In a match that was billed as the battle of the 20-year-olds, Carlos Alcaraz pulled rank on his childhood friend Holger Rune as he doused Dane’s fireworks, defeating the Dane on Wednesday with a 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4 triumph to advance to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
For the first time in the professional era, two players under the age of 21 competed in a men’s Wimbledon quarterfinal, including the two tyros who were born six days apart.
Alcaraz, while being young, is already part of the top rank of men’s tennis players. He built the form that has pushed him to the top of the rankings by never giving Rune the upper hand, no matter how many spectacular shots he made.
After saving a break point in the opening game, Alcaraz put on a magnificent performance in front of Britain’s Queen Camilla to destroy Rune’s dreams of being the first Danish player to reach the All England Club semi-finals in 65 years.
Whether it was a tweener between the legs or a spectacular reflex volley he smashed at the net after Alcaraz had sprinted back to the baseline to retrieve a lob, Rune won the majority of the points that pleased the fans.
But the Spaniard, who had previously won a Grand Slam after winning the U.S. Open the year before, showed no signs of panic and continued to win the points that mattered.
After failing to convert his first three match chances, including a double fault on one of them, Alcaraz sealed a semi-final match against Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev when Rune slapped a service return long.
Following a warm hug at the net, the Spaniard leaned back and let out a mighty roar into the skies, demonstrating how much this victory meant to him.