Annabel Croft suffered an awkward slip of the tongue as she described Carlos Alcaraz as ‘hot’ while interviewing Novak Djokovic after the Wimbledon men’s singles final. The Spaniard retained his crown with a 6-2 6-2 7-6 triumph over the Serb.

However, it was Croft who upstaged both players as she slipped up during her interview. Speaking in front of the Princess of Wales on Centre Court, the BBC star boldly described Alcaraz’s performance in the final as ‘hot’ before realising how such a comment might be interpreted much differently.

Croft started her interview by saying: “Novak, I know this is not the result you wanted. But you were up against such a hot and talented player in Carlos Alcaraz.”

The crowd burst into laughter and Croft immediately realised the inference. She hunched over as she laughed before waiting several moments as the crowd continued to see the funny side of the comment.

Alcaraz and Djokovic also laughed before Croft finally managed to correct herself, adding: “He was on fire! Can you just share with us your thoughts on the final?”

“That’s what I was about to say, he was definitely very hot today!” Djokovic quipped.

“Not the result I wanted, of course. In the first couple of sets, the level of tennis wasn’t up to par with myself. Credit to Carlos for playing some complete tennis. Back of the court, serve…

“I tried to extend the match a little bit, he was absolutely a deserved winner today. Huge congratulations to him for that. And to his team of course, the family, amazing job.

“It’s a one-man show when you’re on the court but there’s a big team. Only 21 years of age, we’ll see a lot more of you (Alcaraz), I’m sure.”

Djokovic struggled to get into his usual rhythm as Alcaraz breezed through the first two sets, winning each 6-2. But the 38-year-old was not going to lose another Wimbledon title to the French Open champion without plenty of grit.

He saved three match points at 5-4 and forced a tiebreak in the final set. There was a sense that he might even be able to stage a remarkable comeback as he took the lead in the tiebreak.

However, Alcaraz ultimately came through, winning 6-2 6-2 7-6. The 21-year-old now has four Grand Slam titles to his name.