Carlos Alcaraz beats Taylor Fritz to reach third successive Wimbledon final
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Carlos Alcaraz during his semi-final clash against Taylor Fritz.
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LONDON – Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz tamed the towering Taylor Fritz to reach his third straight Wimbledon final, rediscovering his A-game when it mattered most to battle past the American in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory on July 11.
Eyeing a sixth Grand Slam title, the Spaniard was eventually too strong for the metronomically consistent Fritz, whose biggest weapons were still not damaging enough to unsettle the second seed under a fiery sun on Centre Court.
“I am not thinking about the winning streak or results. Thinking about how this is my dream... that’s why I try to bring the joy to the court,” said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz’s victory set the stage for a tantalising final against either world No. 1 Jannik Sinner or 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, who will duel it out in the second semi-final – the result of which was not available at press time.
“This is one of the most exciting matchups we have on tour right now. Djokovic against Jannik. As a huge fan of tennis, I’m gonna try to see it and watch as much as I can,” Alcaraz added.
Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals and holds an 8-4 edge over Sinner in their 12 meetings.
Back to his best after an inconsistent start to the tournament, the world No. 2 looks in the mood to extend his reign at the All England Club.
The five-time Grand Slam champion is on a career-best 24-match winning streak since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April.
That blistering run has brought him an epic French Open final triumph against Sinner and titles in Rome and Queen’s Club.
He has lost just three Tour-level matches on grass, a golden spell including 20 successive victories at Wimbledon since losing to Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
He is also the second Spanish man to reach the Wimbledon final on three occasions, after five-time finalist Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz is now one win away from becoming the fifth man in the Open era to clinch three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
Earlier on July 10, Aryna Sabalenka took a swipe at Amanda Anisimova over her behaviour during the American’s stunning semi-final victory.
The world No. 1 Belarusian crashed to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 defeat by the 13th seed to shatter her dream of reaching a first All England Club final.
She lost her cool with Anisimova during the match and was still angry with her rival several hours later.
Two incidents infuriated the 27-year-old, who was unhappy Anisimova celebrated winning a point too early.
“I was just trying to chase the ball. She was already celebrating it. I mean, that’s a bit too early,” Sabalenka said.
“Then she kind of pissed me off saying that’s what she does all the time.”
She was also irked that Anisimova failed to follow the tennis tradition of offering an apology when she won a point thanks to a fortunate deflection off the net.
Ironically, Sabalenka’s rant came after she had opened her post-match press conference by telling reporters she would not repeat her French Open final outburst.
She was forced to apologise after claiming it was her poor play and not Coco Gauff’s performance that was the decisive factor in the American’s victory at Paris in June. AFP, REUTERS
