Once Alcaraz came out of an extended flat position to force and win a tiebreak that took them to the fourth set, the most anticipated match of the day began to live up to expectations. “They can dominate in the future,” Feliciano López had remarked beforehand of the two youngest players left in the men’s draw, “so it’s one of the best matches we could have.” Sure it was a good match, with flashes of genius and a few plot twists, but it didn’t fit López’s bill. Further shredding the script, it would not be the favorite Alcaraz – the new Rafa Nadal – who prevailed, but the 20-year-old Sinner: 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 in three hours and 35 minutes. The Italian, who held off Andy Murray’s conqueror John Isner at the height of his serve in the previous round, will be strong in his first slam quarter-final, if a little tired. He could have done it in three sets if he had concentrated. Alcaraz – at 19, the youngest man to reach the fourth round since Bernard Tomic (remember him?) 11 years ago – gave Sinner a two-set start and, but for some glorious forehands, giant serves and a fightback in fourth, fell into the void. of his best. On the seventh day of the championships, in Center Court’s 100th year, their youthful exuberance filled the famous old court – certainly happier than Cliff Richard’s faltering rendition of Summer Holiday in the pre-tennis nostalgia lovefest. Old rockers really should stay home more often. Carlos Alcaraz puts his hand in, but Jannik Sinner keeps him off balance. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian While both were as green as the grass – six matches on the surface for Alcaraz, eight for Sinner – the Spaniard’s longer game seemed suited to it. His first nine ace on Sunday was his 43rd of the tournament and he’s hit them at 135 mph. That’s some serious firepower. Sinner tackled the high-quality field geography, mixing the short and the long, and broke first. His lateral movement on grass – at 6ft 2in – was a revelation, as if he had been playing on it all his life. (His skiing background probably helped.) Sinner often caught Alcaraz off balance and broke again, taking the first set with an ace in just over half an hour. A return rocket that drew the baseline earned Sinner a break early in the second, but Alcaraz finally found some rhythm. Both were hitting 90 miles an hour and on the ground, Sinner with caution, Alcaraz with growing desperation. After an hour and 20 minutes he was two sets down and struggling. Alcaraz needed discipline as much as inspiration, but he was in short supply as he struggled in the third set. An errant forehand from midcourt in the seventh game was memorably awful. He came back hard, however, to force a tiebreak, riding out a 15-shot rally to take a 3-2 lead on his way to holding on for three set points. Sinner saved two of them on his own serve and the third with a 100mph cross-court forehand for 6-6. Alcaraz hit long to give Sinner a match point on his own serve, but Sinner dropped a backhand narrowly, before creating a second chance to wrap it up. Going for glory, he fired a forehand into the top of the net. Then some Spanish magic: a neat, behind-the-legs half-volley winner for 9-8. A Sinner forehand went long – and they went to a fourth set. Finally, we had a cohesive match. Quick guide
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Thanks for your response. Or did we? Just when Alcaraz looked to be on top, Sinner moved in at 3-1 and nervously held on from 0-40 to make it 4-1. Alcaraz saved five match points on his own serve at 2-5 but could do nothing for the sixth as Sinner crushed a forehand winner. Before the game they talk about their friendship, Sinner insisting that they speak to each other in a mix of Spanish and Italian, Alcaraz protesting that his Italian is in his infancy. Both, however, are scholars in a common language with no words at all. It will be a pleasure to watch them converse in these terms for years to come – perhaps more eloquently than on Sunday.
