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The stars were keen to witness music history.

'Emma was playing incredible tennis.'

It sounds like science fiction but it is a natural phenomenon.

An eerie silence fell around Centre Court when two-time defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz experienced every club player’s worst nightmare – starting a match with a double fault.

His third-round opponent Jan-Lennard Struff wasn’t good enough to take advantage but it was the first of several somewhat worrying signs for Alcaraz, bidding to become only the fifth man in the Open Era to win three successive Wimbledon titles.

It feels harsh to question Alcaraz’s level after a 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 win – his 21st in a row during a sensational run – but it doesn’t quite feel like he’s playing at the level he reached during his previous two title wins at the All England Club. Not yet at least.

There was that surprisingly awkward first-round clash with Fabio Fognini, who is retiring at the end of the season, in which Alcaraz was taken to five sets by a 38-year-old who has never reached the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Alcaraz did not drop a set in his second-round win over Oliver Tarvet, but he was forced to dig deep to save multiple break points – eight in the first set alone – against a British player ranked outside the top 700.

His ability to save break points was evident again against Struff, Alcaraz saving two in his second service game. Struff was not denied in the second set, breaking the Alcaraz serve twice on his way to levelling the match.

A 6-1 scoreline is always eye-catching and naturally, there were moments of brilliance from Alcaraz, who came inside a forehand and thumped one down the line to provoke the biggest cheer on Centre Court.

But an overawed Struff could hardly have played any worse in a first set in which he won just 15 points and had a first-serve percentage of 35%. For a player that was always going to rely heavily on his serve to stand any chance against a player of Alcaraz’s quality, that figure needed to be closer to 60%.

‘I think Jan-Lennard Struff needs to forget about that set pretty quickly,’ Tim Henman said as Alcaraz raced into a lead inside half an hour. ‘35% first serves is not going to cut the mustard.’

After a period of Struff momentum, Alcaraz reasserted his dominance in the third set – taking it 6-3 – but the crucial break came when Struff double faulted three times in one service game. Alcaraz of course deserves credit here as it is his incredible ball-striking and movement that make players like Struff believe they need to aim that little bit tighter and ultimately miss the mark.

On paper, the fourth set may look straightforward enough but it was anything but. Leading 30-0 on Alcaraz’s serve, Struff was two points away from serving for the set. The Spaniard’s resolve in those moments is remarkable and came through here. It was that resolve, remember, that saw Alcaraz save three Championship points in the epic French Open final, denying Jannik Sinner the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

Dropping four sets across two matches against Fognini and Struff is not a disaster but shows Alcaraz is not impenetrable. And perhaps, given the level of play displayed by his biggest rival, Alcaraz should no longer be considered the favourite for the title.

Sinner dropped just 12 games in his opening two straight-set victories and while the opposition were not up to much, his level of play was incredibly impressive. ‘Impossible to play against’ was how BBC commentator John Lloyd described Sinner after his first match.

Sinner’s form of course comes as no surprise at this stage of his career. After all, he is a three-time Grand Slam champion and, had it not been for a stunning Alcaraz comeback in Paris, would have won his maiden French Open title last month.

Daniil Medvedev dealt with Sinner on this turf 12 months ago – a very different Medvedev from the one that crashed out this time around, it should be said – while the Italian lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in 2023.

John McEnroe recently said it would be ‘absurd’ to imagine Sinner going his entire career without a Wimbledon win and, ahead of his third-round match with Pedro Martinez, perhaps he is even the favourite.

Five-time major winner Alcaraz can and has reached a (narrowly) higher level than Sinner but the latter is the more consistent player, as highlighted by his world ranking.

‘When I think about the rivalry at the top of the game between Alcaraz and Sinner, you feel Sinner is more consistent,’ Tim Henman said on the BBC during Alcaraz’s victory over Struff. ‘On a scale of 1-10, Sinner is going to play between seven and nine most week. Alcaraz can get to nine-and-a-half but there’s times he might dip down to five. We saw that against Fognini. The challenge when playing Alcaraz is he can just turn it on and play at such a high level.’

Alcaraz appears more nervous than in previous years and admitted as much following a tricky first-round. Three double faults in the first set against Struff perhaps hinted at tension in his arms and legs. Better players might make him pay for such blips.

He described his match against Struff as ‘stressful’, saying in an on-court interview: ‘It was stressful. I was suffering in every service game I did today. ‘It was stressful, every time he could push me, he did it, so I’m really happy at the end I got the break and got the job done.’

There is, though, the possibility that Alcaraz is easing his way into the tournament and will peak in the latter stages, when bigger rivals for his crown will be standing on the other side of the net.

