LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 11: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates winning match point against Taylor … More
Taylor Fritz had two set points to force a decisive fifth set against Carlos Alcaraz, but could not defeat the two-time Wimbledon champion.
No. 2 Alcaraz hit a backhand winner that hit the back of the line on match point. He defeated No. 5 Fritz, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(6) in the Wimbledon semifinals. It was his 24th straight match win.
“It was a really difficult match as always when I have to play against Taylor,” said Alcaraz, who won four straight points to win the match from 4-6 down in the tiebreak.
“Even tougher with the conditions today, really hot again. So I’m just really happy with everything I’ve done today.”
Alcaraz will bid for a third straight title and a sixth major singles championship on Sunday against either No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 6 Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals.
Alcaraz is 8-4 against Sinner and has won the the four meetings, including their epic Roland Garros final. The Spaniard is 3-5 against Djokovic, but Djokovic has won the last two in the Paris Olympics final and the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Fritz, the U.S. Open runner-up to Sinner last summer, was bidding to reach his first Wimbledon final and to become the first American man since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open to win a major.
After dropping the first set, he broke at love to take the second set 7-5. Alcaraz played a shaky game with a double fault and then a long forehand on Fritz’s chip return on set point.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 11: Taylor Fritz of United States plays a shot between the legs against … More
Fritz broke at love 2-1 in the third set but Alcaraz fought back to take the third and then came up his biggest down 6-4 in the tiebreak.
“Fritz did everything he could,” John McEnroe said on ESPN. “That’s one of the best matches I’ve seen him play, particularly at Wimbledon. Getting to his first semi, really pushing Alcaraz. Hold your head high, my man.
“But this guy Alcaraz is just out of this world, what he does on the court consistently.”
Alcaraz is now in position to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back.
Only Bjorn Borg can say the same, having done it three straight years from 1978-80.
“Right now, I don’t think about on Sunday,” Alcaraz said. “I just want to enjoy this moment, enjoy that I qualified for another final, the third in a row here in Wimbledon so that is really difficult and I have to think about it. I have to take my time and think about it. I will watch the semifinal as well and let’s see.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2025/07/11/carlos-alcaraz-to-play-for-3rd-straight-wimbledon-title/