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By Erik Gudris | Sunday, July 3, 2022

 
Jannik sinner

Carlos Alcaraz fought valiantly to force a fourth set but he could not hold off Jannik Sinner in the end.

Photo Source: Getty

Photo Source: Getty

It’s rare these days for 20-year-old Jannik Sinner to face someone younger than him on the men’s tour. Yet he did just that against rising Spanish star 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in their fourth round encounter on Centre Court.

Tennis Express

For two sets, the No. 10 seed Sinner looked almost impervious. Alcaraz soon made it a match to the delight of the Sunday crowd. But it was Sinner who finally prevailed to reach his first Wimbledon quarterfinal. An impressive feat considering Sinner, until this year’s event, had yet to win a match at Wimbledon.

Sinner outlasted Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 to reach the last eight and perhaps give a reminder to everyone in the tennis world not to forget about him just yet when it comes to the next generation of rising tennis talent.


“I think what we showed today, it's a great level of tennis, great attitude from both of us."

Sinner was asked if he felt that there could be a potential rivalry brewing between the two rising stars.

"Hopefully this is going to be the case. But we never know. There are still so many other players who are playing incredible tennis. For sure we are the two youngest at the moment. So let's see. I don't know in the future what's going to happen. Yeah, I think it's just great for tennis to have also some new names, new players,” Sinner said.

Sinner: Stronger on Serve, and Stronger from the Start

Sinner proved too strong in the early stages of the match. The Italian jumped out to a quick 6-1, 3-1 lead as the fifth-seeded Alcaraz appeared unsteady from the outset.

Sinner’s serve continued to be his most vital asset during the day. Leading 5-4 later in the set, Sinner held at love to secure 6-1, 6-4 advantage.

Alcaraz began showing better form and the kind of tennis that elevated him so quickly to the top ten. Yet, Sinner didn’t blink as he held his own with more strong serving and potent groundstrokes.

Soon enough, the third set ended up in a tiebreak. This is where the match really began as both young men started playing some of their best tennis at the same time.

With help from some untimely Sinner errors, Alcaraz soon led 6-3 in the breaker. Yet Sinner responded with several impressive winners, including on his forehand wing to level the tiebreak. Sinner eventually held one match point, but missed it after netting a backhand. A second match point went begging after Sinner placed another forehand into the net.

After that, Alcaraz seized the moment. The young Spaniard pulled off a superb half-volley get winner to secure his own set point. From there, Alcaraz secured the set after Sinner committed yet another forehand winner.

While the Centre Court was definitely hoping for a fifth set, Sinner’s calm resolve and steady play carried him through the fourth set.

After withstanding an opening game break point challenge, Sinner held serve then and soon found himself with the advantage later in the set. Alcaraz, who later served down a break point at 1-2, double faulted, giving Sinner the 3-1 lead.

Sinner eventually jumped out to 5-2 later in the set and looked ready to wrap things up. Alcaraz gave the crowd one last hope for more tennis when saved five match points in the next game to extend the contest to 5-3.

Yet, this didn’t faze Sinner in the least. In the final game, he soon earned another match point that he converted with a massive crosscourt winner.

Sinner is now the youngest man into the men’s quarterfinals since Nick Kyrgios in 2014. Sinner next faces the winner of the Novak Djokovic and Tim Van Rijthoven match.

 

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