Sunday was indeed a sad day for many as three important tournaments in the world of sports came to an end.
Firstly, the third major grand slam of the year, Wimbledon, ended after two weeks of high-class, competitive, intense tennis, with the men’s final coming a day after the women’s final. The women’s final served up an epic encounter with two players that were seeded seventh—Italian Jasmine Paolini and 31st—Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejčíková.
All the big-name, higher-ranked and seeded players had gone by the wayside but the emotions poured out from the Czech player as she knew she had accomplished what most players can only dream about in a lifetime.
The men’s draw went more or less according to plan, except instead of Jannik Sinner, in the final, it was the heir apparent to Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, taking on the evergreen Novak Djokovic. What a classic encounter everyone looked forward to thinking, can Djokovic add another title to his bulging bag of trophies but he never catered for a determined, focused, competitive and aggressive Alcaraz who destroyed him in three one-sided sets with only the third set in which Djokovic put up a fight taking it to a tie break.
However, to defeat one of the greatest of all time in the same Wimbledon final for yet another year shows the class and temperament of this extremely likeable 21-year-old. He plays with a smile on his face, and even in his post-match interview, the female interviewer mentioned how “hot” he was on court in an obvious reference to the temperature. Of course, everyone took it the wrong way, but a smiling Alcaraz even took that in his stride. With four grand slam titles now behind his name, what this young man is able to achieve in the future is difficult to conceive. Together with Sinner, they can rule the tennis world for the next ten years, and one would expect them to share many Grand Slam titles in addition to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) titles on offer.
Many would now be looking at Djokovic’s status going forward after the defeat and just how much longer he has in the game, but he continues to defeat all others except this young brigade. So, until the others find an answer on how to defeat him, I expect he will continue for another couple of years. In the meantime, all hail King Alcaraz; truly a joy to behold!
Important tournament number two - the Euro Championships. The final was played between arguably the best playing team to that point in Spain against what some people described as the most fortunate team to make it to the final, England. A trifle unfair I thought, because you make your own luck as an individual and as a team. They have come back from the death in the group stages right up to the knockout stages with a dogged determination to pull through. While I am not a fan of their style of play as I find Gareth Southgate is too defensive a coach, they have a consistency about them.
In the aftermath of their loss, Southgate has resigned, and I believe it will be for the betterment of the English national team. They need to seek a more attacking manager who will add some flair to their game and possibly bring it ‘home’ as it has been ‘coming home’ since Southgate’s reign but, still, he has to be given credit for where he has taken this English team.
Spain was tremendous and what a brave man Luis de la Fuente is to substitute the player of the tournament, Rodri, at halftime in the final. It just goes to show the confidence he has in his team and the players coming off the bench. Ultimately, Spain was just too good for England and for yet another tournament, England failed to make it count where it mattered most - the final.
In terms of the other teams, Germany looked good, and on another day, they could have beaten Spain, but the Spanish players had a point to prove.
France was the disappointment of the tournament. Before a ball was kicked, I had them as champions or runners-up, but they looked a shadow of themselves. I am just wondering whether the early injury to Kylian Mbappé had them doubting themselves and hoping that Kylian Mbappé himself would eventually pull them through to the winners’ row.
The Netherlands played well in patches but never looked like champions. They had come through the group stage by finishing third, but when they played well, they were good enough to just win games. However, they are a far cry from some of the truly talented Dutch teams of the past.
Portugal was in a difficult knockout stage draw, and with an aging Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line, they got as far as they could have gone.
For me, tournament number three, Copa America, did not live up to the billing that is normally associated with the tournament. Argentina, the World Cup champions, started as favourites and duly obliged that billing, but at times, they struggled. However, like true champions, they always found a way to win when it mattered most.
Colombia were excellent throughout the tournament and showed encouraging signs that they may very well be a force in the 2026 World Cup.
Uruguay was always going to show up and be a threat, but it was always second best to the winner and runner-up. They can be very inconsistent on the day, and for them to challenge the top teams, their overall consistency has to improve for them to be serious contenders.
Canada was the surprise of the tournament. The CONCACAF giants unbelievably made it to the semifinals. When you think they had to beat T&T to get into Copa America, they must be over the moon with their fourth-place finish.
Jamaica and the USA were surprisingly both awful. It is not difficult to understand why both coaches have resigned. The managers failed their countries and they did the honourable thing and offered their resignation.
Mexico and Costa Rica never fired, and neither seem to be the powerhouses of CONCACAF to be fearful of. I am not saying they are easy to get by, but planning against them is key.
Panama was the other team from the region that caused a major upset, especially when they defeated the USA and literally sent them packing. The biggest disappointment must be Brazil. What in Heaven’s name is going on with them? To be fair, it is not the most talented Brazilian team. When you look back at Brazilian teams, they had squads that had so much talent that when a player came off the bench, he was as good as the player he was replacing. That is no longer the case, and I can’t see them even coming close to winning the next World Cup. I hope they prove me wrong.
Nothing to watch again on TV? Not so fast as today is the West Indies vs England as they start the second Test but more on the West Indies another time.