Carlos Alcaraz sealed his place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a four-set win over Matteo Berrettini on Centre Court.
The final match of the day was a hugely-anticipated one, with Berrettini, a Wimbledon finalist two years ago, expected to provide a stern examination of Alcaraz’s grass-court credentials.
It was latest in a long line of tests Alcaraz has passed with flying colours, battling back from a set down to take control of the fourth-round match and, after a brief delay as the roof was closed, secure a 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 win that sets up a last-eight encounter with Holger Rune.
Alcaraz and Berrettini arrived on Centre Court knowing that, barring something truly extraordinary, the Wimbledon curfew would not prove a factor as it had for much of the first week of the tournament.
Berrettini was broken just once across his opening three rounds, so it was fairly unexpected when Alcaraz brought up two break points in the first game of the match. The Italian saved those though, and once again survived real pressure to hold for 4-3 as Alcaraz was kept at bay with a brilliant drop shot.
That turned into an even bigger hold a few minutes later, when Berrettini brought up two break points of his own. He took the second of them, a forehand from Alcaraz flying into the tramlines and a challenge did not save him, before serving out the set.
Berrettini threatend to take complete charge of the match as a huge backhand down the line earned him a break point at the start of the second set, but Alcaraz saved that and the inevitable response from the world number one came.
He was almost in the crowd as he flicked a stunning shot round the net, before an incredibly loose game from Berrettini gifted Alcaraz a break and a 3-1 lead. The top seed began to ease through the gears and, although Berrettini’s serve kept him just about in touch, Alcaraz cruised through the remainder of the set to level the match up.
A mammoth third game of the third set felt increasingly pivotal with every deuce that passed, and so it proved. Alcaraz saw five break points come and go, Berrettini’s forehand both getting him into trouble and then rescuing the situation, but it was sixth time lucky for the Spaniard. Berrettini lobbed up the ball and Alcaraz was up to the task with the smash.
The top seed had a chance to make that a double break and effectively wrap up the set, only for Berrettini to save it. That proved just a brief inconvenience for Alcaraz though, a stunning forehand winner bringing up set point on the Berrettini serve and he converted it with the help of an unforced error from the Italian.
The fourth set was locked at 2-2 when the decision was made to close the roof, Alcaraz showing no signs of being impacted by that interruption as he got the action back up and running with a crisp forehand winner.
A similarly clean forehand brought up two break points shortly after, Alcaraz needing just one as an off-balance Berrettini saw his forehand fly into the tramlines and set the stage for the Spaniard to serve for the match.
It was not exactly a smooth run to the finish line, three match points saved by Berrettini as the celebrations were put on hold, but, at the fourth time of asking, Alcaraz could raise his arms aloft in victory.
