Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner advance to Wimbledon quarterfinals
In the midst of defending Wimbledon Champion Carlos Alcaraz and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner each fought back challenges on Sunday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and one game away from a high-stakes semifinal.
Jul 07, 2024 04:24 PM
Jul 7, 2024, 12:24 PM ET
In the midst of defending Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz and the world’s No. one Jannik Sinner both fought off challenges on that came their way on Sunday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and one game away from a high-risk semifinal.
Alcaraz hit the most powerful shots when it mattered the most to beat Ugo Humbert in 6-3, 6-4 7-5 victory at Centre Court. Sinner was able to handle the heavy serving of the No. 14, Ben Shelton for an 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 (9) defeat.
To make it to finals Sinner must take on Daniil Medvedev. The No. 5 seed advanced after No. 10, Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury after losing 5-3 in the opening set.
Alcaraz defeated Sinner by five sets during his French Open semifinals in June for his first victory on the court at Roland Garros, and the two could play again in the final four if they both win their next match.
In the final on Sunday Alcaraz was able to appear as if he had his battle well and truly won when he took control of the second set after chasing numerous shots that appeared to be out of reach on set point. He even falling down after hitting a forehand before quickly getting up and ready for his next shot.
If asked to describe his role in this regard, Alcaraz just said: “Unbelievable, I guess.”
However, Humbert was close to staging a shocking return and could have taken the match to the fifth set after the Frenchman held three consecutive break points to take a 5-3 advantage at the end of set 4.
Alcaraz returned to take the game by winning thanks to two aces, and then took a break for a lead of 6-5 when he hit a long forehand winner.
He created match point by using one of his nimble forehand drop shots, and then turned it into a match point winner.
“I enjoyed playing today. I feel like that I performed at very top standard,” said Alcaraz, who will play next. 12. Tommy Paul.
Shelton began to attack Sinner in the Court 1 roof by serving and volleying to frighten Sinner, the Australian Open champion.
Sinner was up to the job However, he broke the fierce American twice before securing the first set.
The Italian player secured one of the early breaks in set two by clinching an explosive ace, and then took control of the match to gain the advantage of two sets. Shelton was left with a second challenge to overcome having lost the distance during his previous three sets.
Shelton increased the expectations of fans when she swept ahead 4-1 during the 3rd set. However, Sinner came back to hold for 5-5 after putting his racket around his back, and then hitting the ball with his legs to push it to the net. He added the forehand pass shot to win the match.
“That was just luck,” Sinner declared regarding his shooting.
Sinner secured one set point, 6-5 and saved three additional in the tiebreaker. He then making his second match point after the Shelton, who was hard-serving Shelton double-failed.
Shelton tried to make his very first Wimbledon quarterfinal, but had just won three consecutive five-set victories, including one against Denis Shapovalov that was played on Saturday.
Sinner is in the final eight for the second year in succession, having defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of last year’s tournament.
Dimitrov seemed in great form and raced to a 3-0 lead before Medvedev took advantage of the situation. The Bulgarian fell onto Court 1 continuing for two games which Medvedev won before he took off for medical reasons in the seventh.
He resurfaced briefly, but he was unable to move and he called it a night after the eighth match during that game Medvedev was served with three aces.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.