Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning the Wimbledon men's singles quarterfinal against Holger Rune in London, United Kingdom, July 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest Wimbledon semifinalist since 2007 after eliminating Holger Rune in straight sets. He will now face Daniil Medvedev, who ended the fairytale run of debutant Christopher Eubanks.
LONDON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz became just the seventh Spanish man in history to reach the Wimbledon semifinals after knocking out fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday.
The youngest man to make the final four at the Championships since 2007, Alcaraz will take on No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev, who ended the fairytale run of debutant Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
"Honestly, it's amazing for me, it's a dream since I started playing tennis, making good results here at Wimbledon, such a beautiful tournament," said an elated Alcaraz on court.
"It's a dream to be able to play a semifinal here. I think I played a great level, I didn't expect to play such a great level on this surface and for me, it's crazy."
Alcaraz hits a forehand return on his way to victory. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
In the first Wimbledon men's singles quarterfinal in the Open Era contested by players aged under 21, Alcaraz and Rune battled for two hours and 21 minutes but it was the Spaniard who had all the answers to pocket the victory. With no breaks in the first 12 games, Alcaraz found great depth on return in the tiebreak, sealing the set with a backhand pass.
The top seed continued his red-hot form in the second set, hitting with explosive power to outmanoeuvre Rune and was watertight off the ground, not committing an unforced error in the second set to extend his advantage.
"It was tough, at the beginning I was really, really nervous, playing a quarterfinal here at Wimbledon, playing against Rune, someone who is the same age as me, playing a great level. Once you've reached the quarters, there's no friends, you have to focus on your side of the net," said Alcaraz, who grew up playing against Rune across various age groups and even played doubles with him as kids.
At 2-2 in the third set, the Spaniard produced the killer blow on break point, striking a return onto the baseline, which Rune could only fire into the net. Alcaraz then remained strong on serve to reach his third major semifinal.
"From the second set on, I enjoyed a lot," said Alcaraz, who struck 35 winners and saved one break point he faced.
Medvedev in action during his men's singles quarterfinal win against Christopher Eubanks. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
Also on Wednesday, Medvedev reached his maiden Wimbledon semifinals after surviving a tough full-set battle against unseeded Eubanks, who also lost to the world No. 3 in the Miami Open quarterfinals earlier this year.
"After the opening set, I didn't want the match to go to five," grinned Medvedev. "After the third set I certainly wanted to go to five. There was a moment in the match where I completely lost the game itself. I started to sink, make a lot of mistakes.
"But in the third I built something and it helped me just be there in the fourth. From the tiebreak I played amazing and I'm really happy about it."
China's doubles specialist Xu Yifan paired with Belgian Joran Vliegen to defeat Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands and Poland's Aldila Sutjiadi 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 and reach the mixed doubles final.
Xu, 34, was a two-time Grand Slam women's doubles runner-up, at 2019 Wimbledon and 2020 US Open respectively. ■
