Carlos Alcaraz had his Wimbledon trophy taken away from him behind the scenes after he privately spoke about the Euro 2024 final between Spain and England with Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, in SW19 on Sunday.
Spain inflicted an incredibly painful 2-1 defeat on England on Sunday night to ensure the Three Lions’ 58-year wait for a major trophy in men’s football goes on.
The match occurred on the same day as Alcaraz defeated Djokovic 6-2 6-2 7-6 in the Wimbledon final, which the 21-year-old spoke about in his on-court interview.
Alcaraz faced Wimbledon boos on Friday for saying that Sunday would be a ‘good day for Spanish people’, suggesting that his country would battle past the English.
That’s exactly how it panned out, and behind-the-scenes footage has now emerged of Alcaraz having a secret chat with Princess Kate at the All England Club after he beat Djokovic, before the Euro 2024 final between Spain and England.
Alcaraz was asked by Middleton who his favourite Spanish footballer was and the young tennis superstar named their captain, ex-Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata.
Middleton, who made just her second public appearance on Sunday after revealing her cancer diagnosis, then turned to her daughter Princess Charlotte and said: ‘We’ll have to look out for Morata.’
Alcaraz, who also picked Spain’s 17-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal as one of his favourite players, then ended his conversation with the British royal.
The Channel Slam winner walked out onto the balcony to celebrate with the Wimbledon trophy but when he headed back inside, it was taken off him.
‘You know we have to take that from you don’t you?’ A Wimbledon official told Alcaraz. ‘We will send you the replica version.’
Wimbledon champions are only allowed to take home a replica that is three-quarters of the size of the real trophy.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz was quizzed about how he would watch the Euro 2024 final in his post-match press conference, given that it clashed with the Champions Ball.
‘Well, I have the dinner that all the winners have, after all,’ Alcaraz said. ‘Yeah, I will watch it for sure on my phone the first half.
‘The second half I will watch on the TV over there. I can’t miss it. It’s going to be a really big moment for the Spanish people. I have to just stay there. As they were watching my final, I have to watch their final and support them.’
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