Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 17.

Inter Miami unveiled Lionel Messi.

Ilkay Gundogan became a Barca player.

Mohamed Salah trained hard.

Luton were feeling the heat.

A mural for Tottenham.

New one-shoe trend?

Wilfried Zaha was making memories.

Happy birthdays.

A dream realised.

Strike a pose champions.

Neal Skupski was still celebrating.

KP was in awe.

Eoin Morgan enjoyed Wimbledon.

James Anderson was in claret and blue.

Jules Bianchi was remembered.

Ten years apart.

Raymond Van Barneveld was in Blackpool.

Relief Rally will bid to better her runner-up finish in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot when she goes for the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury.

The William Haggas-trained filly heads 23 confirmations for Saturday’s £250,000 feature, which this year marks 30 years of Weatherbys’ sponsorship

A Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned daughter of Kodiac, should Relief Rally be successful she would be a third Haggas winner of the five-furlong showpiece, after the top-class Superstar Leo in 2000 and Jargelle eight years later.

Relief Rally made her debut at Windsor in April, before taking a conditions race at Salisbury and then heading to the Royal meeting, where only American raider Crimson Advocate was too good, by a nose.

As a 58,000 genuine yearling, carrying a small penalty, Relief Rally will have significantly more weight than Superstar Leo, who was bred in partnership by Haggas’ father-in-law Lester Piggott and Tony Hirschfeld and was bought back for a mere 3,400 guineas by his wife Maureen at the sales.

Haggas said: “Relief Rally got the entry for the Super Sprint because she was bred to be quick and cost less than the ceiling £65,000, so it’s been on our radar for a while. She got a small penalty for her Salisbury win, but it would have been a much bigger one if she had won the Queen Mary, although we would have been happy to have taken one there.

“The American filly was obviously very quick in the Queen Mary, but we were unfortunate not to win, as she was in front a stride before the line and in front again a stride after it, but not on the line.”

He added: “Unlike Superstar Leo, who had no weight despite having won the Norfolk Stakes, Relief Rally has 9st, but if she’s good enough to win on Saturday I think she’ll go for the Lowther, then the Flying Childers, which Superstar Leo also won, and then the Abbaye, where Superstar Leo was second to Namid.”

Superstar Leo ended the year the highest-rated juvenile filly on the classifications, and she has gone on to have major lasting significance for the stable.

Haggas said: “She’s been marvellous. She introduced us to the Jacksons, of Lael Stables, who have been big supporters ever since, and she bred Enticing (winner of the Molecomb and King George Stakes), who was the dam of One Master (three-time winner of the Prix de la Foret). Her sister Starship is the dam of Rivet, who won the Racing Post Trophy for us.

“It’s been a hell of a family for us and a wonderful story, and the Jacksons were so fond of Superstar Leo that when she retired they flew her back to Kentucky so that she could spend the rest of her life in their front paddock.”

Novak Djokovic has been fined 8,000 US dollars after smashing his racket against a net post during Sunday’s men’s singles final at Wimbledon.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club has confirmed the 36-year-old has been hit with the penalty, which amounts to around £6,117, for “racket abuse” during his defeat by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic allowed his frustration to show after failing to break Alcaraz and then losing his own service game during the decisive fifth set of an enthralling contest on Centre Court.

Umpire Fergus Murphy, who had earlier pulled up the Serbian for a time violation, immediately issued a warning for a code violation.

Djokovic’s disappointment grew as the 20-year-old world number one took full advantage to seal a 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory after four hours and 42 minutes.

In the process, he denied his illustrious opponent a 24th grand slam title and an eighth at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon is over for another year.

The British grand slam brought with it plenty of twists and turns, not least in the men's singles final on Sunday, as Carlos Alcaraz overcame Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller.

A day before Alcaraz sealed his second major title with that 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 success, Marketa Vondrousova won her first grand slam with a surprise 6-4 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks back at the best statistics from the last two weeks at the All England Club.

King Carlos

It looked like it might be a bad day at the office for Alcaraz when Djokovic cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set on Centre Court, but the Spaniard came back with a bang.

Alcaraz is an incredible talent that looks set to take up the mantle left by Rafael Nadal, and while Djokovic was at times at his dominant best, it still wasn't enough to down the world number one.

