Top seed Carlos Alcaraz roared into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a formidable show of firepower to down big-serving Italian darkish horse Matteo Berrettini on Monday.
The Spaniard was overwhelmed to the punch within the opening set however raised his sport to say a cushty 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 win to the delight of the Centre Court crowd.
He will now face a battle of the 20-year-olds towards Denmark’s sixth seed Holger Rune for a spot within the semi-finals.
Berrettini was unseeded after an injury-plagued 12 months however is a potent risk on grasscourts having reached the ultimate two years in the past when he misplaced to Novak Djokovic.
He got here out firing big serves and forehands and rocked Alcaraz with a decisive service break to take the opener.
Berrettini couldn’t preserve the depth although and Alcaraz raised his tempo to grab management early within the second set, operating his opponent ragged at occasions.
He broke serve within the third sport of the second set on the way in which to levelling the match and did the identical within the third set with a thumping smash as he picked up velocity.
A delay to shut the roof halfway by way of the fourth set as the sunshine light provided Berrettini some respite however Alcaraz shortly accomplished the win after the resumption.
Alcaraz was stopped by one other Italian, Jannik Sinner, on the similar stage final 12 months, however having reached the quarter-finals for the primary time he already has his eyes on going additional.
“I’m hungry for more,” Alcaraz stated on Centre Court. “It’s something I really wanted. I came in this year with that goal — get into the quarterfinal, I’m wanting more.
“I need to play the ultimate right here and possibly win it.”
Learning curve
Any doubts that Alcaraz would struggle to adapt to grass have now been banished for good.
He won the pre-Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen’s Club in what was only his third tournament on grass and his rapid learning curve shows no sign of levelling off.
Against 27-year-old Berrettini, his extraordinary all-round game was demonstrated in emphatic fashion.
The forehand proved more than a match for the Italian’s, his movement was sublime and his serve potent.
One minute he was feathering delicate drop shots to stretch his opponent and the next he was producing volleys the likes of Pete Sampras or Boris Becker would be proud of.
He had the crowd on their feet at regular intervals, one shot in particular having fans rubbing their eyes in disbelief as he chased down an angled Berrettini slice that looked a sure-fire winner and played a shot around the net post.
There were a couple of late hiccups when he sent a volley long on one match point and double faulted on another but he sealed victory as a weary Berrettini hit a forehand wide, the Spaniard raising his fists and roaring in delight.
“I knew that it was going to be actually robust. Matteo is a superb participant, he made the ultimate right here on grass,” said Alcaraz.
His clash with Rune, who is a week older, will be the lowest combined age for a Wimbledon men’s quarter-final in the professional era. It promises fireworks.
“The younger guys are reaching their desires, coming right here and enjoying the quarter-finals collectively — it is nice for tennis,” stated Alcaraz.
With eight-time champion Roger Federer retired and his nice rival Rafa Nadal set to affix him subsequent 12 months, few would disagree.