
Alcaraz subdues Fritz to reach third successive Wimbledon final
With Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio watching from the stands, Alcaraz survived a titanic clash lasting two hours and 49 minutes in searing temperatures on Centre Court.
As the mercury rose close to 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), play was interrupted by several fans taken ill, but Alcaraz kept his cool to subdue the big-serving Fritz with his sublime returns and immaculate serving of his own.
The 22-year-old will play seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic or world number one Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final.
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 number two 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, Monte Carlo and at Queen's Club.
He has won 35 of his 38 matches on grass, a golden spell including 20 successive victories at Wimbledon since losing to Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
He is the second Spanish man to reach the Wimbledon final on three occasions, after five-time finalist Rafael Nadal.
- Nerveless Alcaraz -
Alcaraz is 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.
He can also become the second-youngest player in the Open era to win six men's Grand Slam titles after Borg reached that mark at Wimbledon in 1978 aged 22.
Fritz fell short in his bid to reach a second Grand Slam final.
The 27-year-old, a US Open runner-up last year, made a gutsy effort, but Alcaraz had won both their previous meetings and he wasted no time seizing control again.
Although grass-court specialist Fritz had slammed 95 aces on route to his first Wimbledon semifinal, Alcaraz's returning prowess neutralised that weapon to secure a break in the first game of the match.
Alcaraz needed his eye checked midway through the set, but there was no loss of focus from the Spaniard as he held serve to take the opener.
Having dropped just four of 24 points on his serve in the first set, the Spaniard found himself under fire in the second.
Fritz pounced on a rare sloppy game from Alcaraz to take the set when the Spaniard produced an ill-timed double-fault and two costly unforced errors.
The nerveless Alcaraz was unfazed by that threat and quickly regained the momentum, running Fritz ragged with a deft drop-shot followed by a perfect lob to break in the third game of the third set.
With Alcaraz's serve virtually flawless, he added another break for good measure to secure a two sets to one lead.
In a dramatic fourth set tie-break, Fritz went from 4-1 down to 6-4 up, only for Alcaraz to save both set points.
Alcaraz scented victory and one last flurry of piercing ground-strokes secured his latest final berth.
— AFP

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Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Sinner downs Alcaraz to win first Wimbledon title
LONDON: Jannik Sinner downed defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win his first Wimbledon title, gaining sweet revenge for his painful defeat in the French Open final. The world number one is the first Italian to win at the All England Club and now has four Grand Slams to his name at the age of 23. Sinner stayed ice cool after losing the first set, with the momentum quickly shifting, and he was not broken once in the final three sets. He squandered three championship points in the final at Roland Garros last month but this time made no mistake as he served out for victory. Sinner said he was "living his dream", prompting an eruption of cheers from the Centre Court crowd. "An amazing tournament, thank you for the player you are," he said to world number two Alcaraz. "It is so difficult to play against you. "I am going to keep hold of this (trophy), you have two already!" The tennis world has been captivated by the emergence of the new rivalry between the players to follow the storied "Big Three" era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Sinner and two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz have now shared the past seven Grand Slam titles between them, with the Italian winning four of those. Defeat in Paris last month was a bitter blow for Sinner, who led by two sets and had a clutch of championship points. Prior to Sunday's victory, he had lost five consecutive times against Alcaraz, including the final of the Italian Open in the first tournament he played after returning from a three-month doping ban. But this time he turned the tables in impressive fashion. Both players were solid on serve until the fifth game, when Alcaraz sprayed a forehand long to hand Sinner the first break of the match. But the Spaniard levelled at 4-4 to the delight of the Centre Court crowd, which included Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales. Sinner double-faulted to hand Alcaraz a second set point. The Italian laced a searing forehand down the line but Alcaraz produced a magical backhand winner, pointing his finger to his ear as the crowd rose to their feet. MOMENTUM SHIFT Sinner, still wearing a protective white sleeve after his nasty fall in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov, broke in the first game of the second set and led 3-1 after play was briefly halted by a flying cork. Sinner shook his racquet after winning the first point as he served for the set and was rewarded with cheers before levelling the match with a whipped forehand. The third set was a tense affair that went with serve until the ninth game when Sinner broke as Alcaraz slipped over on the baseline and he went 2-1 up. The momentum was now all with Sinner and he broke again in the third game of the fourth set to take the match by the scruff of the neck. The chance was always there that Alcaraz would produce the magic he found at Roland Garros but Sinner stayed focused. The Spaniard had two break points to hit back in the eighth game but Sinner shut the door. Sinner stepped up to serve for the championship amid a cacophony of noise, sealing the deal on his second championship point. The Italian cruised through the first three rounds at Wimbledon, losing just 17 games — equalling an Open era record set in 1972. But he got lucky in the fourth round against inspired Bulgarian 19th seed Dimitrov, who was leading by two sets when he suffered an injury that forced him to quit. Sinner got back into the groove against 10th seed Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals before demolishing seven-time champion Djokovic in the last four. Alcaraz had been aiming to become just the fifth man in the Open era to win three consecutive Wimbledons after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Federer and Djokovic. — AFP