At 20, Alcaraz is the third-youngest player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon, after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.

And he is now the youngest player in the Open Era to win the singles title at both the US Open and Wimbledon.

Nadal was the only previous Spaniard to win the coveted trophy, as Alcaraz became the first player not called Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray to triumph at the All England Club since 2002 - before he was even born.

He became the first player to defeat three top-10 opponents en route to winning the Wimbledon title since Pete Sampras did so in 1994, while after claiming the title at Queen's, Alcaraz is the second-youngest player to win 12+ consecutive grass-court matches (Boris Becker was the youngest to achieve the feat, with 13 straight wins in 1985 between the Queen's Club and Wimbledon).

No Grand Slam for Novak

Djokovic became the second player in the Open Era to reach multiple men's singles grand slam finals in a single year after turning 36, after Ken Rosewall in 1974. He also overtook Chris Evert (34) as the player with the most appearances in major finals, among both men and women (35).

Only Federer, with 46, can match the Serbian's tally of grand slam semi-final appearances in the Open Era, meanwhile.

The 36-year-old also became just the third player in the Open Era, after Federer and Jimmy Connors, to play in 100 men's singles matches at Wimbledon.

Djokovic had not lost a five-set grand slam final since losing to Andy Murray in the 2012 US Open.

Indeed, Djokovic had not lost at Wimbledon since going down to Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals and the final was his first loss on Centre Court for 10 years, since Murray beat him in the famous 2013 final.

Vondrousova victorious

Vondrousova is the first unseeded player to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the Open Era. It marked only her second career WTA Tour title, following her success at Biel in 2017.

She is the lowest-ranked player to win the singles title in Wimbledon since the WTA Rankings were introduced.

The Czech was playing in her second grand slam final, having previously lost to Ashleigh Barty at the 2019 French Open.

Vondrousova now holds a record of 3-2 head-to-head against Jabeur, with the latter winning their only previous meeting on grass, at Eastbourne in 2021. All the Tunisian's losses Vondrousova have come in 2023.

Vondrousova is the sixth unseeded player to win a grand slam title in the last decade, after Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Raducanu.

The 24-year-old is the third Czech woman to win the singles title at Wimbledon, after Jana Novotna (1998) and Petra Kvitova (2011, 2014).

Meanwhile, Jabeur became the first player since Simona Halep to lose each of her first three singles finals at grand slams, while the 28-year-old is the third player in the 21st century to lose successive Wimbledon finals after Venus Williams (2002, 2003) and Serena Williams (2018, 2019).

Former Olympic silver medallist Leon Taylor hailed a “coming of age” moment for Team GB’s female divers following their success at the World Championships.

Team GB earned their first ever World Championship diving medal in a women’s event on Sunday when Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix took silver in the 10 metres synchro in Fukuoka.

Their historic success in Japan was replicated just 24 hours later when Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen earned silver in the three metres synchro and Taylor believes it is a “breakthrough moment” for Team GB’s female divers.

“It’s the first ever time our female athletes have won a World Championship medal, then it was backed up today by a wonderful effort in the three metre by Yasmin and Scarlett,” he told the PA news agency.

“The silvers for the girls has been incredible, back-to-back silvers at a World Championships having never stood on the podium before as female athletes for GB.

“For me it’s a coming of age for GB female diving because it’s been on the cards for a while, this is a real breakthrough moment, the statistics speak for themselves.

“It just fills me with excitement ahead of next year, but of course we’ve got to be careful not to get too excited because there’s a process and jobs to be done.

“The team are doing a beautiful job in Fukuoka so we couldn’t have asked for a better start.”

Spendolini-Sirieix, daughter of TV personality Fred Sirieix, earned two gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, while partner Toulson secured two silvers in Birmingham as Team England took 15 medals in total at the competition.

The duo have been competing together for just under a year and have already enjoyed success, claiming a European 10m synchro gold medal in Rome last year.

The World Championship silvers secure a spot at next year’s Olympics in Paris and it comes following a triumphant period for Team GB’s divers.

“Peter (Waterfield) and I, nearly 20 years ago now, we won the first Olympic medal in British diving for 44 years and that was a breakthrough moment,” Taylor added.

