Photo credit: Jon Buckle/ROLEX
Centre Court lawn was a launching pad.
Powered by lasers and love, an explosive Carlos Alcaraz saved two set points in the tiebreaker soaring into his third consecutive Wimbledon final.
Two-time reigning champion Alcaraz fended off a tough Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) to score his 20th straight Wimbledon win.
“It was a really, really good match. I had to play against Taylor even tougher with the conditions, a really hot day,” Alcaraz said. “I’m really really happy with everything I’ve done today.
“It’s not easy to deal with the pressure you might have, just happy in the fourth set saving two set points—one with Taylor serving. I’m really happy with how I stayed calm. I’m really pleased with my level today.”
Five-time major champion Alcaraz issued 10 love holds, won 88 percent of first serve points and faced only two break points.
Playing tremendous baseline tennis, Fritz was one point away from pushing the champion to a fifth set for the second time in this fortnight.
A calm Alcaraz was down 4-6 in the fourth-set tiebreaker and answered with a creative four-point run to post his 24th consecutive victory advancing to his sixth straight final.
"I think I was not returning his first serve well at all. Part of that is because I thought he served really well, like very well," Fritz said. "Part of that is also because I know that I can't just, like, make the return 'cause he'll just drill the ball open court, and I'll lose the point.
"Part of me not returning great is how well he's serving and then how I know that I need to hit a good return if I want to be able to win the point. There's not much point in me blocking a return back and just losing the point anyway."
Facing fourth-set stress with a smile and dynamic shot-making, Alcaraz said relishing the moment helped him create closure.
“The best thing is not thinking about the winning streak, not thinking about the results at all,” Alcaraz said. “It’s just thinking about this dream, just playing tennis in the most beautiful tournament in the world. I think that’s why I try to bring all the joy to the court.”
The 22-year-old Spaniard rides that 20-match Wimbledon winning streak into Sunday’s 4 p.m. final against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in a rematch of last month’s record Roland Garros final.
The top-seeded Sinner stopped a hobbled 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in today's second semifinal.
Reigning US Open and Australian Open Sinner and reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz have combined to capture six straight Grand Slam titles.
The world’s most exciting player said he’ll revert to his second vocation—devoted tennis fan—and try to watch as much as he can of the second semifinal.
“Right now I don’t want to think about Sunday,” Alcaraz said. “I just want to enjoy this moment and enjoy that I qualified for another final…
“I have to sometimes take my time, think about it, enjoy it with my team and think about it. This is one of the most exciting matches—Djokovic against Jannik—as a huge fan of tennis, to be honest, I’m going to try to see it and watch as much as I can. I will try to find the time to enjoy that match but obviously I will try to take tactics from that.”
Lawn Lord Alcaraz improved to 35-3 lifetime on grass and carries an immaculate 5-0 record in major finals into the title match.
On Sunday, Alcaraz aims to become the fourth man in history to win back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles on multiple occasions. If he does it, he will join Rocket Rod Laver (1962 and 1969), Bjorn Borg (1978-80), who was watching from the Royal Box today, and his hero, Rafael Nadal (2008 and 2010).
Winless in two prior meetings vs. Alcaraz, Fritz overcome a nervy start to play one of his best major matches. Fritz fired 19 aces, won 80 percent of his first-serve points and hit more winners—44 to 38—than Alcaraz.
Ultimately, Alcaraz’s superior movement, his all-court acumen—he won 31 of 41 net points—and his creativity under pressure were essential elements to this win.
US Open finalist Fritz won the toss, elected to serve and ran into an immediate issue. Alcaraz sent a backhand down the line that tripped on the tape and fell over giving the Spaniard the opening break.
That break—and stinging serving—propelled Alcaraz through a near-flawless first-set.
Alcaraz won 15 of 15 first-serve points, stamped three love holds in five service games and was five of six at net in a superb 35-minute opener.
Fritz took the court with 95 aces—most among the four semifinalists—but confronted the all-court athletic challenge Alcaraz poses. The bad news for Fritz: He played well and still lost the opening set. The worse news for the American: Alcaraz was 64-2 in Slams when winning the first set, including a sparkling 16-0 at Wimbledon when winning the opener.
None of that mattered much to Fritz, who was pressuring the Spaniard’s serve more frequently as the second set progressed.
When Alcaraz served at 4-5, Fritz reached 30-all—two points from the set only to see the Spaniard carve the dropper that helped him hold to level after 10 games.
Serving at 5-6, Alcaraz crashed a backhand off the tape then watched Fritz fire a scorching 96 mph diagonal forehand winner to reach love-30. Alcaraz dumped his first double fault to face triple set point.
Another biting return provoked a forehand beyond the baseline from the champion as Fritz broke at love to level the match.
A horrific game from Alcaraz helped Fritz snap the Spaniard’s streak of 42 consecutive holds as he took a set from the five-time Slam champion for the first time in their three meetings.
The fifth-seeded Fritz left the court while Alcaraz remained on Centre taking time to speak to his coaches, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel Lopez.
Finding the return range, Alcaraz hammered some heavy returns to earn triple break point in the third game.
The second seed tormented Fritz, dipping a dropper then lofting a lob breaking at love for 2-1. Torching an ace down the T, Alcaraz reeled off 13 points in a row in one stretch surging ahead 3-1 in the third set.
As former champion Bjorn Borg and Pat Cash watched from the Royal Box, Alcaraz made his move to take charge.
The two-time champion started and ended the third set with breaks. Fritz double faulted to face double-set point. On the second set point, Fritz missed a backhand long and Alcaraz bellowed a hearty “Vamos!” snatching a two-sets to one lead.
An oppressive Alcaraz won 16 of 17 service points and seven of eight trips to net in that third set.
Little separated the pair throughout a tense fourth set. Fritz launched a 136 mph missile down the T to force the tiebreaker.
The Roland Garros champion had lost both tiebreakers he played in this tournament—to Fabio Fognini in his five-set opening round win and to Andrey Rublev in the first set of the fourth round—but showed magic touch early in today’s breaker.
Running down a dropper, Alcaraz lifted a lob over the 6’5” American and snapped a smash for the mini break at 2-1.
A slick serve and deft backhand angled volley winner took Alcaraz to 4-1 in the breaker, but Fritz was far from done. Bolting a backhand strike down the line and jolting the champion with a crackling return, Fritz won back-to-back mini breaks then hammered a 140 mph serve to earn double-set point at 6-4.
Fighting off a big serve with a deep return, Alcaraz carving an acute angled volley to save the first set point. On the second, Alcaraz defended a deep ball off his backfoot, recovered and ripped a forehand down the line to level at 6-all.
Credit Fritz for doing down swinging.
The American attacked and had Alcaraz in a defensive spot only to see the second seed rocket a low forehand pass Fritz could not handle for match point.
Slashing a backhand down the line, Alcaraz leaned back and roared a primal scream withstanding stress to close a quality clash in two hours, 49 minutes.