Carlos Alcaraz recently shrugged off the assumption that Emma Raducanu's presence in the Wimbledon final had the desired impact on his performance levels.
Alcaraz captured his second Wimbledon title, beating former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the championship match for the second year in a row. But unlike last year's epic, last weekend's victory was sealed in straight sets and in just over two hours.
The Serb was not at his scintillating best after undergoing knee surgery a month ago and having inadequate preparation for the tournament. However, he was gracious as ever in defeat, acknowledging that he was beaten by the better player.
For those keenly watching, it was clear that Djokovic's movement was not as fluid as we've become accustomed to knowing him for, and it's a key asset in his game.
Despite squandering three successive match points while serving for the title at 5-4, Alcaraz won the third-set tie-break to lift his fourth Grand Slam. A legion of celebrities from the sports field and Hollywood watched the match.
British tennis star Emma Raducnau was among those in attendance, and several tennis fans commented after the match that her presence extracted Alcaraz's best tennis in the final. One fan humorously wrote on X that the Spaniard "turned into prime Federer" upon seeing her.
"Carlos saw Emma in the crowd and went full prime (Roger Federer), fairs completely understandable."
The reactions cropped from the tennis gossipers who have spilled rumors that Alcaraz and Raducanu are dating. The 2021 US Open champion has reportedly split from her billionaire ex-boyfriend Carlo Agostinelli just before the grass-court swing.
And the narrative was driven by the seemingly falsified tweet that went viral last year of Alcaraz sending his best wishes to Raducanu, who underwent triple surgery.
The Spanish media quizzed Alcaraz during his post-victory interview on whether Raducanu's presence in the stands impacted his exceptional level in the final, to which the 21-year-old Murcia native laughed it off.
"(There are) jokes on social media that Carlos was playing like that because there’s Emma Raducanu watching on bench. Did (she) come to see you in particular?"
"I don't know. I don’t know. I think a lot of people have come to see the final. I think Novak, and I always put on a good show on the court. I think it's a very nice game to watch."
Moreover, Alcaraz insisted that Raducanu must have attended the Wimbledon men's final since it was being held in her home country, and it is one of the biggest sporting spectacles. He would have done the same thing if it had happened in Spain.
"Uh, she being from here, I imagine that she wanted to come see it, just as if there were a Grand Slam in Murcia (Alcaraz’s hometown), I would go to see the final 100%, even if I didn’t play."
Raducanu's decent showing at this year's grass-court swing culminated with a fourth-round defeat in the Wimbledon women's tournament to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun. But on the back of that run, she has broken into the Top 100 again.
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