“Then you’ve got the Tom Daley effect and Jack (Laugher) and their success, when it comes to major medals, it has been tilted heavily towards the men’s and the boys’ side of the sport.

“But the women have always been there, the potential has always been there and it’s just blossoming now.

“It couldn’t be more exciting with what they’ve achieved, the timing, the fact that we’ve got not quite a home Olympics, but it’s close just over the pond in Paris, a year away.

“The celebration that we had in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games across men’s and women’s success was magnificent and now it’s being replicated on the world stage.”

Taylor secured silver alongside Waterfield at Athens 2004 in the Men’s 10 metre synchronised platform after narrowly missing out on a podium place at Sydney 2000 and the 45-year-old admitted it was “incredible” to fulfill his ambition.

Taylor said: “I was lucky enough to compete at three and at my third Olympics, 20 years after watching the Olympics on the TV and the start of my dream, I realised that ambition to stand on the podium to win an Olympic medal was incredible.

“For me the reflection is the support I had along the way, because that moment in time even though I was stood next to my team-mate it wasn’t just about me or us, it was about everything that had been contributed.

“All the way back to my parents and all the sacrifices they made, I feel very fortunate I was at the beginning of this wonderful era in sport where the National Lottery funding came in at the beginning of my career.”

National Lottery players raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen 

Ascot Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami is likely to bypass the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, with stablemate Gregory poised to be owners Wathnan Racing’s chosen representative in the Sussex Downs marathon.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, both horses carry an unbeaten record and struck gold in the hands of Frankie Dettori for their Qatari-based owners at Royal Ascot last month.

Courage Mon Ami is disputing favouritism with Coltrane for the two-mile Group One during the Qatar Goodwood Festival, but may have to wait for his chance to confirm Ascot form over Andrew Balding’s Gold Cup runner-up, with connections keen to keep the mileage low on the new star of the staying ranks.

Therefore, it is Queen’s Vase hero Gregory who has the chance to fill the void in one of the meeting’s feature events, as he tunes up for a tilt at the St Leger in the autumn.

“They have both come out of Ascot really well, I was in there looking at them last week and I was absolutely delighted with how they look,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for the owners.

“Gregory is a big horse who is only going to get better with age and we won’t overrace him this year. We will probably only run him twice more. His main aim is the Leger and he may well take in the Goodwood Cup on the way because the three-year-old weight allowance is really significant.

“At the moment we’re training both Courage Mon Ami and Gregory for the race, but only one of them will go. We’re favouring Gregory because of the weight allowance and we want to keep the miles low on Courage Mon Ami.”

With Gregory the envisaged Wathnan Goodwood number one, sights for Courage Mon Ami are already being pointed towards a defence of his Gold Cup crown, with a return to Ascot for the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup (October 21) a possible aim for the back-end of the current campaign.

“Courage Mon Ami is a four-year-old and we have seen in the past that those horses who get to the top of the staying division can go back and win at Ascot again, so his main aim already is next year’s Gold Cup,” added Brown.

“He will probably run twice more this year with obvious back-end targets being Ascot or the Cadran (ParisLongchamp, September 30) and on the way we can go to York (Lonsdale Cup, August 29) or the Doncaster Cup (September 15) if we don’t go to Goodwood.”

The objective is to keep Courage Mon Ami and Gregory apart for as long as possible, but Brown concedes there may come a time when the talented stablemates may have to lock horns.

He continued: “We will be guided John and his team and where they want to go. We will keep them separate because at the end of the day Wathnan have only got nine horses at the moment and running them both in the same Group One is not something we want to do.

“We’re favouring Gregory at the moment for Goodwood, but they are both going to be trained for it in case Gregory couldn’t get there. Then Courage Mon Ami can drop into his spot.

“The St Leger is Gregory’s number one target and then we can worry about what we do next year.

“If we are in the fortunate position that they are both fit, sound, healthy and training well then that is when we might not be able to keep them separate. But at this stage we will try to keep them apart.”

Cameron Smith insists he does not have a point to prove as he returns to defend the Open title he won just weeks before defecting to LIV Golf last year.

