LONDON (Reuters) – Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz came close to relinquishing his crown against inspired American Frances Tiafoe but lived to fight another day with a 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2 victory on Centre Court on Friday.
With his back to the wall when trailing by two sets to one and being outplayed by the swashbuckling Tiafoe, the Spanish third seed suddenly found an extra gear to seize control.
Alcaraz came under intense pressure throughout a spellbinding third-round contest played in a superb spirit and which had the crowd fully involved.
Tiafoe looked on the verge of avenging the five-set defeat he suffered against Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the 2022 U.S. Open deep in the fourth set.
But Alcaraz responded in devastating fashion to blaze through the tiebreak and the fifth set was one-way traffic as Tiafoe’s energy levels finally began to subside.
Alcaraz clinched victory with a drop shot and the two players embraced warmly at the net as the crowd erupted.
His victory means he has now reached at least the fourth round in 10 of his first 14 Grand Slam tournaments.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Alison Williams)