Times of Oman
2 days ago
- Times of Oman
Sinner avenges French Open heartbreak, beats Alcaraz to capture maiden Wimbledon title
London: The world's top-ranked superstar Jannik Sinner avenged his heartbreaking French Open final loss as he outclassed his rival and Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz to secure his maiden Wimbledon title on Sunday. The 23-year-old captured his fourth major title, after two Australian Open and a US Open triumph, defeating Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a clash oozing with class and intensity in every shot. This was Sinner's first-ever Wimbledon final. Flipping the script, Sinner also managed to put an end to Alcaraz's career-best 24-match win streak and became the first Italian to capture what many consider the most prestigious Grand Slam title. Sinner's picture-perfect finals record of 5-0 has been broken, and one loss has been added to it. The 23-year-old Italian was extremely precise with his groundstrokes, but still lost the first set. Alcaraz came out aggressively, hitting with heavy pace and using drop shots well. He showed trademark resilience to bounce back from 2-4 in the first set and have it to his name with a backhand defensive block. But Sinner followed it with three hard-fought wins in the next three sets to take the trophy home. Sinner had dropped just 17 games during his first three matches at Wimbledon and survived a major scare in the fourth round, when Grigor Dimitrov was forced to leave the field due to injury despite leading the game. Sinner also needed some medical attention on his elbow, but he battled hard against Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic to register his fifth Grand Slam final appearance. Following the match, Sinner said as quoted by ATP website that playing against the Spanish star is "so difficult" and encouraged his rival to "keep going and keep pushing". "I would like to start with Carlos. Again, an amazing tournament, but mostly thank you for the player you are. It is so difficult to play against you, but we have an amazing relationship off the court and on the court, we just try to build up, and to do that we need the best teams in the world. Keep going, keep pushing and you are going to hold this trophy many times. You already have two titles," said Sinner to Alcaraz. "It is so special. Seeing my parents here, my brother, my whole team, it is amazing. Actually a special thanks to my brother, because there is no Formula 1 race this weekend, that is why he is here," he continued. Alcaraz noted after the match that "it is difficult to lose" "It is a really well-deserved trophy [after] an unbelievable two weeks here in London for you (Sinner), playing great tennis. For your team as well. I know that there are a lot of family and a lot of friends watching you here, so it is just an amazing team around you." "I am really happy for you. So just keep it going, and I am really happy to be able to build a really good relationship off the court but then a good rivalry on the court. It makes me improve every day, so thank you very much and congratulations." "I am really proud about everything I'm doing. At the beginning of the season, I struggled a bit on the court and off the court, but then suddenly I just started to really enjoy being on court again, being happy again, and that excitement I have every time step on the court is thanks to my team, my family and lot of friends. I am happy that I have them here. Without them it wouldn't be possible to stand here right now- It is a great journey so far which I am really proud about. I just want to keep it going," he concluded.


Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Times of Oman
Swiatek runs riot to lift her maiden Wimbledon title with double bagel over Anisimova
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