The Australian was well on his way to becoming world number one when he saw off Rory McIlroy in the final round at St Andrews to win his first major, but rumours were already circulating about a potential switch of tours.

He dodged the question in his winner’s press conference but less than six weeks later he had signed up with LIV and left the PGA Tour behind.

Smith has had top-10 finishes in two of the three majors this year but defending his title brings with it another level of pressure and he was asked whether returning to play in front of British crowds as a LIV golfer made any difference.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s any added motivation there,” said the 29-year-old, who has won twice on the LIV Tour, most less than a fortnight ago in the London event at the Centurion Club.

“I think we’re all here to win the Claret Jug and basically any one of these guys, if they have their week this week, is going to walk away with it.

“I think LIV aside, I’m determined to try my best every week and just try and be a better golfer than I was last week.”

So had a life-changing 12 months as a major champion and major player on the LIV scene changed him in any way?

“I think the person is the same. I think my old boy would give me a clip around the ears if I was any different,” he added.

“I think as a golfer, I think I’m actually a better golfer now than what I was last year.

“I’ve never tried too much to worry about what people thought of me and I think LIV was really well received in Australia.

“They were probably the two most important things to me. I think when I went down to Australia to play the PGA and the Open, at the end of the year there was no public kind of uproar of me switching tours.

“They were just happy to see me there playing golf. That was awesome.”

Smith was famously less happy with the line of questioning in his press conference a year ago in his moment of triumph.

However, he takes a more rounded view of what happened, being able to look back at events.

“I think it was frustrating at the time, just given the circumstance, but then I guess looking back on it, it’s just a guy just trying to do his job and asked a question that everyone really wanted to know,” he said.

“I don’t have any hard feelings towards anyone there at all.”

His feelings on handing back the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool were markedly different, however, as he got unexpectedly emotional handing back the trophy to R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers at Hoylake.

“I just had to hand back the trophy there. I thought I was going to do all right but I was actually holding back from tears,” he said.

“A bit of a moment, I guess, that crept up on me. It wasn’t hard to hand it back, I wasn’t like not letting it go, but it was just a bit of a moment that I guess you don’t think about and then all of a sudden it’s there.”

Milton Harris’ Scriptwriter has a York return on his agenda before new connections take aim at the Melbourne Cup.

The four-year-old is a Grade Two-winning hurdler who took the Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle in November and went on to place fifth in the Grade One Jewson Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree on the last run of his National Hunt campaign.

He was in action on the level in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot over a mile and three-quarters, finishing seventh of 16 at 40-1.

Last weekend’s John Smith’s Silver Cup at York saw him step out of handicap company and into a Group Three, where he was only narrowly beaten, coming home a neck behind William Haggas’ seasoned Group-race performer Hamish.

Both the course and distance seemed to suit and Scripwrtier will encounter both again as he holds an entry for the Sky Bet Ebor, York’s headline handicap that offers £300,000 to the winner in late August – plus, for the first time, a guaranteed ticket to the ‘race that stops a nation’.

“I was a bit frustrated at first as I think this horse gets to the front and then stops and that’s what he did,” Harris said.

“The jockey didn’t really do much wrong, but a few yards ahead of the line he was ahead and after the line he was ahead again.

“He’ll go back there for the Ebor next, the Group Three was an afterthought really as I saw it and thought he may as well give it a go as he handles any ground.”

After the Ebor connections are hoping there is a date much further afield in the diary.

“He’s been bought from existing owners of mine by Australian owners and the plan for him is to run out there,” Harris said.

“He’ll go for the Ebor now and then into quarantine for Australia on a one-way ticket, I should think. The plan is for him to run once out there and then go for the Melbourne Cup.

“It’s not set in stone, but you’ve got to have a dream, haven’t you?”

Harris also provided an update on Knight Salute, the Grade One-winning hurdler who suffered a serious injury late last year.

The five-year-old is recovering at Harris’ yard and is faring well after a tense time when his life hung in the balance.

“He’s very well, he’s not in any discomfort and he does have a good quality of life,” said Harris.

“The plan is for him to go to one of his owners, who has some land and horses and is a good fellow.

“I don’t think he’ll ever race again, though you never know, but truth be told the vets would probably have had him put down.

