It was a Sunday afternoon. The sun was shining. It was Paris.

It was the end of the first week of Olympic competitions, of what had felt like a week of celebrations, with another one yet ahead.

It was the two best players in the world, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, on the rich red clay of Court Philippe Chatrier, in front of a crowd that would not, could not be held back by the etiquette and traditions of tennis.