Carlos Alcaraz has achieved yet another milestone in his blossoming career after sealing his place in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time.
The world No.1 batted his way to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, win over 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini who had only been able to play one Tour match on the grass leading up to the tournament due to injury. Alcaraz’s latest performance featured a total of 34 winners from the Spaniard who broke his opponent four times. He has become the 12th male player from his country to have reached the last eight of a major tournament on five or more occasions.
“I knew that it was going to be really tough. Matteo is a great player, he made the final here on grass. He’s playing great and it’s not easy after losing the first set,” said Alcaraz.
“I knew I was going to have my chances, it’s something I am working on to stay focused and to be able to come back.”
Coming into the match, both men have already battled it out in some marathon encounters. All three of their previous meetings have gone the full distance, including their 2022 Australian Open thriller where Berrettini snatched victory in the fifth set tiebreaker.
Their latest showdown was no exception to this trend with both players trading sets at the start in almost identical fashion. Berrettini required a sole break to take the opener before it was the same scenario for Alcaraz in the second during a match with various momentum changes.
Alcaraz’s relentless hitting continued to pile pressure on his opponent’s serve which eventually wore the Italian down three games into the third set. A marathon Berrettini service game saw the top seed fail to convert five break points before he triumphed on his sixth attempt. Prompting him to let out an almighty roar. Later on in the set, Alcaraz could have broken once again for a 4-1 lead but was prevented from doing so. Closing in on a two-set lead, a blistering forehand cross-court winner followed by an error from across the court sealed the deal for him.
As the light faded, an inevitable halt to the match for the roof to close occurred at 2-2 in the fourth set. Novak Djokovic said earlier today that playing under the roof changed the conditions but would it stop Alcaraz’s momentum in the match?
The answer was no. Alcaraz broke once more whilst ahead 4-3 after hitting a deep return that Berrettini hit out. Serving for the match he had to also contend with his nerves after hitting a forehand volley error and a double fault on two of his match points. Despite that, he eventually prevailed when a shot from his rival drifted wide.
“I’m hungry for more,” Alcaraz states. “It’s something I really wanted. I came in this year with that goal – get into the quarter-final but I want more. I want to play the final here and maybe win it today. Right now it’s great.”
Awaiting Alcaraz in the next round will be Denmark’s Holger Rune in what promises to be a battle between two of the sport’s brightest future stars. Rune is also through to the last eight for the first time after battling past Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), 6-3. He is the first Danish man to reach the quarter-finals at SW19 since Kurt Nielsen back in 1958.
“Grigor is an incredible player and he pushed me to the limit. We both pushed each other so I think it was a really, really great match and tough match. It was long also,” said Rune.
“I’m always fighting until the end. That’s what I focus on especially when I’m in a tough situation. Also, I tell myself that there is Wimbledon once a year so I’m going to fight until I have the chance to win.”
The two players are currently tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head but Rune’s win was via retirement. Wimbledon will be their first clash in a Grand Slam.
“The young guys are reaching their dreams, coming here and playing the quarter-finals together – it’s great for tennis,” said Alcaraz. “We said when we were playing a lot of tournaments at 12 years old, passing all the categories. Playing a quarter-final against him I am going to enjoy. It’s something for the fans to enjoy as well.”
Alcaraz is the youngest man to reach this stage of the Grand Slam since Nick Kyrgios in 2014.
