Savour every single shot, every precious moment Carlos Alcaraz is on Centre Court, the Spaniard is destined to join the sport’s elite in tennis Valhalla.
Bjorn Borg was the first man to dominate Wimbledon in the Open era when he won five titles between 1976 and 1980, then Pete Sampras won seven out of eight championships, starting with his 1993 victory against fellow American Jim Courier and only interrupted in 1996 when he lost in the quarter-finals to 17th seed and eventual winner Richard Krajicek.
The absolute legend that is Roger Federer was undisputed champion between 2003 and 2007 before further victories in 2009, 2012 and 2017 and Novak Djokovic has won seven crowns at the All England Club with his triumphs in 2011, 2014 and 2015 followed by four on the spin from 2018.
That run was ended two years ago when the Serbian was defeated by Alcaraz in a sensational five-set thriller and the Spaniard again lifted the trophy when he beat Djokovic in straight sets 12 months ago.
After fighting back from two sets down to shock Jannik Sinner and win the French Open title at Roland Garros for the second year in a row last month, 2022 US Open champion Alcaraz enjoyed a holiday in Ibiza before his victory at Queen’s and he has since continued to dominate on grass in the third grand slam of the year.
British hope Cameron Norrie played some fantastic stuff in their quarter-final showdown on Tuesday as he tried to reach the last four for the second time, but he was blown away by the pure genius of the 22-year-old from Mucia in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 masterclass.
Alcaraz is both unstoppable and unplayable when he is in the groove and has now won 23 times in a row heading into his semi-final with Taylor Fritz where he will gracefully glide round the court to book his place in Sunday’s final.
Wimbledon men’s semi-final odds
Fritz is this year’s fifth seed and is enjoying a hot streak of his own after winning at Eastbourne before descending on SW19 and he booked his place in his first semi-final with a four-set success against Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
The American is still chasing a first grand-slam title and will have to continue dreaming for a while longer as Alcaraz is a step up in class. Fritz is good enough to take a set but Alcaraz, still available at 4/6 with William Hill, bet365 and others to keep a firm grip on the trophy, is 13/5 with BoyleSports to win 3-1 and edge closer to sporting immortality.
Wimbledon women’s semi-final odds
Aryna Sabalenka admitted she was thinking about booking a flight out of London as she struggled to see off Laura Siegemund in their absorbing women’s singles quarter-final at Wimbledon before eventually winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
She has reached the finals of the last three majors but has never played in a Centre Court decider and after her struggles against the world No.104 from Germany Sabalenka will be put to the test by 13th seed and rising star Amanda Anisimova.
The American beat Russian Anastasia Paylyuchenko in straight sets and is worth a dabble to cause an upset against the world No.1 at 12/5 with bet365 although the best bet is for the match to go the distance at 31/20 with Unibet and BetMGM.
Golf odd: Scottish Open
The 153rd Open Championship tees-off at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland next week and most of the key contenders will fine tune their preparations in this week’s Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
Scottie Scheffler is 5/1 favourite with Sporting Index and SpreadEx while Rory McIlroy will be popular at 10/1 with BetMGM and Unibet but keep an eye of Robert MacIntyre.
Second in the US Open at Oakmont and chasing another Ryder Cup appearance after an unbeaten effort for Europe’s winning team last time around with two wins and a draw, MacIntyre is defending his second title in a month and the Scot makes each-way appeal at 20/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral.