“He wasn’t in any pain and he’s very comfortable now, he’s been a wonderful patient.”

Royal Aclaim is likely to be kept at six furlongs following her near-miss in York’s Summer Stakes.

James Tate’s filly has always been held in the highest regard by connections and last year’s City Walls Stakes winner was returning to the scene of her finest hour when trying the trip for the first time on the Knavesmire.

Unsure on whether the daughter of Aclaim would see out the extended yardage, she was ridden with restraint by PJ McDonald in the early stages before making a stylish move to challenge the winner Swingalong at the business end of the contest, failing by just a neck on rain-softened ground in the Group Three contest.

Tate was delighted with how the step up in trip panned out and feels the run signals the end of her time competing at the minimum distance.

He said: “It’s something we had been toying with for a while and we’re pleased that we did and it’s nice to see her run so well.

“We didn’t know how she was going to finish and nor did PJ, but she finished well. That would give you plenty of confidence the next day and I thought she was coping with the rain-softened ground rather than enjoying it.

“I think that is probably the end of five furlongs for her now I would have thought. We were very pleased with the performance.”

The Jamesfield Place trainer now has to decide on a next target for his stable speedster with connections mulling over a tilt at Group One options both home and abroad or whether to stay at Group Three level for the time being.

“We’ve got decisions to make now and the next race is not that obvious,” said Tate.

“If we want to fly (high) then we can talk about the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Deauville, August 6) and the Haydock Park Sprint (Betfair Sprint Cup, Haydock, September 9) probably, but there are various Group Three and Listed options around as well.

“It does look like you either go Group One or you go Group Three, there is not a lot in the middle.

“So we haven’t quite decided on her next target, but she has come out of the race well. Training-wise she had a good prep into that race at York and it is good to see she has come out of it well. We’re very pleased with her.”

Carlos Alcaraz won his second grand slam before turning 21 with Sunday’s Wimbledon triumph.

Alcaraz is outstripping the achievements of runner-up Novak Djokovic and the rest of the modern ‘big three’ at the same age and here, the PA news agency looks at the statistics behind the Spaniard’s rapid rise to prominence.

Double delight

After winning last year’s US Open to become the youngest ever men’s world number one, and the first teenager to top the rankings, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in five hard-fought sets at SW19 to double his grand slam tally.

The win means he has matched compatriot Rafael Nadal’s two majors before turning 21, while Djokovic won only the 2008 Australian Open and Roger Federer had not opened his account by that age.

Alcaraz will have two more chances before his 21st birthday, his US Open defence starting next month and then January’s Australian Open. Winning both would see him equal Mats Wilander’s Open era record of four slams before turning 21, while one success would match Bjorn Borg for second place on that list.

He has also spent 29 weeks at number one in the rankings in four separate spells, including his current four-week run – something neither Djokovic, Federer nor Nadal achieved before turning 21.

Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin are the only other under-21s to top the men’s rankings – Safin for just two weeks in 2000. Hewitt spent 61 weeks at number one before turning 21, with Alcaraz able to overhaul that record if he can retain his status for 32 of the 41 weeks before his next birthday.

Should he hold top spot at the end of the season and through the off-season, that will account for six weeks. However, he would almost certainly need to win the US Open where he is defending last year’s points and Djokovic, who missed out last year due to being unvaccinated against Covid-19, will be gaining points all the way.

Lost generation

Outside of the US Open, Alcaraz is remarkably the first man born after Djokovic to win any of the other three grand slams.

Since Safin’s 2005 Australian Open title, that competition has been won 10 times by Djokovic – born in May 1987 – with five wins for Federer, born in 1981, two for Nadal (1986) and one for Stan Wawrinka (1985).

Nadal has dominated the French Open with 14 wins, with three for Djokovic and one each for Federer and Wawrinka, while the Wimbledon titles had until Sunday been shared by Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray – a week older than Djokovic.

Juan Martin Del Potro and Marin Cilic, both born in 1988, Dominic Thiem (1993) and Daniil Medvedev (1996) have all won the US Open in addition to Alcaraz himself, the last three in successive years.

Alcaraz’s two majors and 29 weeks at number one compare to the four US Open titles and 16 weeks with Medvedev at number one for all male players born between himself and Djokovic. By contrast on the women’s side, players born in this period have won 33 grand slams and spent 458 weeks at world number one.

