Sinner Too Good For Alcaraz, Djokovic Extends Wimbledon Streak; Kyrgios On Centre Court!
In the battle of the two most promising young stars, Jannik Sinner got the better of Carlos Alcaraz Sunday at Wimbledon with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 win.
Playing on Centre Court, Sinner was dominating early leading 6-1 and with a break 2-1 in the second before Alcaraz finally woke up.
The Spaniard dropped the second but mounted a charge in the third. He failed to break Sinner but in the breaker he saved two match points during a terrific breaker.
With momentum swinging and Alcaraz’s propensity to win after saving match points, there was hope for the teen. But missed break chances at the start of the fourth would cost Alcaraz.
Sinner for would break 3-1 thanks to a double fault then escape a 0-40 jam to get through in four sets for his first win over the Spaniard.
“Carlos is a very tough opponent and a very nice person, so it is always a huge pleasure for me to play against him,” said Sinner who saved all seven break points faced. “Today with such a great crowd and a special day today, 100 years. It’s just amazing.”
”It’s tough when you have match point, and you still have to play,” he added. “I tried my best, it is just part of the game, part of tennis, and obviously I am very happy how I reacted.”
Sinner will now meet world No. 1 Novak Djokovic who cruised past Den Bosch champion Tim Van Rijthoven 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 under the roof. Djokovic has now won his last 25 matches on grass.
“It was tough,” said Djokovic. “I’ve never faced him before. He’s kind of a new face on the tour. He has won his first ATP match in the tournament that he won in his country, beating players that are from top five, top 10 in the world. He was on a streak on this surface so I knew this was not going to be easy.
“With that serve, a lot of talent, great touch, a lot of power, powerful forehand – he can do a lot of damage. It took me a little bit of time to get used to his pace. Conditions under the roof are a little bit different; it’s a little bit slippery. So it takes a bit of adjustment. But overall I closed out the match well.”
Alcaraz hopes to learn from his second Wimbledon.
“I felt really good here at Wimbledon playing on grass,” Alcaraz said. “I got a lot of experience playing on grass. Now I’m thinking that I could be a great player on grass. Next year I hope to play some tournaments before Wimbledon to adapt my game to get more used to playing here. But I would say I’m going to be a great player here on grass.”
David Goffin upped his 5-set record to 13-5 after edging Frances Tiafoe 7-6(3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5. Goffin finished with 18 aces among his 59 winners during the 4 hour, 36 minute battle.
“It was an amazing battle, I had to stay mentally in the match the whole time,” said Goffin. “Just after the match point, I was mentally dead, because I had to stay fresh all the time to keep my serve, to fight to come back after losing the third set. It was a tough one.
“It was an amazing atmosphere on this court, another epic match against Frances, so I’m very happy to be in the quarterfinals again.”
It’s the second straight time Goffin has moved into the Wimbledon quarterfinals. He’ll now face men’s British No. 1 Cameron Norrie.
The lefty Norrie eased past Wimbledon debutant Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his very first Grand Slam quarterfinal, and become the first Brit since Andy Murray in 2017 to make the Wimbledon last eight.
“To make the quarters for the first time, in front of my family and friends here from college is so special,” Norrie told the crowd on Court 1. “In a huge match, to play the way I did, was really good. To execute everything. I really enjoyed it. It is pretty crazy, I have a lot of feelings.”
Tomorrow, Nick Kyrgios takes his act to Centre Court to meet the 20-year-old from San Diego, Brandon Nakashima.
Rafael Nadal returns to Centre Court to battle Botic Van De Zandschulp in a rematch of Rafa’s win at the French Open.
Taylor Fritz and Alex De Minaur are also on court, both seeking a first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
MONDAY WIMBLEDON SCHEDULE
CENTRE COURT – 1:30PM
1. Brandon Nakashima v Nick Kyrgios
2. Paula Badosa v Simona Halep
3. Botic Van De Zandschulp v Rafael Nadal
NO.1 COURT – 1:00PM
1. Elena Rybakina v Petra Martic
2. Jason Kubler v Taylor Fritz
3. Amanda Anisimova v Harmony Tan
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