Fresh start in London after Paris epic

Alcaraz is ready to chase his third Wimbledon crown, but his French Open win over Sinner is still top of the mind

- Rutvick Mehta

MUMBAI: One of the more prominent changes at Wimbledon of late is getting the star players mic'd up for the initial minutes of their first practice hit on Centre Court.

That's how we get to know that Novak Djokovic had no intention of giving the most recent Grand Slam men's final a view until his wife and son compelled him to abandon his if-I-ain't-playing-I-ain't-watching theory. That's how we also get to know that Jannik Sinner, the French Open runner-up, has, sort of, moved on and now feels it was a "huge honour" being part of a match that "people will remember".

In those two mic'd up videos covering the warm-up session of Djokovic-Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner-Daniil Medvedev, lasting about five minutes each, more than a couple of minutes were spent talking about what happened in Paris. We're now in London, in an immaculate setting and court that couldn't be more contrasting than the messy red dirt. And yet, the shadow of Roland Garros lingers (that's apart from the Aryna Sabalenka-Coco Gauff friction turned Tik Tok-inspired patch up).

Simply because that's how good the title clash for the French Open between Alcaraz and Sinner was. It turned an iconic chapter to their own rivalry and the sport's post-Big Three era by delivering a battle that, as Sinner said, people will remember for years to come.