep through the tie-break.

However, the Italian was undaunted and levelled the quarter-final on the back of breaks in the third and fifth games of the fourth set.

But it was Medvedev finished the fresher of the two players, breaking in the final set on his way to victory.