Carlos Alcaraz pulled rank on his childhood buddy Holger Rune to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time as third seed Daniil Medvedev curtailed American debutant Christopher Eubanks' extraordinary adventure at the All England Club
Wednesday 12 July 2023 19:04, UK
World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz eased past rival Holger Rune to set up a semi-final showdown with Daniil Medvedev, who delivered the knockout blow on Christopher Eubanks' remarkable run.
Top seed Alcaraz beat fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune in three sets on Centre Court, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes.
Alcaraz, still a relative grass-court rookie despite his win at Queen's Club a fortnight ago, said: "Honestly it's amazing for me, a dream since I started playing tennis, making good results at Wimbledon, such a beautiful tournament.
"To be able to play a semi-final here... I think I'm playing at a great level, I didn't expect to play such a great level on this surface so for me, it's crazy.
"At the beginning I was really nervous playing a quarter-final and playing against Rune, someone the same age and playing at a great level. But once you get to a quarter-final there are no friends, you have to focus on yourself and I did great in that."
Alcaraz and Rune played doubles together when they were 14 and now the duo were the first men under 21 to face each other in a Wimbledon quarter-final in the open era.
They headed into a first-set tie-break there was virtually nothing to choose between them.
Alcaraz had hit 12 winners to Rune's 13, both had made 12 unforced errors and both had won a total of 38 points.
Both had also double-faulted once, but Rune picked the wrong time to add to that particular tally to hand Alcaraz the advantage in the tie-break, which he went on to win with a cracking backhand return.
They exchanged further blows until 4-4 in the second set when Rune netted a simple overhead, and Alcaraz punished a second serve with another pin-point return to secure the first break of the match.
With England captain Ben Stokes watching in the crowd, it was Rune's title hopes that were turning to ashes.
The weary Dane was given a warning for a time violation and was promptly broken for 3-2 in the third.
Rune saved a match point on his own serve but could not get near Alcaraz's as the top seed wrapped up victory in two hours and 20 minutes.
Alcaraz will play Russian Medvedev, who beat him in the second round two years ago when he really was a novice on grass, in the semi-final.
"We played two times, once here at Wimbledon," added Alcaraz. "It's going to be a tough one.
"But right now I'm going to enjoy this moment. You don't play a semi-final every year."
Medvedev booked a semi-final spot with a thrilling five-set win against American hope Eubanks.
Eubanks looked set to once again punch above his weight in south-west London after leading the 2021 US Open champion 2-1 going into a fourth-set tie-break.
But third seed Medvedev battled back to floor the American 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in a gripping contest on Court No 1.
The Russian, who smashed 28 aces across a match lasting almost three hours, progressed to the last four at the Championships for the first time.
The defeated Eubanks arrived at Wimbledon with just two Grand Slam wins to his name and a dislike of playing on grass despite winning a title on the surface in Mallorca in June.
Shock victories over British No 1 Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas helped him quickly become a fans' favourite but he was quickly on the ropes on Wednesday after successive double faults gifted Medvedev an early break which ultimately decided the opening set.
Backed by the majority of a captivated capacity crowd, including compatriot Coco Gauff, the charismatic Eubanks swiftly responded.
He raised the roof by clinching a couple of crucial breaks en route to a 29-minute second-set demolition before seizing the initiative with a third on the bounce at the start of set three.
Eubanks, who was bidding to emulate American great John McEnroe by reaching the semi-finals on his first appearance, followed up the minor quarrel with a majestic forehand winner and maintained the momentum to move to within one set of the semi-finals, prompting chants of 'USA, USA' from the stands.
But Medvedev has never lost on this court and was not about to roll over.
The world No 3 was almost flawless throughout the fourth set and he dug in to deservedly take the contest the distance.
The enthusiastic Eubanks appeared slightly deflated at being hauled back from the cusp of victory and a poor final set in which he failed to hold serve on three occasions and squandered two break points proved fatal.
