Carlos Alcaraz needed more than four hours to book his spot in the last 16 of Wimbledon after battling his way past a resilient Nicolas Jarry on Saturday.
The top seed looked to be on good footing early on before the 28th seed produced glimmers of his very best tennis to push him to his limits during his 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5, triumph. It is only the second time Alcaraz has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in what is his third main draw appearance. He has also become the ninth man from his country in the Open Era to have reached this stage of the Grand Slam on multiple occasions.
After not dropping a set in his two previous matches, Alcaraz was forced to dig deep against Jarry who has already won two ATP titles this season. Under the watchful eye of his mentor Juan Carlos Ferrero who was in the stands, he rallied his way to victory with the help of 41 winners and 12 aces. However, he only managed to convert five out of 14 break point opportunities.
“It has been really tough. He’s a great player and he’s playing really well,” Alcaraz said afterwards.
“When we played in Rio it was a really tough match and it was the same here at Wimbledon too,” he added.
The showdown at SW19 was the second meeting between the two players after Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. Initially, there was little to separate the two players who matched each other game-by-game throughout the majority of the opener. Alcaraz seized his breakthrough in the eighth game whilst leading 4-3. A blistering forehand shot down the line rewarded him with a break point opportunity against the Jarry serve which he converted after the Chilean hit a backhand into the net. Serving for a 6-3 lead, he prevailed on his third set point after a shot from his opponent drifted beyond the baseline.
Jarry, who has scored six wins over top 10 players in his career, came out fighting in the second set to halt Alcaraz’s momentum. Winning 10 straight points behind his serve and breaking the world no.1, he surged to a 3-0 lead in impressive fashion. Although that wasn’t enough to tame the top seed who gradually worked his way back to level a 4-4.
Admirably Jarry continued to battle with the help of some thunderous serving. A tense 14-point tiebreaker saw him save a set point before converting one of his own after an Alcaraz backhand slammed into the net.
The twists and turns continued in the following two sets. World No.1 Alcaraz swiftly restored his lead by easing through the third frame with relative ease, breaking Jarry once. However, he faced yet another resurgence from the world No.28 who raced to a 4-1 in the fourth set before gradually getting pegged back. Nearing towards the finish line, Alcaraz closed out the marathon encounter on his first match point after hitting a serve out wide that Jarry returned into the net.
“He (Jarry) deserves to be at the top. I’m just happy with the level I played to get through this tough round,” Alcaraz said of his opponent.
“I stayed focused all the time. I knew that I was going to have my chances. In the fourth set he missed a really easy ball and I think because of that I won it. It was a really close match. He has great shots.’
“I would say the key (to winning) is to believe and stay focused all the time.”
Twenty-year-old Alcaraz has now won 28 consecutive Grand Slam matches after claiming the first set. Awaiting him on Monday will be either former finalist Matteo Berrettini or Alexander Zverev who will play their match later today.
