They are friends who understand each other in different languages, but there was no mistaking the tennis alchemy between Carlos Alcaraz and Yannick Sinner on Wimbledon’s Center Court on Sunday. It was full of bubbly promise and good summer cheer – even if it took them two hours to pop the cork.
It wasn’t until Alcaraz came from an extended tie to force and win a tiebreak that took them into the fourth set that the most anticipated match of the day began to live up to expectations.
“They can dominate in the future,” Feliciano Lopez noted beforehand of the two youngest players left in the men’s draw, “so it’s one of the greatest matches we can have.” It was certainly a good match, with flashes of genius and a few plot twists, but it didn’t fit Lopez’s bill.
Breaking the script further, it wouldn’t be the favorite Alcaraz – the new Rafa Nadal – who prevailed, but the 20-year-old Gresnik: 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 in three hours and 35 minutes. The Italian, who saw off Andy Murray’s winner John Isner at the height of his serve in the previous round, will be buoyant as he enters his first Slam quarter-final, if a little tired.
He could finish this in three sets if he was focused. Alcaraz – at 19, the youngest man to reach the fourth round since Bernard Tomic (remember that?) 11 years ago – gave Sinner a two-set start and but with some magnificent forehands, giant serves and a backhand in the fourth , fell short of his best.
On the seventh day of the championships, in the 100th year of Center Court, their youthful exuberance filled the famous old court – certainly more joyful than Cliff Richard’s wavering rendition of Summer Holiday in the nostalgic love fest that preceded tennis. Old rockers really need to stay home more often.
Carlos Alcaraz reaches for a forehand but is caught off balance by Yannick Siner. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Although both were as green as the grass – six matches on the surface for Alcaraz, eight for Sinner – the Spaniard’s bigger game seemed to suit it. His first nine ace on Sunday was his 43rd of the tournament and he was hitting them at up to 135 mph. That’s some serious firepower.
Sinner countered with high-quality court geography, mixing it short and long, and broke first. His lateral movement on grass – at 6ft 2in – was a revelation, as if he had played 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 lined the baseline brought Sinner a break early in the second, but Alcaraz finally found some rhythm. Both were hitting ground shots at over 90 miles per hour, Sinner with caution, Alcaraz with growing desperation. After an hour and 20 minutes he was down two sets and struggling.
Alcaraz needed discipline as much as inspiration, but they were in short supply as he struggled in the third set. A missed mid-court forehand in the seventh game was memorably awful. However, he came back hard to take the tiebreak, coming off a 15-shot rally to take a 3-2 lead on his way to holding three set points. Sinner saved two of them on his own serve and the third with a 100 mph forehand for 6-6.
Alcaraz hit long to give Sinner match point on his own serve, but Sinner dropped a tight backhand before giving a second chance to finish. Looking for glory, he hit a forehand at the high point of the net. Then some Spanish magic: a neat half-volley winner behind his feet for 9-8. Sinner’s forehand went long – and they took the fourth set. Finally we had a matching match.
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Or us? Just when Alcaraz looked to be on top, Sinner broke through to make it 3-1 and held on nervously 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 smashed the eventual winner.
Before the game, they talked about their newfound friendship, Sinner insisting that they speak a mixture of Spanish and Italian, Alcaraz protesting that his Italian was in its infancy. However, both are scholars of a common language without words. It will be a pleasure to watch them talk like this for years to come – perhaps more eloquently than on Sunday.
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