TENNIS prodigy Carlos Alcaraz told King Felipe VI to 'keep coming to Wimbledon' after the monarch once again proved to be his lucky charm.
Murcia-born Carlos, 20, had millions of spectators and TV viewers holding their breath during his epic final at the All England Club against Serbian legend Novak Djoković.
The former world number one, 36 – who is currently world number two, with 94 ATP titles including 23 Grand Slams plus an Olympic bronze medal under his belt – has won Wimbledon seven times in the past, but was no match for the Spanish rising star.
Alcaraz was just 15 when he turned professional, and has already leapfrogged Djoković to the ATP world number one slot, as well as winning the US Open last year – a feat which Switzerland's Roger Federer managed five times on the trot between 2004 and 2008.
The Balkan superstar is finding his habitual turf under threat in general now Alcaraz has burst onto the scene, although he still holds the record for the highest number of Australian Open titles, at 10.
Carlos Alcaraz (left) had to fight through five gruelling sets for four-and-a-half hours to knock legend Novak Djoković (right) into the reserve champion spot. This is Carlos' first Wimbledon final (all photos by EFE)
A gruelling five-set final ended in 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 to Alcaraz, and with Djoković smashing his racquet in fury and frustration following a four-and-a-half-hour battle.
This was made worse for him by the fact Alcaraz was considered a complete outsider, having never reached a Wimbledon final before, and his most recent success was getting through to the semi-finals at Roland Garros just over a month ago.
Hailing the new reign of Gen Z as Kings and Queens of the courts, Alcaraz had his own encounter with royalty after clinching the much-coveted title.
HRH Felipe VI's first words to the youngster from El Palmar were: “Do you realise what you've done?”
Alcaraz replied that 'both times' the King had come to a match he was playing, he had won it, to which he added, “I hope you keep coming.”
The international media has already temporarily dethroned Felipe VI and given Alcaraz his job – Italy's Corriere dello Sport called him 'AlcaRey', a word-play on Rey, for King, whilst Spain's sports newspaper Marca titled its front page Dios salve al nuevo rey, or 'God save the new king'.
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