It is widely accepted that Alcaraz and Sinner are the two standout players at Wimbledon, with an ageing Djokovic hoping to spoil the party having swapped his tag as a Wimbledon pantomime villain and the least popular of the Big Three in favour of a much-loved figure in SW19.

Djokovic overcame a briefly concerning physical issue in the first round before dismantling British hopeful Dan Evans last time out. The 38-year-old ‘absolutely’ believes he can topple Alcaraz and Sinner and why shouldn’t he. He’s a seven-time champion bidding to claim a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

You simply cannot write Djokovic off but he will need to prove his title credentials against better opposition before displacing Alcaraz or Sinner as the man to beat.

McEnroe struggles to split Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic, while Nadal’s former coach, Uncle Toni, believes the defending champion is still the ‘man to beat’.

However, one of Sinner’s Wimbledon opponents has potentially explained the Italian’s key advantage over Alcaraz.

‘Jannik exposes the weaknesses of his opponents with extreme ease,’ Aleksandar Vukic said after taking just five games of the reigning Australian and US Open champion.

‘Playing against him is like being in a boxing ring and you can only reach for the towel. The comparison with Carlos? They are at least two levels above the others, it’s pretty evident. Carlos gives you more free points, and you can breathe a sigh of relief. With Jannik, it’s different, as he suffocates you and offers no breathing space.’

Barring a huge upset, which cannot be ruled out given the number of shocks at Wimbledon this week, the men’s winner looks set to come from Alcaraz, Sinner of Djokovic.

The champion is hard to predict but one thing’s for sure, it’s going to be an intriguing and captivating week in SW19.

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'He's obviously an exceptional football player.'

ودّع الهلال السعودي بطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025 مبكرًا، بعد سقوطه أمام فلومينينسي البرازيلي بنتيجة 2-1، في اللقاء الذي جمع الفريقين مساء الجمعة، على ملعب “كامبينج وورلد” في الولايات المتحدة، ضمن منافسات ربع نهائي النسخة الأولى بنظامها الجديد بمشاركة 32 فريقًا. دخل الهلال اللقاء بطموحات كبيرة مدفوعًا بكوكبة من نجومه الدوليين، إلا أن ماتيوس مارتينيلي …

ظهرت المقالة الهلال يودّع مونديال الأندية أمام فلومينينسي في ليلة خيبة أمل سعودية أولاً على أحداث العرب.

Siya Kolisi has handed over the Springbok captaincy to Jesse Kriel in this emotional Instagram post. Take a look...

'I'm super determined.'

'We don’t have alligators, but we have lots of bears.'

Chelsea will look to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup with a victory over Palmeiras in Philadelphia.

Chelsea are the only Premier League side left in the competition after Manchester City were dumped out by Al-Hilal earlier this week.

And with Inter Milan also knocked out by Fluminense, Chelsea are also the only European side left on the top half of the draw.

But Enzo Maresca’s side know it will not be plain sailing to reach the final from here and must first get past a Palmeiras side who have impressed greatly so far this competition.

The Brazilian outfit topped their group without losing a game and came through in extra-time against Botafogo to reach the quarter-finals.

Chelsea, meanwhile, finished second in their group but triumphed over Benfica 4-1 after extra-time in their round-of-16 encounter.

The winner of the quarter-final will face off against either Al-Hilal or Fluminense for a spot in next weekend’s final.

When is Palmeiras vs Chelsea?

The match kicks off at 2am on Saturday July 4 UK time, that’s 9pm on Friday July 4 local time at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

How to watch Palmeiras vs Chelsea

The game will be streamed live on DAZN, which you will need a subscription to watch but it is available to sign up for at no cost.

This is not one of the games being shown on Channel 5.

Chelsea team news

Moises Caicedo will be suspended for the quarter-final clash, but Nicolas Jackson is once again available for selection after serving his two-match ban.

Enzo Maresca revealed Pedro Neto may miss the game following the tragic death of his international teammate Diogo Jota, but new summer signing Joao Pedro is eligible to play following his move from Brighton.

Palmeiras vs Chelsea odds

11/4 Palmeiras
15/8 Draw
5/6 Chelsea

Odds courtesy of Betfair (& subject to change)

What has Enzo Maresca said?

Speaking prior to the game, Maresca insisted his side would not underestimate the task posed by their opposition and spoke of his great admiration for the Brazilian game.

‘We always respect Brazilian football,’ the Italian said. ‘We don’t need this tournament to respect Brazilian football.

‘At least me personally, I always respect Brazilian football because it’s one of the best country, all the best country in the world in terms of quality, in terms of football.

‘So I really respect Brazil. I don’t need this competition to respect Brazilian football. They show each game here in this competition how good they are. And they’re going to continue also after this competition.’

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