New Delhi: Ravi Shastri fondly remembers the first time he came to Wimbledon vividly. It was in 1982 when Vijay Amritraj brought he and Sunil Gavaskar to the locker room and ment the champion Jimmy Connors.
He says since then he has been a regular since then and on his latest visit to the All England Club this year he felt that with Roger Federer already retired, Rafael Nadal retiring after this year and Novak Djokovic at the fag end of his career, the era of the ‘big trio’ has ended.
The former India cricketer and coach tipped World No.1 Jannik Sinner and No.3 Carlos Alcaraz to take over the reins from the famed trio.
“I mean, the era of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, you feel is coming to an end, or has come to an end, and it’ll be Sinner and Alcaraz who will keep the flag flying. As far as the competition goes they’ll have some great battles in the future and we hope another couple come on the way,” he told Star Sports.
Great to bump into the gorgeous @MariaSharapova. Did wonders for the game of Tennis for the sheer Quality and Style she brought to the court. A Fashion Icon. pic.twitter.com/A6wJp6vecG
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) July 9, 2024
The cricketer turned commentator also recollected the time when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won the men’s doubles title in 1999 and how Amritaj helped them meet Connors.
“Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi did it for years, Vijay Amritraj did it before that, in fact, the first time I ever came into the Wimbledon was in 1982, when Connors won it and Vijay brought us in and he took us into the dressing room, he took Sunny and me into the locker room, as they say, not the dressing room and met Jimmy Connors at that time and I’ve been coming ever since,” he said.
Shastri observed that the first time he saw Alcaraz play he was reminded of a young Nadal due to similarities in their power and fitness levels.
“At the moment, Alcaraz, I saw that final last year, in that fifth set, he’s, got some energy, some strength and when I saw him first, it reminded me of young Nadal, the way he whacked that ball, the power with which he hit it and he’s like a bull in that fifth set, you take him to the fifth set, you better be fit, otherwise he’ll clean you up,” he said, adding that he is accompanied by his daughter on this trio who us “dying” to meet Emma Raducanu.
Chance meeting with The Rocket at Silverstone. Arguably the greatest in the Game of Tennis. Humility personified. @rodlaver 🙏 pic.twitter.com/0sWlRktsH9
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) July 6, 2024
Ravi Shastri said he is a regular at Wimbledon since 1982 and took a selfie with Maria Sharapova. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