Artistic Star will head to the John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes at Goodwood next as connections keep half an eye on the St Leger later in the season.

Ralph Beckett’s charge made an impressive debut at Nottingham at the back end of last year and doubled his tally to remain unbeaten when returning in a hot Sandown novice event in May.

That victory earned the son of Galileo a crack at the Derby where he ran with credit in seventh behind Auguste Rodin and he followed that Epsom outing with another respectable display at Royal Ascot when third to King Of Steel in the King Edward VII Stakes.

Having made three appearances in a fairly short space of time, connections made the decision to bypass the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket’s July meeting and Artistic Star will next be seen in Group Three action during the Qatar Goodwood Festival on August 3.

“He’s training very well. We were tempted to run at Newmarket, but we decided not to and we’re going to keep him for the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood,” said David Bowe, racing manager for owner Jeff Smith.

“We’re very happy with the way he’s training and as we’ve been quoted as saying before, he has a late birth date and he has had a few quick runs together, and I think he has benefitted a little bit from a longer time between races now.

“It will hopefully do him the world of good. He’s a very nice horse and well bred and we’re in it to race and have fun, but equally the horse deserves the chance to be the horse we think he could be so we will just give him a little bit of time.”

A strong showing on the Sussex Downs, a place where owner Jeff Smith has enjoyed some memorable days, could lead to a shot at the final Classic of the season at Doncaster on September 16, with Bowe indicating the team think Town Moor could be the ideal spot for Artistic Star.

He added: “That’s exactly what we think he should be (a Leger horse). He has that sort of profile and trip-wise it looks to be ideal, so who knows. We’re definitely keeping our eye on that option for sure.”

Australian owner Nathan Bennett is eager to see if Warnie can honour the memory of Shane Warne when he attempts to continue spinning a web over his rivals in the juvenile ranks this summer.

It is 30 years since Warne shot to prominence when delivering the so-called ‘ball of the century’ to Mike Gatting in the 1993 Old Trafford Ashes test match, and as this year’s hotly-anticipated series heads to Manchester this week, Joseph O’Brien’s colt is attempting to keep the legacy of the Australian leg-spinning great burning brightly on the racecourse.

A 65,000 guineas buy earlier this year, he was immediately thrust into the spotlight when debuting in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot finishing three lengths adrift of the winner, Snellen, in ninth.

Although not disgraced in that first outing, he showed his true potential when his sights were lowered at Bellewstown recently, powering to a clear-cut victory by the best part of four lengths.

Connections are now eyeing a step up in grade for the son of Highland Reel who holds entries in both the Coolmore Stud Wootton Bassett Irish EBF Futurity Stakes (August 19) and Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (September 10) later in the season.

“He looks a nice colt in the making and we’re looking forward to seeing him run again,” said Bennett.

“I think he learnt a lot at Royal Ascot and ran a super race there. I know he was only ninth on paper, but it was a very good ninth having been hampered a little bit up the straight. He just couldn’t get any momentum and get a free run at a couple of stages so he could have pinched a length closer and that would have brought him into the placings.

“The other day, at Bellewstown, even though he got hampered for room a little bit, he put them away like a really good horse so he looks a pretty nice horse in the making.”

It is hoped Warnie will develop into a Classic contender in time, with Bennett also eyeing prizes back in Australia for the colt when his innings in Ireland comes to an end.

He also explained how the youngster came to be named after the late cricketing star, who had a passion for racing and was a winning team captain at the 2004 Shergar Cup.

Bennett continued: “In time we could possibly bring him to Australia which would be fantastic as there is great prize-money and there’s plenty of options for him. Once he has finished his three-year-old career overseas we can look at bringing him over.

“Hopefully Warnie is looking down on him and riding him home. He looks like he might be a really nice horse so hopefully he can do it for Warnie.

“I had to name him quickly because we bought him from the breeze-up sales and Joseph said you have got seven weeks to get it done.

“I just thought of a few names and thought seeing as Warnie did his best work in the UK in the summer, and with the Ashes being on, why not name him after the great man and see if he can do his best which he is starting to do.”

