Protests and Pimm’s: Wimbledon winds up after a fortnight of on- and off-court drama
New arrivals in Wimbledon in the past few weeks have been bombarded with a huge banner as they exit the station en route to the tennis. “Always like never before,” it booms. That has certainly been true of the 2023 edition, in which there have been protests and geopolitical rows, breakout stars and sparkling runs, doily dresses and – quite possibly – a finale that will prove to be a pivotal moment in modern tennis.
On the final day of the competition, fans were treated to a masterclass between the 36-year-old Wimbledon veteran Novak Djokovic and the 20-yearold Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard finally triumphed in a five-set thriller watched by a deafening Centre Court crowd, who could hardly contain their joy at bearing witness to match for the ages.
Alcaraz wasn’t born the last time someone other than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray or Djokovic won the men’s singles, and played, as promised, with no fear.
Speaking after being presented with the trophy by the Princess of Wales, he said it was a dream come true.
“Of course, it’s great to win, but even if I had lost, I would be really proud of myself with this amazing run, making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport.”
Djokovic, who saluted Alcaraz and his team, said he had shown great quality in serving out the match. “You deserve it, absolutely, amazing,” he said. “I thought I would have trouble with you only on clay and hard courts, but not on grass. But now it’s a different story from this year obviously,” he joked.
The Serb, who at one point in the four-hour, 42-minute match broke his racket by hitting it into the net post in a moment of frustration, broke down in tears as he thanked his family for their support, adding: “I will give you a big hug, and we can all love each other.”
The players were watched from the royal box by the Prince and Princess of Wales, joined by their eight-yearold daughter, Charlotte, making her first trip to Wimbledon, and her brother George. Alongside them sat Spain’s King Felipe VI, whom Alcaraz hailed as a lucky talisman.
The crowd was packed with stars, including the actors Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, the film-maker Guy Ritchie, the producer Jeremy
Kleine and the rapper Stormzy.
There was also something for the British public to cheer about when 17year-old Henry Searle became the first British boys’ champion at Wimbledon in 61 years, beating the Russian fifth seed Yaroslav Demin 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Boosted by a joyously rowdy 30strong group of friends and family from Wolverhampton, Searle beat his fourth top-10 seed of the week and raised the trophy – a feat he managed without dropping a set.
Searle, whose fastest serve was measured at 134mph – quicker than Djokovic’s in this tournament – thanked his “barmy army” for their support after the game. “It’s a pretty special feeling and it’s not going to come too often, so I’m going to try to enjoy it. It was amazing in front of this crowd today,” he said.
Another British player Alfie Hewett’s hopes of adding to his Wimbledon trophy haul were dashed in the men’s wheelchair singles final when he was beaten 6-4 6-2 by Tokito Oda, who only turned 17 in May.
On Saturday, the Czech Markéta Vondroušová became the first woman to win the competition unseeded, emulating Boris Becker in the 1985 men’s singles, after she beat the Tunisian Ons Jabeur. Neal Skupski became just the second Briton to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles in the open era, while Hewett and his British partner Gordon Reid won their fifth Wimbledon wheelchair doubles title.
The matches bring to a close an eventful two weeks that have seen no shortage of drama on and off the court.
The tournament opened to glorious sunshine but there was unprecedented chaos in the normally polite and orderly queue. This year, organisers implemented stricter security measures, which included the use of undercover police officers, in an attempt to halt climate protesters who had already disrupted several events this year. The airport-style checks resulted in long waits to get in: some people complained they had been waiting for 10 hours, with little communication from organisers about when they could hope to enter the grounds.
Wimbledon apologised and did a 360-degree reassessment of its procedures, although full bag searches continued throughout the week. They ultimately proved futile, with Just Stop Oil protesters disrupting play twice on the third day by running on to court 18 and throwing jigsaws bought in the onsite shop.
It was time to focus on tennis, and unfortunately for British fans there was little to cheer after the early stages. The two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray went out in the second round, hinting that he may have played his last Wimbledon match, while Liam Broady and Cameron Norrie were knocked out on Fragile Friday. The British female No 1 Katie Boulter was the last of the Brits to vacate the competition on Saturday.
Murray’s departure led to more debate about the scheduling at Wimbledon and its 11pm curfew, after he lost to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas having taken the lead before their match was postponed at 10.40pm. He suggested live electronic line calling should be used at the competition, after a crucial call wrongly went against him – tournament organisers said they were considering the move.
Fans found themselves implicated in a geopolitical row that bubbled beneath the surface as Russian and Belarusian players were let back into the competition as neutrals after being banned from playing last year.
The Belarusian Victoria Azarenka faced some boos as she left the court after her defeat against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who had a baby less than nine months ago and carried the hopes of a nation to the semi-finals, earning pride from her compatriots and disbelief from exhausted new parents.
Azarenka said the treatment was “not fair” as she was respecting Svitolina’s decision to not shake the hands of any Russian or Belarusian players while Russian troops remain in Ukraine.
The Belarusian suggested Wimbledon fans had drunk “a lot of Pimm’s” when questioned about the seemingly misplaced boos at the post-match press conference. “If people are going to be focusing only on handshakes or [the] quite drunk crowd booing in the end, that’s a shame,” she said.
The Guardian understands there are no plans to limit the amount of Pimm’s for sale next year at SW19.