(Wimbledon) The world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz qualified for his first semi-final at Wimbledon by dismissing Dane Holger Rune on Wednesday (6e) 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4.
“The match was very difficult, I was very nervous at the start, to play a quarter at Wimbledon and also against Rune”, commented the 20-year-old Spaniard who will face Russian Daniil Medvedev on Friday (3e) for a place in the final, his second in a Grand Slam after winning last year’s US Open.
“It was hard to play against Rune, but when you enter the court, there are no more friends. You have to be focused on yourself and I think I’ve done that very well,” added Alcaraz.
“In the second and third runs, I had fun. Winning the first one and screaming ‘vamos’ really freed me up to play at my best,” he said, not wanting to expand too much on his next opponent.
“The grass suits his game well. But we don’t play semi-finals at Wimbledon every year, so I’ll take advantage of it first and prepare for the match when we get closer to it,” he said. declared. The men’s semi-finals are scheduled both on Friday.
Alcaraz thus won the first Wimbledon quarter-final contested between two players under 21 in the Open era (since 1968).
He also becomes the youngest player to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon since Novak Djokovic in 2007 (also 20 years old, but a few days younger than him: the Serb was born on May 22 and Alcaraz on May 5).
Both Alcaraz and Rune were extremely solid in their face-offs, so break points were very rare: three for the Spaniard who scored two, and only one for the Dane, whom his opponent saved.
PHOTO BY DYLAN MARTINEZ, REUTERS
Holger Rune
In the end, Alcaraz therefore controlled the game without too many fears, chaining a fifth victory in a row on grass after his title at Queen’s.
In the first set, only Rune got a break point, from the very first play of the match, but without managing to transform it.
The two players came to the tiebreaker where, from 3/3, the Spaniard lined up four consecutive points to pocket the set.
In the second, the two players quietly kept their serve until the ninth game when, on a completely missed spike, Rune gave Alcaraz their first break point. The Spaniard seized the opportunity with a backhand return winner that sent a cloud of chalk up as he touched the line.
In the process, he served at 5-4 to break away two sets to nil.
The third set was like the previous one: Alcaraz managed the only break in the set, this time to lead 3-2. He then had a first match point on Rune’s serve at 5-3, but the Dane managed to stay in the game, forcing the Spaniard to serve for the match.
What he did with authority: he quickly led 40/0 and concluded on his third match point of the game, the fourth in total, taking advantage of a too long return from Rune.
Medvedev turns the tide
Led two sets to one by the American Christopher Eubanks, untenable for four sets, Medvedev ended up turning the tide and winning 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6 -1.
PHOTO TOBY MELVILLE, REUTERS
Daniel Medvedev
After a fight of just three hours, Eubanks, 27, 43e world, but who had never taken a Grand Slam round in his career, made a heart-shaped sign with his hands to the public as he left to a deserved ovation.
Having become his favorite thanks to his flamboyant game, the slender American (2.01 m for 81 kg) came close to a second consecutive feat after releasing Stefanos Tsitsipas (5e) in five equally disheveled rounds.
The two players offered an incredible spectacle to the spectators with a real lawn tennis match where risk-taking was assumed on both sides and success was achieved with 45 aces plus 81 winners.
Just take a look at Medvedev’s stats to realize the level needed to eliminate the American.
During the first set, the Russian thus committed only one unprovoked fault, against eleven for his opponent and even on the match, his total of 13 unforced errors remains remarkably low.
PHOTO ALASTAIR GRANT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Christopher Eubanks
Eubanks, for his part, with 11 unforced errors in the first set alone and only 46% of the points won (6/13) when he came to the net, was far from his standards.
But things gradually fell into place during the second and third set, with, respectively, 67% (10/15) and 73% (11/15) of volley success, and a ratio of winners to unforced errors largely positive, allowing him to turn in the lead.
“After the first set, I would have liked to avoid a fifth set but at the end of the third, I was hoping we would play it,” joked the Russian after the match.
“There was a moment in the match where I lost my game a bit, and he was playing so well, but from the fourth set I managed to gradually come back and that gave me strength,” he added.
Round four was the turning point, with Medvedev winning five shutouts from his six faceoffs and smashing ten aces.
Eubanks, who had so far won all five tiebreakers disputed, began to struggle physically as Medvedev benefited from the abandonment of Jiri Leheck (37e) after two rounds.
Beaten 7-4 in the decisive game, Eubanks lost his serve on a shutout at the start of the decisive set, then a second time to find himself trailing 4-0.
When he came back to 4-1, avoiding a 6-0 that would have been cruel and undeserved, he raised his fist in the sky one last time with a smile.
But he pushed Medvedev to his limits.
The semi-final clashes
Friday July 14
- Carlos Alcaraz (ESP / N.1) – Daniil Medvedev (RUS / N.3)
- Novak Djokovic (SRB / N.2) – Jannik Sinner (ITA / N.8)
