To be Carlos Alcaraz is to believe that anything is possible on a tennis court, to believe that every point and every stroke is an opportunity to produce something special. On a sensational evening on center court, the 20-year-old Spaniard radiated that confidence in every forehand, return and movement as he came from behind to defeat former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in four sets and reach the quarter-finals. .
It shouldn’t sound so easy, but to be Carlos Alcaraz is to believe that you can take one of the biggest serves in the world and whittle it down to a relatively average level. It’s seeing a volley that lands so wide it almost drops to the front row and not only reaches it, but spins it around the posts and down the line. It’s believing you can rock Wimbledon, on just your fourth grass-court tournament, and confidently asserting that you can go on to win it all.
Novak Djokovic still remains in the other half of the draw, the favorite to defend his Wimbledon title, but this 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory only shows that Alcaraz have passed the rest of the peloton to hold on. like a clear second. Berrettini was a Wimbledon runner-up two years ago, last year he was second favorite for the title before having to pull out due to testing positive for Covid. Despite his recent injuries, Berrettini arrived at Wimbledon having won 23 of his previous 25 matches on grass. When he returned to Wimbledon, the Italian had passed tough tests against Lorenzo Sonego, Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev, and without losing serve once.
But against a player who regularly thunders serves at 130mph, Alcaraz finished with the most extraordinary comeback numbers: the top seed creating 16 break points and allowing Berrettini to win less than 70% of the points when he landed a first serve. After Berrettini held off Alcaraz to win the first set and visibly grow in conviction, the Spaniard raised his game and found his rhythm – circling the baseline and delivering a magical selection of shots in a stunning spell.
On center court, a stage he is beginning to own, Alcaraz produced an emphatic display of his most exciting qualities: speed, athleticism, power, vision, encapsulated in the moment Alcaraz produced his stunning backhand winner around the post net. Holger Rune, another first-time quarter-finalist, awaits in the next round. It will be the first time in the Open era that two players under the age of 21 have appeared in a Wimbledon quarter-final.
Berrettini may have won the opening set, but it was one-way traffic from the start, with the Italian facing break points immediately on his first service game. He struggled to hold serve as Alcaraz raced through their own games. The Spaniard was primed on the returns, stood three feet behind the baseline with his feet wide apart. As Berrettini threw, there was a jump, two jumps. Hoping for the best? Barely. Alcaraz canceled returns, managing to put almost every ball in play when he put his racquet on it.
This put pressure on Berrettini, with the 27-year-old making too many mistakes from the baseline. Alcaraz, however, fended off his chances as Berrettini was able to get out of trouble while saving with a tricky cushioning, using Alcaraz’s weapon against him. This gave Berrettini confidence and he started to put Alcaraz to work on the court, sending a lob over the Spaniard’s head after catching a net before putting away the smash. This resulted in the only break of the first set as Alcaraz fired a backhand from wide. Berrettini still needed to find his biggest serve of the set in the final game to get him out of another tight spot.
Berrettini pushed for an opening break in the second set and Alcaraz had to save with a forehand winner, a crucial moment given how high Berrettini’s serve was starting to reach. But Alcaraz also leveled up and started digging into his trick box. After an angled volley from Berrettini, Alcaraz sprinted to his left, somehow twisted his body to reach the ball and threw a superb backhand pass around the net post and down the line, almost finding himself in the first row. If it was a message to Berrettini, it certainly had an effect. In the next game, the Italian made a series of bad mistakes as Alcaraz crumbled. It was the first time Berrettini’s serve had been broken during the entire tournament.
Alcaraz’s comeback remained sharp in the third while offering no chance to his opponent on his own. In the most one-sided period of the match, Berrettini had to produce extraordinary forehand winners just to hold serve. Alcaraz could even afford to be wrong on break point opportunities, so much the regularity with which he set them up. The second break of the match came as Alcaraz leaped to put away an overhead smash, with Alcaraz falling back to finish on the other side of the pitch – roaring in celebration. Alcaraz closed the third behind a cannonaded forehand strike, past Berrettini before he knew what hit him.
Berrettini had to hold on and pray for darkness to fall, waving at the referee early in the fourth. By 8:20 p.m. he had managed to do enough, staying level in the game as the roof was closed and the lights on. The conditions should have helped Berrettini, adding further venom to his usually dominant weapon, but the forehand errors continued and led to a break point at 3-4 in the fourth. Berrettini curled a forehand and Alcaraz punished him down the line for the clean winner.
It was only on the first three match points that Alcaraz faltered, first placing a long volley from the baseline before a double fault. Those nerfs were only brief. Alcaraz returned to his confident game, powering the crosscourt from the backhand to Berrettini, then attacking again with the forehand down the line. He will believe that everything here is possible now.
Jabeur sets up Rybakina rematch as Eubanks stuns Tsitsipas
Ons Jabeur beaten double champion Petra Kvitova set up a rematch of last year’s final against the defending champion Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals. Jabeur won the first set in just 22 minutes en route to a comprehensive 6-0 6-3 win that saw the Tunisian return to last year’s form. She will now have the chance to exact revenge on Rybakina, who continued her title defense with a surprise as Beatriz Haddad Maia retired just five games into their match on center court with a back injury.
Mirra Andreevathe race is over after the defeat against Madison Keys in the fourth round, the 16-year-old Russian qualifier refusing to shake hands with the referee after a controversial end to the contest. Andreeva picked up a penalty point at a crucial moment in the match for knocking her racket to the ground for the second time. Andreeva had slipped behind the baseline, appearing to go over her ankle, before dropping her racquet. It gave Keys match point and the American wrapped up a 3-6 7-6 6-2 win to set up a meeting with the second seed. Aryna Sabalenka.
Novak Djokovic belatedly continued his Wimbledon defense after defeating Hubert Hurkacz in four sets when their fourth-round clash resumed. The contest was suspended due to the 11pm curfew on Sunday night after Djokovic took a two-set lead under the roof, although Hurkacz came back to force a fourth under different conditions on center court. But Djokovic beat the great Hurkacz for the first time in the match in the fourth before serving up a 7-6 7-6 5-7 6-4 victory in over three hours of play in total, setting up a quarter-final with Andrei Rublev.
In the shock of the day, seedless Christopher Eubanks dazed Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. The American, who is making his Wimbledon debut, pulled off a thrilling victory in front of a raucous Court Two crowd to claim the biggest victory of his career against the fifth seed. Eubanks, who said he was ‘living the dream’ after extending his winning streak on grass to nine matches, faces Daniel Medvedev in the quarter-finals. The Russian progressed after Jiri Lehecka retired after two sets. Meanwhile, sixth seed Holger Rune beat Grigor Dimitrov, battling a set to win in four on the No. 1 court and set up his meeting with Alcaraz.