World No.1 needs four hours to overcome Chilean and book last-16 meeting with Berrettini
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT Saturday at SW19 featured monumental battles everywhere as top-10 seeds Carlos Alcaraz, Ons Jabeur, and Holger Rune were all seriously tested before they advanced to the last 16.
Here's what you may have missed from a thrilling Day 6 at the All England Club.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz had to battle for three hours and 56 minutes on Centre Court on Saturday before moving past in-form Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5.
The victory means Alcaraz is just the ninth Spanish man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon fourth round on multiple occasions, having also achieved that feat 12 months ago.
Jarry saved 9/14 break points and fired 48 winners, including 15 aces, but the No.25 seed also committed 46 unforced errors to suffer his second defeat against Alcaraz.
“I'm really happy, but exhausted at the same time,” said the 20-year-old Alcaraz after the win.
“This match made me a lot of confidence honestly. Every match that I win on Centre Court is better for me to get into this court, this atmosphere. Last year it was really tough for me to play first match in the Centre Court. Every match that I didn't play on that court, I feel that I belong to that court.”
Jarry is enjoying a great season, in which he picked up two ATP titles and has amassed a 24-11 win-loss record.
“Honestly, I see the level of Jarry, the level today, he for sure going to be in the top 10. If I have to bet, I bet at the end of the year he's going to break the top 10 or he's going to be really, really close if he's still playing at that level,” said Alcaraz, who next faces 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the last 16.
Berrettini was playing for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday after his first-round victory over Lorenzo Sonego lasted from Tuesday to Thursday before he claimed a straight-sets triumph over Alex de Minaur on Friday.
The Italian big-hitter knocked out Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to improve his career record on grass to 36-7 and move into the last 16 at Wimbledon for the third time in his career.
Rain may have wreaked havoc with the schedule at Wimbledon, including Ons Jabeur’s schedule, but it certainly came to her rescue on Saturday as the Tunisian took full advantage of a weather delay that came halfway through her deciding set against Bianca Andreescu.
In an exciting third-round duel on Centre Court, Jabeur dropped the opening set to the 2019 US Open champion before levelling things up to force a decider.
Andreescu broke for a 3-1 advantage before Jabeur broke back and play was suddenly halted by showers. The players went off court as the roof closed and the grass dried up and upon resumption of play, a sharper Jabeur found her range, breaking Andreescu for a 5-4 lead and closing out the victory 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 after one hour and 48 minutes of play.
“I’ve got to thank the rain a little bit for letting me speak to my coach and have a better perspective about the match,” confessed Jabeur on court.
The third-round affair was like a chess match with both players showcasing great variety, mixing up big serves with drop shots, slices and clever exchanges.
“It was a little bit frustrating, her drop shots, her slices were kind of annoying, I know how other players feel now,” said Jabeur, dubbed by many as the ‘Queen of the drop shots’.
“Billie (Jean King)n is watching (from the Royal Box) and I was going to ask her, what should I do? We need to talk, please, after.”
A runner-up at Wimbledon last year, the world No.6 will next square off with two-time champion Petra Kvitova for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Jabeur has now won 16 of her last 17 matches against unseeded opponents at the Grand Slams and will be looking to reach a fourth major quarter-final from her last five appearances.
Kvitova, who won the title on grass in Berlin last month, is carrying an eight-match winning streak into her clash with Jabeur.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina held two match points last in the fifth set against No.6 seed Holger Rune in their third round on Saturday. Rune saved both as he forced a deciding super-tiebreak.
In the breaker, Davidovich Fokina led 8-5 and was two points away from the victory. At 8-8, the Spaniard decided to serve underarm and come into the net. Rune sprinted to the ball, getting there with time to spare, and found the passing shot to move up 9-8 and get his hands on a first match point. It was all the Dane needed to complete a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(10/8) win, leaving Davidovich Fokina ruing his missed opportunities and his peculiar choice of serve so late in the game.
"That was crazy. That was very unexpected, for sure," Rune later said of that underarm serve.
"I don't know. In a way, it nice, because he was serving really well during the match. But also it's pressure, because imagine I missed that one. That would feel awful. So it was good and bad. Luckily I stayed clutch in important moments and managed to win."
Rune awaits Grigor Dimitrov or Frances Tiafoe in the last 16. Dimitrov was leading Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 1-2 when rain cancelled play on all outside courts for the day.
Defending champion Elena Rybakina and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka both claimed straightforward victories on Saturday with the former easing past Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 in 57 minutes and the latter dismissing Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 21 minutes.
Rybakina next takes on No.13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia while Sabalenka gets No.21 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
"I have really great memories from here," said the second-seeded Sabalenka of her run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon two years ago.
"It was my first breakthrough. I was very, very emotional. Not emotional, I was very happy two years ago to be able to get to the second week. Since then I kind of had more belief in myself in the Grand Slams. I don't think anymore about second week of the Grand Slam, you know? I kind of felt a little relief after that breakthrough."
ROLAND-GARROS
20 May - 9 June 2024
