PremiumWimbledon 2024: Carlos Alcaraz barely survives Frances Tiafoe scare
Down 2 sets to 1, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz had to draw on every last bit of energy to vanquish the dangerous American in a hard-fought five-setter.
Last Updated: 10.09 PM, Jul 05, 2024
At almost 3 hours into his third-round match at Wimbledon, American Frances Tiafoe was only two points away from orchestrating the biggest upset of the tournament. Up two sets against 1 and levelled at 4-4 in the fourth, he was playing defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Could he break the Spaniard and serve out for the match, or would the latter force a decider fifth set?
The pressure was swinging from side to side. At 5 all in the fourth set, Tiafoe gunning to close it out quickly and Alcaraz desperate to stay in the game. The next service game went in favour of the defending champion, but Tiafoe took the next, forcing a tie-breaker. At this point, Alcaraz was suddenly a different man, racing to a 5-0 lead in brilliant style, closing it out at 7-2 to take the match to a fifth and final set.
Alcaraz, it seems, produces some of his best in pressure moments. Heading into the fifth set, a switch had flipped, breaking Tiafoe twice and then serving for the match at 5-2, Alcaraz didn’t need long to seal a spot in the round 16. Speaking after the win, Alcaraz said that Tiafoe was a tough opponent to face and that it was difficult to adapt his game and find solutions to handle the spirited American.
Earlier in the match, Alcaraz led 4-2 in the first set, but Tiafoe broke right back, then levelled scores and went on to take it 7-5. Things were a lot different in the second set with Alcaraz taking charge, only to lose the third and then take the fourth.
Until then, despite the evenly poised scores of 2 sets each, Tiafoe was the better player on court. Exquisite winners and brilliant shot selection that had Alcaraz scampering across court, Tiafoe had a great game plan, which went asunder in the fifth, as the 2023 Wimbledon champ showed why he has three Grand Slam titles under this belt.