Staff Reporter.
Carlos Alcaraz moved within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon championship and sixth Grand Slam title overall at age 22 by defeating Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Friday.
The No. 2-seeded Alcaraz takes a 24-match winning streak into the final Sunday, when he will face No. 1 Jannik Sinner or 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 title matches at the All England Club and is 5-0 so far in major finals. That includes a five-set comeback win over Sinner at the French Open a month ago.
The fifth-seeded Fritz, the runner-up at last year’s US Open, was trying to become the first American man in the Wimbledon final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer in 2009.
Fritz had two chances to force a fifth set against Alcaraz, leading 6-4 in the fourth-set tiebreaker. But Alcaraz on the next four points to finish off the win, then rocked back on his heels, spread his arms wide and screamed.
That wasn’t the only time Fritz made things interesting. He accumulated more total points than Alcaraz through the first two sets, and finished the afternoon with more winners — 44 to 38 — and 19 total aces to 13.
When Alcaraz double-faulted, then missed a forehand, to drop the second set, they were even at a set apiece.
“It was a really difficult match. It was tough with the conditions, really hot,” he said.
“I am just happy in the four sets, saving two set points. I am really proud about the way I stayed calm.
“I am really pleased about my level today.”
The win extended Alcaraz’s winning run to 24 matches and he added: “This is my dream, stepping on these kind of courts and playing these beautiful courts at the most beautiful tournaments in the world. That is all I try to think about. “I don’t want to think about Sunday, I just want to think about this moment.”
AP information was used in this report.