Battle of Ages: Five Sets of Wimbledon

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages of Man' from As You Like It found a new form in Five Sets of Wimbledon on Sunday. Two men in their time played many parts — offender, defender, counter-offender, survivor, champion, ex-champion — on Centre Court. But if there was one single overarching narrative in this epic final, it was that of a Gilgameshian contest between 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and 36-year-old Novak Djokovic.

It was the Battle of the Ages. Theory does not always inhabit the same world as practice. So, if you thought the World No.

1 youngster — in India, we call 20-year-old men 'boys' — would quickly envelop the more 'mature' No. 2 player, you would have been wrong. In the first set, the older Djokovic made paella out of the Spaniard in a rapid 6-1 wrap.

The second set also looked like going the master Serb's way, but Alcaraz dredged out something from his socks and barely crossed over 7-6 on a teetering tie-break. The third set showed how, in physical contests, the younger body holds an advantage, talent being equal on either side of the net. But the 6-1 Alcaraz win was only another twist in the tale.

The 7-time Wimbledon champion pulled back a set — and how — 6-3. But the longer the game, the more spent are the body's cells. And, here, the younger man took to the last set like Achilles to Hector.