Every point in tennis is worth the same as the next, but some are more valuable than others. At 3-3 in the third set here on Sunday, after two and a half sets of outrageous hitting, Carlos Alcaraz held a break point to finally move ahead in the match for the first time. He then produced the kind of athleticism and shot-making that make him such an incredible champion, going side to side, sliding across the court and ripping an unstoppable forehand past the onrushing Andrey Rublev.
Until that point, the Russian had played outstanding tennis, testing the Spaniard with big serving, huge ground strokes and staying calm, which has not always been the case. But Alcaraz, like all great champions, has an uncanny ability to turn it on when he needs to and from that point on, he pulled away for a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory that takes his winning streak to 22 matches and secures a clash with Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Alcaraz hit 22 aces and even served and volleyed 15 times, winning 13 of those points, as he moved into the last eight for the ninth time in his past 10 slams. He has won 18 matches in a row here, too, and remains favourite to win the title for a third straight year.
“Andrey is one of the most powerful players we have on tour,” Alcaraz said of Rublev. “You kind of feel he’s pushing you to the limit on every ball. I am just really happy with the way I moved today. I think I played intelligent, smart today, tactically, which I’m really proud about.”
Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, may be beginning to believe that the tennis gods are on his side at Wimbledon this year. After a narrow escape against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France in the first round, when he trailed by two sets to one and 5-1 in the fourth set tie-break, the American was given an easy passage through to the quarter-finals when his opponent, Jordan Thompson, pulled out due to a hamstring injury.
The fifth seed was leading 6-1, 3-0 when Thompson called it quits. The Australian had been battling a lower back problem throughout the tournament and pulled up early on clutching his right hamstring. Clearly hampered, especially in his sideways movement, he took a medical timeout at 2-0 down in the second set but after playing one more game, he decided to give up.
The match lasted just 41 minutes in all, including the timeout, which Fritz will doubtless be grateful for as he prepares to face Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who beat Kamil Majchrzak of Poland 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Khachanov has won both his matches with Fritz, even if the most recent one was five years ago.
“I think our games are quite similar overall,” Fritz said. “To be honest, we practise [together] all the time, so we’re pretty familiar with each other’s games. But I think I improved a ton and have become a much, much better player since the last time we played.”
