Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz wins first two sets in his battle against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in front of Shakira and Princess Beatrice as Novak Djokovic awaits the winner in Sunday’s final
- Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is battling against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev today
- Latest Wimbledon 2023 news, including schedule, travel updates and results
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz has won the first two sets in his battle against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev as a star-studded crowd including Princess Beatrice gather in a rainy London for the men’s semi-final at Wimbledon today.
The world’s eyes are on Centre Court as Alcaraz, the world number one, is gunning for a chance to meet Novak Djokovic at Sunday’s final.
High profile sporting fans were spotted at the tournament this afternoon, with Princess Beatrice, 34, being accompanied by her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 39.
The royal couple were also joined by the late Queen Elizabeth’s glamorous cousin Lady Helen Taylor, Lady Sarah Chatto, the Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Michael of Kent. The Hips Don’t Lie hitmaker, Columbian singer Shakira was also spotted watching the game.
Meanwhile, British film director Sam Mendes, 57, brushed shoulders with Sir Cliff Richard and actress Felicity Kendal.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz has won the two first sets in his battle against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev is battling against Alcaraz for the spot to play Novak Djokovic on Sunday in the men’s final
Amongst those in the crowd was Princess Beatrice who sat in the royal box on centre court
Medvedev is among the Russian and Belurssian stars to have been banned from last year’s tournament due to the war in Ukraine – a move that led Wimbledon to be fined by tennis’ governing bodies.
READ HERE: Who’s who in the royal box at Wimbledon? Princess Beatrice, Sam Mendes and Katherine Jenkins watch men’s semi-finals at SW19
For his part, Medvedev had declared that he wanted to ‘promote peace all over the world’ when the war began last year.
The reversal of Wimbledon’s rules allowed him to return to the grass-courts and work his way through the tournament.
Prior to the third Grand Slam of the season, Medvedev had spoken of his love of Wimbledon and his disappointment at being forced to miss last year’s event.
‘I really missed playing Wimbledon. I’ve always loved it. The first time I came I thought it was the best tournament in the world. Every flower was in place and I was so nervous and excited,’ he said.
‘Every time I come back, I feel really special. I was disappointed not to be able to play last year. I couldn’t play, I followed the rules and spent time with my family.
‘But it doesn’t give me extra motivation for this year — that comes from Wimbledon being my worst Slam in terms of results.’
Meanwhile his rival, Alcaraz, is one of the hottest commodities in tennis, having netted multiple lucrative endorsement deals from Calvin Klein, BMW, Rolex and Nike – to name a few.
Medvedev is among the Russian and Belurssian stars to have been banned from last year’s tournament due to the war in Ukraine
Columbian singer Shakira watched the men’ semi-final at Wimbledon today
Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were joined by Lady Helen Taylor today
His impressive footwork has been likened to Federer, his ability to cover a court to Rafael Nadal, and his mental focus to ice-cold Djokovic.
Medvedev’s wife was not in attendance to watch her husband today – while Alcaraz is believed to be single.
Amongst those in the crowd is York resident Stuart Goulden, 43, who bought his mother Jill Elsworthy, 66, Wimbledon tickets for her birthday.
Dressed in ’emergency back-up’ red ponchos the pair chose to swap their Court 1 tickets to watch Carlos Alcaraz play Daniil Medvedev on the big screen at the Hill, enduring heavy rain.
Mr Goulden said: ‘We thought we would wander around and see what is happening and soak it up. It’s been on our bucket lists.
‘I remember when there was not a roof on the court and Cliff Richard would get out and entertain the crowd. It is just lovely to be here and soak up the atmosphere.’
Other fans left the safety of the Court 1 roof to watch the Centre Court action on the Hill despite the rain.
Janet Hutchinson, 69, and her daughter Ellen Duckett, 45, travelled from Northampton to watch the ladies’ doubles.
Ms Hutchinson said: ‘We were kind of watching (Novak Djokovic) at the same time on our phone. It was kind of naughty. We were watching the scores not the match.’
The pair braced the weather and moved to the Hill to watch Carlos Alcaraz play Daniil Medvedev and bought Wimbledon-themed towels to sit on.
Ms Hutchinson said: ‘Pimms is our most essential item. We are using our towels. We bought them as gifts but we are using them now.’
Ms Duckett said: ‘It is a good opportunity to come to Wimbledon and I’m not going to waste it by going home just because it is raining.’
There has been no play at all on the outside courts today as everything has been cancelled due to poor weather. This means there will be a busy weekend ahead in SW19 for those players catching-up.
Earlier today Djokovic beat Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the first semi-final of the day. This puts the 36-year-old Serbian player one step closer to grabbing a record eighth Wimbledon title.
It was the first grand-slam semi-final for the Italian player Sinner, who resisted much of the game but eventually fell to a 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) defeat against the reigning champion.
Djokovic mocked the crowd on Centre Court by making a ‘cry baby’ gesture after Sinner failed to take advantage of three set points.
He won all six break points he faced and is now into his ninth final at the All England Club. It’s also his 35th final at all Grand Slam tournaments, more than any man or woman in tennis history.
He is seeking a 24th major singles championship overall, which would set the mark for the most in the Open era, which began in 1968.
Roger Federer is the only man to have won eight singles trophies at Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova won the women’s championship nine times.
Source: Read Full Article