Bennett’s colours have also been spotted in the UK under the Bennett Racing moniker, with both Southern Hemisphere raider The Astrologist and Ardakan on display for the Australian operation at Royal Ascot.

Ardakan is in the care of Marco Botti and has been gelded following his below-par showing in the Hardwicke Stakes in anticipation of a tilt at the Sky Bet Ebor on August 26, something which connections hope could lead to a triumphant return to Australia and a crack at the Melbourne Cup.

“He kind of turned colty at Royal Ascot and kind of lost the plot a bit, so we’ve gelded him, Bennett explained.

“We thought that was the best option to make him a racehorse. If you watch the replay, the only filly in the field he just wanted to sit with and didn’t want to go past her, so it probably makes a bit of sense and Marco also said he was showing signs of being colty.

“We’ve gelded him and we’re going to head towards the Ebor with the aim of getting him in the Melbourne Cup.

“I think they are going to use a 3lb claimer and we’ll see how we go. He was running very well in some good races out in Dubai and they are all entitled to a bad run. Sometimes once you geld them it can turn things around and I’m hoping that will be the case.”

The narrative surrounding men’s tennis changed in the split second it took for Novak Djokovic’s final forehand to hit the Centre Court net and fall to the grass.

A season that looked set to see the Serbian smash the records he has not yet claimed – a first calendar Grand Slam, an unprecedented 25th major singles title – instead has been turned on its head thanks to the brilliance of 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.

By handing Djokovic his first Wimbledon defeat since 2017, Alcaraz has answered the one question that had been lingering – could he match and surpass the great Serbian on the biggest stage of all?

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In nearly five hours of spell-binding sporting theatre, the momentum fluctuated several times but in the end it was Alcaraz who seized his chance in a final game that demonstrated everything that makes the Spaniard such a special talent.

Wimbledon had seemed the least likely venue for him to topple Djokovic, such was the 36-year-old’s dominance and his young rival’s inexperience on grass, and, with his position as world number one strengthened, the era of Alcaraz may well be upon us.

“After this epic match, I think different about Novak in the way that probably in other tournaments, in other grand slams, I will remember this moment,” he said.

“I will think that, well, I’m ready to play five sets against him, good rallies, good sets, really long, long match and stay there physically, mentally, in tennis, in general. Probably it changes my mind a little bit after this match.”

Next month it will be Alcaraz who heads to New York as the defending US Open champion, while Djokovic has triumphed at Flushing Meadows just once in the last eight years.

There was no doubt this was a painful and unexpected loss for the Serbian, but also one that is likely to add fuel to the fire that burns so fiercely within him.

Asked if this could be the start of another great rivalry, Djokovic said with a smile: “I would hope so, for my sake. He’s going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don’t know how long I’ll be around.

“Let’s see. It’s been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in later stages of grand slams.

“I hope we get to play in US Open. I think it’s good for the sport,  one and two in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn’t be better for our sport in general.”

The bumper TV audience and the stars from well beyond sport packed into Centre Court were testament to that fact and, health permitting, there appears no limit to what Alcaraz could go on to achieve.

One of the most staggering things about the 20-year-old is how quickly he learns under the guidance of former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero.

He had played just two tournaments on grass before arriving at Queen’s Club last month and almost lost his first match there to lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech.

He did not drop another set in taking the title and, only a few weeks after nerves caused him to cramp in the third set of his French Open semi-final against Djokovic, he proved superior over four hours and 42 minutes.

“I must say he surprised me,” said the Serbian. “He surprised everyone how quickly he adapted to grass this year. He hasn’t had too many wins on grass in the last two years that he played. Obviously him coming from clay, having the kind of style that he has.

“I think Queen’s helped him a lot. He was close to lose that first match in Queen’s. Then he started to gain momentum, more and more wins against really good players.

“I must say the slices, the chipping returns, the net play, it’s very impressive. I didn’t expect him to play so well this year on grass, but he’s proven that he’s the best player in the world, no doubt.

“He’s playing some fantastic tennis on different surfaces and he deserves to be where he is.”

Both men will now take a well-earned break before reconvening on the north American hard courts in August when Alcaraz, not Djokovic, will be the man to beat.