Tennis
Carlos Alcaraz bounces back from slow start to reach Wimbledon semi-finals
Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a poor start to roar back to down Tommy Paul in four sets and move two wins away from claiming back-to-back Wimbledon titles.
World number 13 Paul entered this quarter-final on a nine-match winning streak and after he had taken the Queen’s Club crown from Alcaraz last month.
It translated into an exceptional start on Court One with Paul able to take the opener and register an early break in the second set before three-time grand slam champion Alcaraz fought back in trademark fashion.
Alcaraz got his serve back on track and smashed his way through to the last four at the All England Club with 36 winners helping clinch a 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory.
But he will not face rival Jannik Sinner next after Daniil Medvedev beat the Italian to set up a repeat of the last year’s semi-final.
“If I am struggling a little bit to find solution, if the opponent is playing great tennis, I believe at the end I’ll be able to come back and find solutions,” Alcaraz said.
“Here, in the grand slams, the matches are longer so I have more time to recover and come back. I believe myself all the time.”