Carlos Alcaraz edged a step closer to a Novak Djokovic final after a Wimbledon quarter-final between two 20-year-olds which suggests there is life after the big three.
Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal convalescing in Mallorca following hip surgery, leaving Djokovic as the sole protagonist from the dominant triumvirate.
Alcaraz is already world No1 and the likely successor to that trio but his opponent on Wednesday, Holger Rune, suggested the future of men’s tennis looks secure.
The pair could barely be split in a high-quality opening set which lasted 65 minutes, which went to Alcaraz’s advantage. The tension and drama diminished as the match wore on – the Spaniard always just that bit more clinical in the clutch moments – and yet Rune will surely be a grand slam winner soon on the evidence of this showing.
It was the first Wimbledon men’s quarter-final to be contested by two players under the age of 21 in the open era – just six days separating the long-time rivals and friends in age. And by winning Alcaraz became the youngest semi-finalist here since Djokovic back in 2007.
Rune, meanwhile, was bidding to become the first Danish man since Kurt Nielsen in the late Fifties to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. That will surely come in time.
The match didn’t quite deliver in the end on the classic it promised to be in the opening set and the 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 winning margin set up a last-four encounter with Daniil Medvedev after he recovered from two sets to one down to edge out Chris Eubanks in a five-set marathon.
“It’s amazing for me,” said Alcaraz afterwards. “It’s a dream since I start playing tennis making good results in Wimbledon. I’m playing a great level. I didn’t expect to play such a great level on this surface. For me, it’s crazy.”
In a match played out in front of the Queen, the first set was tight, tense and rich in tennis artistry. For players more adept to clay, both repeatedly rushed the net, produced drop shots and pinpoint volleys. But that was mixed with errors from both, unsurprising given their age, relative inexperience and the enormity of the occasion.
Rune had his opportunities in the set – for example a break point in Alcaraz’s opening service game – but it was his opponent who got the mini break in an inevitable tiebreak with the combination of a lob and drop shot to go 2-1 clear.
Rune got back on level terms but Alcaraz proved the freer, risking the big shots and deservedly taking set up three set points, partly aided by a double fault from the Dane. Alcaraz marked it with an almighty roar.
The second set started no less tight and, at 4-4, seemed to be heading to another shoot-out. But at 30-30 on his serve, Rune hit a smash right into the net, in his defence perhaps undone by the bright sunlight on Centre Court. A lovely doubled-handed backhand down the line brought up the break and not long after the set.
There were just four break points all match. Tellingly, Rune didn’t take his one, Alcaraz took two of his three, including another in the third set, which left Rune with a mountain to climb.
Try as he might, which included whipping up the Centre Court crowd with a number of points won late in the third set, he never really got back in contention.
He did at least save three match points, including one on serve, to force Alcaraz to serve out the match, which he did to take a deserved victory.
