Defending champion Alcaraz comes back to beat Tiafoe
Third-round match at Wimbledon lasts 3:50
— Carlos Alcaraz found himself pushed to a Grand Slam fifth set again, this time at Wimbledon, this time against good pal Frances Tiafoe. And as he usually does under such circumstances, no matter how much trouble he might have been in, Alcaraz surged to the finish.
Avoiding a surprising exit, the defending champion got past Tiafoe 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Friday to reach Wimbledon's fourth round in an entertaining match filled with moments of brilliance and a series of momentum swings across its 3 hours, 50 minutes.
“I push the opponent just to be at 100%, physically and mentally, and play at 100%,” Alcaraz said, describing the mindset that has helped him go 12-1 in five-setters. “Sometimes for the other player, it's difficult to (stay) at this kind of intensity.”
In front of a Centre Court crowd that included Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, and under a closed retractable roof that amplified the thuds of rackets-on-balls, grunts and cheers, the third-seeded Alcaraz was outplayed for stretches by No. 29 Tiafoe.
But Alcaraz was better at the business end, the way he was when overturning 2-1 deficits in sets before winning in five in the semifinals and final en route to the French Open title last month.
“I let him dictate a little too much,” Tiafoe said. “Yeah, I mean, that's kind of all it was.”
He was unable to pull out what would have been a breakthrough victory for someone who arrived at Wimbledon with a sprained ligament in his right knee and a losing record this season.
Sure came close, though.
The 26-year-old American was two points away from getting the chance to serve for the win, getting to love-30 on Alcaraz's serve at 4-all in the fourth set. “Huge,” Tiafoe called it.
But Alcaraz claimed the next four points, capped by an ace at 130 mph (210 kph). He then dominated the ensuing tiebreaker, grabbing a 5-0 lead.
In the final set, Tiafoe held in the opening game, but that was pretty much that. At 1-all, Alcaraz got the last break he needed by smacking a passing shot Tiafoe let fly by; the ball at the baseline, spraying chalk.