CARLOS ALCARAZ is one win away from a historic Wimbledon ‘three-peat’.
In the face-melting heat on Centre Court, No2 seed Alcaraz swept aside world No5 Taylor Fritz 6-4 5-7 6-3 7-6 for a third successive SW19 final spot.
Having tasted glory in 2023 and 2024, the 22-year-old Spaniard is now on the brink of becoming just the fifth player in the Open Era to lift three Wimbledon titles on the spin after Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras.
Victory on Sunday would also mark his sixth Grand Slam title, and he will fancy his chances having never lost a final in his five attempts so far in his fledgling yet meteoric career.
American Fritz was made to pay for a lack of ruthlessness when it mattered most, having worked so hard to claim the second set, bottling two set points in a fourth-set tie-break and breaking the Alcaraz serve just once in the entire match.
The 27-year-old – playing in a Wimbledon semi-final for the first time – missed out on becoming the first Yank to reach the men’s final since Andy Roddick in 2009.
Alcaraz set the tone with his very first shot of the match – a delicious drop shot that paved the way to impressively break the deadly Fritz serve.
For the first time in this tournament, the world No2 had come out of the blocks firing.
But from there, both settled into their rhythm with nine successive holds of serve – the only surprise coming in game five as Alcaraz required medical attention for what was believed to be a bug in his right eye.
Umpire Marijana Veljovic even clambered down from her high chair for an inspection.
Fritz could not take advantage, combining some nice backhand returns and cross-court efforts with some poorly overhit forehands that Alcaraz welcomed.
The Spaniard would have been kicking himself for fluffing his lines with a break point opportunity at 5-3 up, instead settling for 6-4 to wrap up the first set in 35 minutes.
The stats made for grim reading in the Fritz camp – Alcaraz had won 15 out of 15 first serve points with six aces on top of that. Imperious form.
Fritz needed a break of serve – or even hitting a winner – quickly in the second set to try and regain some momentum instead of constantly chasing his own shadow.
But Alcaraz remained unfazed, going through the motions, content with playing in third gear to preserve his energy in the unbearable SW19 heat.
Fritz had half a chance to break in game four but a poor mistake at the net while holding his serve well, and wasted another in game eight – delayed because of two spectators struggling in the stands with the heat – after being overpowered by his opponent’s serve.
Alcaraz was playing the role of a lion in the long grass, patiently waiting for his chance to pounce, but the 22-year-old was not his ruthless self.
And in the twelfth with a tie-break looming, after a run of TWENTY holds of serve, Fritz finally made Alcaraz pay for a drop in intensity and focus with a break that clinched an even-stevens second set.
Alcaraz stood in a slither of shade before the start of the third set in a bid to compose himself, and with a cooler head broke Fritz in the game three to reassert his authority, picking up thirteen unanswered points in a row. He was back into cruising mode.
Fritz was clinging on again, just like in the first set, but not even a few 133mph aces could knock Alcaraz off his machine-like stride.
A second break of serve was a dagger to the heart of Fritz, rueing a needless double fault at 15-30 that helped wrap up the third set for Alcaraz, who had dropped just one point on his serve game to retake the lead.
At 30-0 on a break of serve, Fritz had the chance to immediately hit back at the start of the fourth set, only to lose four points on the bounce.
From there, the American was constantly swimming against the tide, but never lost his fight, forcing a tie-break.
But Alcaraz was never going to let history slip out of his grasp, even after throwing away a 4-1 lead and coming back from 6-4 down to win four straight points in an epic finale.
The man from Murcia feels so at home in SW19, and has the nerves of steel to prove it.
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