The big news from yesterday's men's singles final at Wimbledon was not so much 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz's inaugural win (congrats btw, Carlos) but the fact that it represented a tectonic shift in the landscape of tennis. Youth bested greatness, and a new, post-Djokovician epoch has begun. He's already beating Novak in the watch stakes, too.
Clearly, it’s not just Jack Sinner who’s bringing eye-catching accessories onto the courts, because post-match, Alcaraz slipped on a very special Rolex Daytona to accept the Gentleman’s Singles Trophy – one that suggests he has more than just a cursory eye for timepieces. It was the Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 116500LN, featuring a black Cerachrom bezel, yellow gold case and meteorite dial. (Yes, a super thin, flat disc of real, extraterrestrial rock.)
Alcaraz has previous dealings with Rolex. Following in the footsteps of Roger Federer, Juan-Martín Del Potro, and Dominic Thiem, he signed an ambassadorship with the watchmaker aged just 18, and wore another Cosmograph to lift the US Open trophy last September.
The tennis star has got to the top of world rankings for his unstoppable speed, and so it’s hardly any surprise that Alcaraz has favoured a design historically made with racing drivers in mind. (In fact, it was named "Daytona" in honour of the famous Daytona International Speedway in Florida.) This particular model earned cult status when actor and race car driver Paul Newman was seen with a Daytona 6239, a gift from his wife, Joanne Woodward, with the words ‘Drive Carefully Me’ engraved on the back.
Sadly, Daytonas are notoriously hard to come by, and as Alcaraz’s otherworldly Cosmograph has been discontinued, expect to find it in the secondary market with an eye-watering price tag. It might be easier to just win Wimbledon, and maybe they'll give you one.
Carmen Bellot is the Style Editor of Esquire, writing on all things menswear and grooming.
