Grace under pressure: Alcaraz survives Tiafoe scare, retains five-set dominance at Wimbledon
The Spaniard will meet the winner of the match between American Brandon Nakashima and Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the No 16 seed, in the next round
Carlos Alcaraz 2024 Wimbledon | Action Plus / Panoramic
There are times when Carlos Alcaraz looks beatable, even on the biggest stages of the sport. We saw that on Friday, when he trailed American Frances Tiafoe by two sets to one on Wimbledon’s fabled Centre Court, the defending champion seemingly one fatal break of serve away from being unceremoniously bounced out of the tournament.
These are the times when the real Alcaraz emerges: the gifted, free-flowing shotmaker that plays with feel, panache and courage. We saw that player today, and we witnessed him once again snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, rallying past 29th-seeded Tiafoe for a thrilling 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 and a 10th consecutive victory at Wimbledon (in three hours and 50 minutes). The Spaniard will next face 16th seed Ugo Humbert or Brandon Nakashima.
“It’s always a challenge to play against Frances,” Alcaraz told the crowd. “As I said many times he’s a really talented player, really tough to face, and we saw once again that he deserves to be in the top and to fight for really big things.
“It was really difficult for me to adapt my game, to find solutions and to put him in trouble, but I’m really happy I did it at the end of the match.”
Much in the same fashion that Alcaraz swiped last year’s final from two sets to one down against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, the 21-year-old Spaniard demonstrated his affinity for the escape on Friday. Like Clark Kent twirling in a phone booth, he emerged from a tense back-and-forth in the fourth set transformed, spun out of a perfectly played tiebreak with the momentum – and the crowd – and waltzed away with an impressive win.
Call it a flair for the dramatic. Call it clutch. Whatever you want to call it, at this stage of Alcaraz’s career, it’s undeniable.
“A lot of difficult moments during the fourth set, when I was serving 15-30, love-30, all I was thinking was ‘Okay, fight one more ball.’ Obviously in the tiebreak I always tell myself that I have to go for it. If I lose it, I lose it, but I have to feel that I went for it all the time,” he said.
Make that nine consecutive five-setters won by Alcaraz, and all four he has played at Wimbledon. Now 12-1 in deciding sets at the majors, with his only blemish coming against Matteo Berrettini in the third round in 2022, Alcaraz emerges from today’s shaky ground looking even more bullet proof in the eyes of his competition. If he can’t be defeated even when he is vulnerable, behind, just a few points from defeat, what will happen when he starts a match on the front foot?
These are questions his next opponents must ponder. Alcaraz, who improved to a tidy 20-3 lifetime on grass, and 14-2 at Wimbledon, is into the round of 16.
He’s in his element, thriving under the pressure, and embracing the highs and lows that come with Grand Slam tennis. Whoever he faces will have his hands full.
Alcaraz finished the match with 55 winners against 39 unforced errors. He faced 10 break points and saved seven. But in the deciding set he was spotless, not facing a single break point as she won 17 of 20 points on serve and converted two breaks of serve against Tiafoe.
He won 27 of 42 points in the final set and galloped away, improving his overall record at the majors to an impressive 55-10 clip.
Tiafoe, ranked No 29, came back against Italian Matteo Arnaldi (6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3) and won against Croat Borna Coric (7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3) in the previous rounds of The Championships.
It was ultimately a successful tournament for Tiafoe, who had to scramble to get healthy after suffering a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee at Queen’s club. He notched his first career win from two sets to love down in the first round, and on Friday he proved that he can go toe-to-toe with the best in the game on Centre Court. It bodes well for his summer, and his trip to the US Open, where he will hope to continue progressing at the majors.
Wimbledon (Grand Slam), other third-round matches (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, grass, GBP 50.000.000, most recent results first):
- Grigor Dimitrov (10) beat Gael Monfils: 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- Tommy Paul (12) beat Alexander Bublik (23): 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
- Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Fabio Fognini
- Brandon Nakashima vs. Ugo Humbert
- Alexei Popyrin vs. Novak Djokovic
- Holger Rune vs. Quentin Halys
- Lucas Pouille vs. Alex De Minaur
- Arthur Fils vs. Roman Safiullin
- Cameron Norrie vs. Alexander Zverev
- Taylor Fritz vs. Alejandro Tabilo
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
- Francisco Comesana vs. Lorenzo Musetti
- Jannik Sinner vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
- Denis Shapovalov vs. Ben Shelton
- Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Daniil Medvedev
