Carlos Alcaraz wore an insanely rare Rolex Daytona to accept his Wimbledon trophy

By Kim Parker

A nail-biting final at the 136th Wimbledon Championships saw 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz triumph over Novac Djokovic to claim his debut Wimbledon title in a dramatic 4-hour, 42-minute match in front of a star-studded crowd, including the Princess of Wales, King Felipe VI of Spain, Rachel Weisz, Daniel Craig, Lily James, Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton.

Post-match, while accepting the Gentleman’s Singles Trophy, Alcaraz was spotted wearing a highly-coveted Rolex Daytona. The timepiece in question was the Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 116500LN, a now-discontinued model featuring a black Cerachrom bezel, yellow gold case and meteorite dial. A feat of engineering, this otherworldly timepiece has been crafted using the remnants of an asteroid or possibly even a planet that exploded in outer space over 1 million years ago.

This isn’t Alcaraz’s first dealing with Rolex, either. The tennis sensation signed as an ambassador with the watchmaker aged just 18, and wore another Cosmograph to lift the US Open trophy last September.

The Spaniard – who, like many previous Wimbledon champions such as Roger Federer, is a Rolex Testimonee – is the third youngest person to win the men’s Wimbledon title in the Open era, and is now World No. 1. The match was only his fourth grass-court tournament.

“It’s incredible, a dream come true to be able to play on these stages,” Alcaraz said after the final. “It’s amazing for a boy, 20 years old, to reach these situations so soon. I’m really proud of myself and proud of the team that I have and the world that we put in every day to be able to live this experience. It’s great for the new generation to see me beating him [Djokovic] and making them think that they are capable to do it.”

Alcaraz now joins other Rolex Testimonees to have lifted the Gentleman’s Singles Trophy on Centre Court, including Rod Laver, Stefan Edberg, Björn Borg (who also claimed his maiden Wimbledon title at the tender age of 20) and Roger Federer. The Swiss watchmaker partners all four Grand Slam tournaments. It has been the Official Timekeeper of the Open championship at SW19 and its hallowed grass courts since 1978.

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