Top five moments from Wimbledon 2024 ft. Novak Djokovic, Sachin Tendulker, Andy Murray and more

Andy Murray’s emotional farewell and Novak Djokovic’s post-match interview were the highlights of the 2024 Wimbledon.

Wimbledon has been the favourite tennis event for players and fans. Fans wait a year to witness their favourite players create magic on the court. The 2024 edition of the event did not disappoint and was as exciting and thrilling as ever.

As the event comes to an end, let us revisit the top five moments and here are our picks:

5. Global sports icons, including Sachin Tendulkar, welcomed in Royal Box 

Super Saturday is traditionally a day when the All England Club invites a galaxy of stars to celebrate world-class achievements in sports. This year, cricket legends, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Ben Stokes, Jos Butler and Joe Root as well as football icons Pep Guardiola and Leah Williamson were present in the Royal Box. 

A handful of iconic Olympians also joined the box, including Denise Lewis, Hannah Cockroft, Adam Peaty, Sir Chris Hoy, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Jason Kenney and Dame Laura Kenny. Meanwhile, Sir Ben Ainslie, Christopher Dean, Jayne Torvill and other stars from the world of rugby and hockey also joined in. All the guests were welcomed by the host announcing their names with a brief intro and they received huge applause from the crowd.

4. Jasmine Paolini becomes Italy’s first ladies’ singles finalist

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final after defeating Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8). This was also the longest women’s semi-final at the All-England Club. Interestingly, Paolini had never even won a tour-level match on grass before this year.

Paolini has been on an amazing run in the last two months, as she is also the first woman to get to the title matches at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Serena Williams in 2015 and 2016.

3. Scenes on Centre Court after England’s win on penalties

Novak Djokovic’s match with Alexei Popyrin on Centre Court was halted as the crowd celebrated England’s penalty shootout win at Euro 2024. England’s clash with Switzerland finished 1-1, but due to extra-time and penalties, the match went on by the time Djokovic’s match on Centre Court was being played.

Djokovic was preparing to receive serve in the second set when the crowd broke out into cheers with the umpire taking time out to let the noise die down. Both players quickly grasped what was going on, as they smiled on opposite sides of the court. Djokovic even made a fake shot toward his opponent Popyrin, making an attempted save before play eventually got back underway.

ALSO READ: How much prize money will Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini earn from Wimbledon 2024?

2. Andy Murray’s emotional farewell

The two-time men’s singles champion Andy Murray received an emotional farewell after he lost the doubles match in his last Wimbledon appearance, alongside his brother Jamie in the first round of the men’s doubles. Murray had already pulled out of the singles event because of a back injury.

A moving tribute video was played before Sue Barker interviewed Murray, reflecting on his incredible career and the difficulty of deciding that the moment had come to call time on it this year. There was not a dry eye on Centre Court during the farewell. Murray said he “wants to play forever” but that “physically it’s just too tough” in the emotional interview.

1. Novak Djokovic’s fiery interview after win over Holger Rune

Novak Djokovic once again found himself in a controversy. After the win against Holger Rune, Djokovic addressed the crowd in a controversial post-match interview. The Serb was under the impression that some fans were booing him throughout the tie and called them out for their behaviour. 

Djokovic said “To all the fans who have respect and have stayed here tonight, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it.” He then added, “And to all those people who have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case, me, have a goooood night. Goooood night. Goooood night. Very good night.” He also told the Wimbledon crowd, “You guys can’t touch me.”

His statement created buzz on social media as my people believed that the crowd was cheering for Rune by elongating the ‘u’ in the Dane’s name, but Djokovic was not convinced and believed they were using it as an excuse to boo him.

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