Kate, the Princess of Wales, handed Carlos Alcaraz the champion鈥檚 trophy after the Wimbledon men鈥檚 final at on Sunday in only her second public appearance since .

Kate, wife of heir to the throne , was greeted by a standing ovation when she arrived in the Royal Box at Centre Court to watch . After leaving the court following the trophy ceremony, the princess and Alcaraz had a conversation in a room inside the tournament鈥檚 main stadium.

鈥淵ou played so well,鈥� Kate told him. 鈥淓njoy the win.鈥�

Djokovic vowed to get back to work after being outplayed by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final Sunday less than 1 1/2 months after knee surgery, with the intention of contending for a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and a record 25th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.

鈥淚n the face of adversity, normally I rise and I learn and get stronger,鈥� Djokovic said after his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) loss to Alcaraz. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 going to do.鈥�

Djokovic also was beaten by Alcaraz in last year鈥檚 Wimbledon final. The 37-year-old from Serbia is 23-7 without a title this season; Sunday was his first appearance in a final in 2024.

In Grand Slam play, he was eliminated by current No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals in January, then reached the quarterfinals at the French Open but needed to pull out before that round after tearing the meniscus in his right knee. He had an operation on June 5 and wasn鈥檛 sure he would be able to enter Wimbledon at all until a few days before the draw.

鈥淢y preparation for Wimbledon wasn鈥檛 as I would have it normally. 鈥� There was hindrance obviously because of the injury,鈥� Djokovic said. 鈥淭hat probably had an effect, particularly in the opening rounds. But as the tournament progressed, I felt better and better. I reached the finals. Some matches I played some really good tennis. Some matches I kind of battled my way through. But today, I saw that I was just half a step behind him, in every sense.鈥�

With a gray sleeve covering his right knee, Djokovic won just 27 of 53 points when he went to the net and finished with 26 winners to Alcaraz鈥檚 42.

Djokovic was broken five times and only won one of the 21-year-old Alcaraz鈥檚 service games.

鈥淏eing able to reach the finals of Wimbledon 鈥� (is) a great confidence boost. But I also feel like in a matchup today against the best player right now in the world, for sure 鈥� I mean, other than Jannik, and both of them are the best this year by far 鈥� I feel like I鈥檓 not at that level,鈥� Djokovic said.

鈥淚n order to really have a chance to, I guess, beat these guys in Grand Slam latter stages or Olympics,鈥� he added, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today.鈥�

Still, like most people, Alcaraz was impressed that Djokovic managed to make it all the way to the final at Wimbledon.

鈥淲hat he has done this tournament 鈥� with a surgery just before a few weeks before the tournament 鈥� (began) is amazing. It is unbelievable.鈥�

Earlier, Kate 鈥� wearing a purple dress, one of Wimbledon鈥檚 official colors 鈥� went from the stands down to the playing surface to present the trophies, part of her duties as patron of the All England Club, which hosts the annual tournament.

She shook hands with some of the ball kids who worked at the tournament, then exchanged words with both players and applauded for Alcaraz after giving him the winner鈥檚 trophy for the second year in a row.

鈥淚t was, of course, a privilege to be in her presence again. I鈥檝e said to her that it is very nice to see her in good health; she seems to be in good health,鈥� Djokovic said at his postmatch news conference. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 obviously very positive news for everyone in this country, but also for Wimbledon.鈥�

Kate and her 9-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, got to the site of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament in southwest London in a motorcade about a half-hour before the final was scheduled to begin. They went to a terrace at the club that is connected to the main stadium by a pedestrian walkway and greeted several people, including 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and other young British tennis players.

Also in the Royal Box for the final were Kate鈥檚 sister, Pippa Matthews, actors Tom Cruise and Benedict Cumberbatch and several past Wimbledon champions, including Rod Laver, Andre Agassi and Stefan Edberg.

Since 2016, Kate has been the patron of the All England Club. She did not attend Saturday when for the women鈥檚 title.

Kate revealed in March that she has an unspecified form of cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. Her lone public appearance since then had been attending last month鈥檚 for King Charles III. Before that event, she released a statement but still had 鈥済ood days and bad days.鈥�

Prince William has been a regular at Wimbledon finals but was not there Sunday. Instead, he planned to be in Germany to watch England face Spain in the final of the men鈥檚 soccer . He is the president of the English Football Association.