Wild mix of celebs in Wimbledon royal box blows minds: ‘For the ages'
The finer points of drumming and 10m platform diving, what it's like to headline Glastonbury or WrestleMania or how the English football team is faring 12 months out from the World Cup - everything was up for discussion in the Wimbledon royal box overnight Wednesday.
The world's premier tennis tournament is perhaps the only place on earth you're likely to see Olympic diving legend Tom Daley, pop star Olivia Rodrigo, football managers Thomas Tuchel and Roy Hodgson, WWE icon John Cena and music royalty Dave Grohl all sitting alongside one another - in a royal box that was described as 'one for the ages'.
We're sure they managed to make small chat but tennis fans around the globe were all asking the same thing - what does this lot have in common?
The answer of course, is a love of tennis - and there were dished up more drama as the early carnage in this year's edition continued to deliver.
Four of top five women's seeds gone
Jasmine Paolini was the latest victim of Wimbledon's spate of giant-killings as last year's runner-up suffered a shock second-round exit against Russian world number 62 Kamilla Rakhimova on Wednesday.
Just 12 months after her run to the All England Club final, Paolini followed a host of highly-ranked seeds out of the grass-court Grand Slam.
The Italian fourth seed, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon title match, slumped to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss in two hours and 18 minutes on Court Three.
After reaching the French Open and Wimbledon finals last year, Paolini has failed to make the quarter-finals in each of her last four Grand Slam appearances, although she won the Roland Garros doubles crown with partner Sara Errani in June.
The 29-year-old's defeat against Rakhimova means four of the top five seeds in the women's singles have been eliminated just three days into the event.
Second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen were beaten in the first round.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the last of the top five seeds remaining after her win against Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic in the second round on Wednesday.
'Honestly, it is sad to see so many upsets in the tournament in both draws,' Sabalenka said. 'But I know if I'm focused, if I'm fighting, I know I'm going to have my chance in each match. I hope it is no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!'
Alcaraz avoids another headache
Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur.
A record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round and Alcaraz was lucky not to join them after a five-set test of his own against Fabio Fognini.
But he needed only two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd.
Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass.
His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons.
The world number two hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
In stark contrast to Alcaraz's fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money.
As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings.
While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion, Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round.
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Daily Telegraph
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Ferrari gun Charles Leclerc loses mind in British Grand Prix qualifying tirade
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Alex de Minaur reckons he couldn't be more excited -- but Novak Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthused. After Australia's No.1 de Minaur and the man considered by many to be the sport's GOAT Djokovic set up their Wimbledon last-16 date with accomplished victories on Saturday, they both conceded it should be a terrific contest. De Minaur, who beat Danish qualifier August Holmgren in straight sets, has been itching to get his chance for the Wimbledon clash against the seven-time champ that he had hoped to enjoy last year until injury struck, admitting: "It's exciting. "These are the matches you want to be playing in. You don't want to go through a draw or a grand glam and feel like everything has been handed to you. You ultimately want to be beating the best players, and that's my focus. "Novak has completed the game, right? He's broken all the records,. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more." But Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthusiastic about coming up against the hungry Australian, paying him the ultimate compliment by suggesting: "You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure! "He has improved his game tremendously in the last couple years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. "He's gotten to the quarters several times. Yeah, last year he had to pull out unfortunately because of his injury, but this year again he's there. "He's playing well. He's so quick and he's a complete player, all around, gaining pace on his serve, as well. He hits his spots very well. "It's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex." It was another landmark occasion for Djokovic as he celebrated his 100th match win at Wimbledon - a 6-3 6-0 6-4 win over Miomir Kecmanovic - to join Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer as the only players to do so. "Any history I make at my favourite tournament, I'm blessed," said Djokovic. But even the great man on his landmark day couldn't keep the limelight from his seven-year-old daughter Tara, who stole the show with her victory dance. After doing his own version of the post-match victory celebration, Djokovic had been trying to explain it was the family's accompaniment to a song called "Pump It Up". "There's a song with my kids — look my daughter's doing it right now," a smiling Djokovic said as he looked into the crowd. "You want to show it, darling?" Tara then showed everyone how it's done - pump your fists down, then left, right and overhead. The crowd roared and laughed. "She's the master," said Djokovic. "It's a little tradition we have right now. Hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon." Alex de Minaur reckons he couldn't be more excited -- but Novak Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthused. After Australia's No.1 de Minaur and the man considered by many to be the sport's GOAT Djokovic set up their Wimbledon last-16 date with accomplished victories on Saturday, they both conceded it should be a terrific contest. De Minaur, who beat Danish qualifier August Holmgren in straight sets, has been itching to get his chance for the Wimbledon clash against the seven-time champ that he had hoped to enjoy last year until injury struck, admitting: "It's exciting. "These are the matches you want to be playing in. You don't want to go through a draw or a grand glam and feel like everything has been handed to you. You ultimately want to be beating the best players, and that's my focus. "Novak has completed the game, right? He's broken all the records,. