The noh 1 world Carlos Alcaraz qualified for the 8are final of Wimbledon on Saturday, but he was jostled by the Chilean Nicolas Jarry (28e), which he ended up beating 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 7-5 in 3:56.
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“It was really, really hard. In Rio already, it had been very hard [en demi-finale remportée en février par Alcaraz 6-7, 7-5, 6-0, NDLR]. So I’m very happy to have got out of it and to have received this extra energy from the public, ”commented the 20-year-old Spaniard.
“The key is to always believe in it and stay focused. I knew I would have my chances,” added the player, who does not hide his ambitions to win the tournament.
He will face for a place in quarters the German Alexander Zverev (21e) or the Italian Matteo Berrettini (38e), finalist in 2021.
For its second participation in the Major on grass, last year, Alcaraz was eliminated in the round of 16 by the Italian Jannik Sinner, after a breathtaking match.
This year, after winning his first Queen’s title on grass just before coming to Wimbledon, he says he is aiming for a second Grand Slam title after last year’s US Open.
But, if he had not lost a single set during his first two rounds, against opponents clearly within his reach, he was pushed to his limits on Saturday.
In the first set, Alcaraz broke to serve for the set at 5-3.
Jarry saved two set points then missed a break point before seeing Alcaraz pocket the first set on his third set point.
In the second set, Jarry took the lead 3-0. Under the pressure imposed by Alcaraz, he conceded his serve to allow the Spaniard to come back to 4-3 and pick up at 4-4.
The two men came to the tiebreaker and the Chilean managed to equalize at one set everywhere.
The third round quickly turned to the advantage of the Spaniard.
But, in the fourth, Jarry again took the lead to lead 3-0 and even had two double-break points. But he did not know how to convert them. And he couldn’t prevent Alcaraz from coming back to 4-4 either.
The Spaniard made the decisive break to lead 6-5 and serve for the match.
The victory is not necessarily convincing against a Chilean who had not played at Wimbledon since his elimination in the first round in 2019. In three participations until this year, he had only reached the second round once (2018).