Images of the Men’s singles quarterfinals from Day 10 of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in London on Wednesday.
IMAGE: Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after entering the semifinals. Photograph: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
It was billed as the battle of the 20-year-olds but Carlos Alcaraz pulled rank on his childhood buddy Holger Rune as he doused the Dane’s fireworks to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time with a 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4 victory on Wednesday.
The two tyros who were born six days apart were contesting a men’s Wimbledon quarter-final that for the first time in the professional era featured two players aged under 21.
Despite his youth, Alcaraz is already at home among the elite of men’s tennis and produced the form that has carried him to the top of the rankings by never allowing Rune to gain the upper hand, no matter how many flashy shots he conjured.
After saving a break point in the opening game of the match, Alcaraz put on a majestic performance in front of Britain’s Queen Camilla to end Rune’s hopes of becoming the first Danish player in 65 years to reach the All England Club semi-finals.
Rune certainly won most of the crowd-pleasing points, whether it was a tweener between the legs or a stupendous reflex volley he hit at the net after Alcaraz had dashed back to the baseline to retrieve a lob.
IMAGE: Holger Rune reacts during the quarterfinal match. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
But the Spaniard, already in the Grand Slam winner’s club after triumphing at the U.S. Open last year, refused to get flustered and kept winning the points that mattered.
After Alcaraz missed out on converting his first three match points, including producing a double fault on one of them, he sealed a semi-final showdown with Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev when Rune slapped a service return long.
After sharing a warm embrace at the net, the Spaniard leaned back and let out a might roar into the skies – showing just how much this win meant to him.
IMAGE: Daniil Medvedev enters the semifinals. Photograph: USA TODAY USPW via Reuters
Medvedev weathers Eubanks storm
Third seed Daniil Medvedev curtailed American debutant Christopher Eubanks’ extraordinary Wimbledon adventure as he weathered a ferocious storm to come through their quarter-final 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1 on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Russian took the opening set but was blown completely off course for the next two as unseeded Eubanks unleashed a barrage of first-strike tennis that had the Court One crowd roaring its approval.
Medvedev clung on stubbornly, however, and as the fire in the Eubanks racket began to fade he took charge to reach the semi-finals at the grasscourt slam for the first time.
He will face top seed Carlos Alcaraz for a place in Sunday’s final.
“I am just happy to be in the semi-finals,” Medvedev said on court after winning a fifth-set decider for only the fourth time in his career, having lost 10.
“There was a moment in the match where I completely lost the game itself and he played well, I started to sink, I started to do a lot of mistakes, not serving well enough.
“In the third set I started to build something, not lose it 6-1 again and starting from the tiebreak (in the fourth), I managed to play amazing.”
The 27-year-old Eubanks, who stunned British number one Cameron Norrie and took out fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the last eight, looked edgy early on and successive double-faults gifted Medvedev a decisive break in the first set.
IMAGE: Christopher Eubanks reacts as his adventurous run comes to an end. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
But once he loosened up his long limbs and started middling the ball he entered a purple patch that had Medvedev rocking.
Eubanks used his sledgehammer forehand to break the Medvedev serve to lead 3-1 in the second set — beaming broadly and imploring the crowd for more noise.
They duly obliged as Eubanks began smacking service returns straight to the feet of Medvedev and demonstrating a razor-sharp net game that many thought had long gone out of fashion.
Medvedev looked bewildered and out of ideas as Eubanks kept swinging for the hills, landing blow after blow.
A rampant Eubanks broke Medvedev’s serve at the start of the third set and won seven successive games in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Medvedev looked close to boiling point as he whacked a ball dangerously close to the fans, argued with umpire Damien Dumusois and received a warning.
Eubanks looked set to emulate American great John McEnroe who reached the semis on his Wimbledon debut in 1977 but Medvedev gained traction in the fourth as the fizz went out of his opponent’s game and he comfortable won the tiebreak.
Eubanks cut a dejected figure in the deciding set as his dream faded away and the end came quickly.
His run may be over but the 27-year-old former Georgia Tech student left the court to a huge ovation, making a heart gesture to the fans before disappearing.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