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more." But Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthusiastic about coming up against the hungry Australian, paying him the ultimate compliment by suggesting: "You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure! "He has improved his game tremendously in the last couple years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. "He's gotten to the quarters several times. Yeah, last year he had to pull out unfortunately because of his injury, but this year again he's there. "He's playing well. He's so quick and he's a complete player, all around, gaining pace on his serve, as well. He hits his spots very well. "It's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex." It was another landmark occasion for Djokovic as he celebrated his 100th match win at Wimbledon - a 6-3 6-0 6-4 win over Miomir Kecmanovic - to join Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer as the only players to do so. "Any history I make at my favourite tournament, I'm blessed," said Djokovic. But even the great man on his landmark day couldn't keep the limelight from his seven-year-old daughter Tara, who stole the show with her victory dance. After doing his own version of the post-match victory celebration, Djokovic had been trying to explain it was the family's accompaniment to a song called "Pump It Up". "There's a song with my kids — look my daughter's doing it right now," a smiling Djokovic said as he looked into the crowd. "You want to show it, darling?" Tara then showed everyone how it's done - pump your fists down, then left, right and overhead. The crowd roared and laughed. "She's the master," said Djokovic. "It's a little tradition we have right now. Hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon." Alex de Minaur reckons he couldn't be more excited -- but Novak Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthused. After Australia's No.1 de Minaur and the man considered by many to be the sport's GOAT Djokovic set up their Wimbledon last-16 date with accomplished victories on Saturday, they both conceded it should be a terrific contest. De Minaur, who beat Danish qualifier August Holmgren in straight sets, has been itching to get his chance for the Wimbledon clash against the seven-time champ that he had hoped to enjoy last year until injury struck, admitting: "It's exciting. "These are the matches you want to be playing in. You don't want to go through a draw or a grand glam and feel like everything has been handed to you. You ultimately want to be beating the best players, and that's my focus. "Novak has completed the game, right? He's broken all the records,. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more." But Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthusiastic about coming up against the hungry Australian, paying him the ultimate compliment by suggesting: "You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure! "He has improved his game tremendously in the last couple years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. "He's gotten to the quarters several times. Yeah, last year he had to pull out unfortunately because of his injury, but this year again he's there. "He's playing well. He's so quick and he's a complete player, all around, gaining pace on his serve, as well. He hits his spots very well. "It's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex." It was another landmark occasion for Djokovic as he celebrated his 100th match win at Wimbledon - a 6-3 6-0 6-4 win over Miomir Kecmanovic - to join Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer as the only players to do so. "Any history I make at my favourite tournament, I'm blessed," said Djokovic. But even the great man on his landmark day couldn't keep the limelight from his seven-year-old daughter Tara, who stole the show with her victory dance. After doing his own version of the post-match victory celebration, Djokovic had been trying to explain it was the family's accompaniment to a song called "Pump It Up". "There's a song with my kids — look my daughter's doing it right now," a smiling Djokovic said as he looked into the crowd. "You want to show it, darling?" Tara then showed everyone how it's done - pump your fists down, then left, right and overhead. The crowd roared and laughed. "She's the master," said Djokovic. "It's a little tradition we have right now. Hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon." Alex de Minaur reckons he couldn't be more excited -- but Novak Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthused. After Australia's No.1 de Minaur and the man considered by many to be the sport's GOAT Djokovic set up their Wimbledon last-16 date with accomplished victories on Saturday, they both conceded it should be a terrific contest. De Minaur, who beat Danish qualifier August Holmgren in straight sets, has been itching to get his chance for the Wimbledon clash against the seven-time champ that he had hoped to enjoy last year until injury struck, admitting: "It's exciting. "These are the matches you want to be playing in. You don't want to go through a draw or a grand glam and feel like everything has been handed to you. You ultimately want to be beating the best players, and that's my focus. "Novak has completed the game, right? He's broken all the records,. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more." But Djokovic doesn't sound quite so enthusiastic about coming up against the hungry Australian, paying him the ultimate compliment by suggesting: "You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure! "He has improved his game tremendously in the last couple years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. "He's gotten to the quarters several times. Yeah, last year he had to pull out unfortunately because of his injury, but this year again he's there. "He's playing well. He's so quick and he's a complete player, all around, gaining pace on his serve, as well. He hits his spots very well. "It's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex." It was another landmark occasion for Djokovic as he celebrated his 100th match win at Wimbledon - a 6-3 6-0 6-4 win over Miomir Kecmanovic - to join Martina Navratilova and Roger Federer as the only players to do so. "Any history I make at my favourite tournament, I'm blessed," said Djokovic. But even the great man on his landmark day couldn't keep the limelight from his seven-year-old daughter Tara, who stole the show with her victory dance. After doing his own version of the post-match victory celebration, Djokovic had been trying to explain it was the family's accompaniment to a song called "Pump It Up". "There's a song with my kids — look my daughter's doing it right now," a smiling Djokovic said as he looked into the crowd. "You want to show it, darling?" Tara then showed everyone how it's done - pump your fists down, then left, right and overhead. The crowd roared and laughed. "She's the master," said Djokovic. "It's a little tradition we have right now. Hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon."
