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2 months ago
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On a blast furnace of a day Carlos Alcaraz came through the fire. The double Wimbledon champion handled the might and spite of Taylor Fritz’s serve, as well as temperatures that climbed to 31C, to reach his third Wimbledon final in a row.
Some have suggested Wimbledon has been a little on the slow side this year. But this semi-final had the fast rattle and hum of an old-fashioned grass-court match. The serve was dominant, the points short, the margins slim. Alcaraz had just enough as he came through a mini-classic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6).
“It was a really difficult match,” the Spaniard said. “Even tougher with the conditions. It was really hot again. With the pressure of a semi-final it was not easy. I was just really proud how I stayed calm, thinking clearly.”
We have become used to Alcaraz being the greatest showman here. But over the course of nearly three hours of compelling play he often resembled a serve bot. Time and again he hit aces or unreturnable serves. He won 88% of points on his first serve and served and volleyed so much that he won 31 out of 41 points at the net. Squint and it could almost have been Pistol Pete Sampras in his prime.
Fritz came into this encounter having sent down 95 aces here, second only to Nicolas Jarry, and having won a striking 93% of his service games. But he retains two noticeable deficiencies. He does not enjoy hitting his backhand down the line. And despite being 6ft 5in with a long wingspan, he regards coming to the net with the same suspicion as a vegetarian might approach an Argentinian steakhouse.
It did not help either that Alcaraz has the canny ability to absorb his opponent’s power and, like the Marvel superhero Rogue, use it against them. That much was evident from the opening point. Fritz sent down a 135mph thunderbolt, only for Alcaraz to return it with interest, pin his opponent back, and then win the point with an exquisite drop shot.
Before the American knew it, he was 15-40 down and facing two break points. The first was saved with a 115mph ace wide to Alcaraz’s forehand. But on the next, the net cord gave him an immediate break.
That proved to be enough as Alcaraz raced through the first set 6-4 in 36 minutes. He had won all 15 points on first serve, but, that first game apart, Fritz was not playing badly. He was winning his service games easily and also had the muscle memory of winning two tournaments on grass, at Stuttgart and Eastbourne, coming into Wimbledon.
The question was could he make inroads into the Alcaraz serve? The answer was yes. But it took time. He finally won a point on the Spaniard’s first serve at 2-1 in the second set, and earned his first break point at 4-3 when Alcaraz was distracted by two delays caused by spectators collapsing and needing treatment.
Alcaraz responded with an unreturnable 135mph serve before taking the next two points, but Fritz was clearly reading his opponent better. At 6-5, he had three set points after a double fault from the defending champion and when a forehand went long, Fritz had broken to love and it was one set all.
The momentum seemed to be with the American, but he decided to take a break and having won the first game on serve, he lost 13 points in a row. Alcaraz went 3-1 ahead and took back control. A second break followed as the Spaniard took the third set 6-3.
At the beginning of the fourth, Alcaraz was immediately in trouble at 0-30 on his serve. His response? To hit a 134mph ace and win the next three points. At 3-2 to Alcaraz it was Fritz’s turn to worry as he faced a breakpoint at 30-40. Again he survived.
The fourth set rushed by in easy holds and we were into a tie-break. It was Alcaraz who struck first. He reacted sharply to a Fritz drop shot, sent him backwards with a lob, and put away the smash. Soon he was 4-1 in front, and the finishing line was in sight.
But Fritz refused to budge. He pulled it back to 4-3 with two big serves, then thundered a rare backhand winner down the line and hit a big forehand to make it 5-4. A 140mph serve made it 6-4 and gave him two set points.
Alcaraz saved the first by somehow returning a 134mph serve before winning a long rally, then claimed the next two points to earn match point. When Fritz erred, it was over. But he knew it had been a struggle.
Alcaraz is through to his sixth grand slam final, an impressive feat, especially given he turned 22 in May. And the bad news for his opponent in the final? Alcaraz has won the previous five.
