Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz secures his quarterfinal spot after a dramatic 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory against Ugo Humbert. Jasmine Paolini also reaches her first Wimbledon quarterfinal after Madison Keys retires due to injury.
London, Bollywood Fever: Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz showcased his resilience and skill as he defeated Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 on Centre Court on Sunday, securing his place in the quarterfinals.
The match seemed decided when Alcaraz clinched the second set with a spectacular point, chasing down several seemingly unreachable shots and even falling over before quickly recovering to hit the next ball. Reflecting on his play, Alcaraz simply described it as, “Unbelievable, I guess.”
However, Humbert nearly staged a surprising comeback, threatening to take the match into a fifth set by holding three consecutive break points for a 5-3 lead in the fourth. Alcaraz responded with crucial aces to win that game, then broke Humbert for a 6-5 lead with a deep forehand winner. He set up match point with a delicate forehand drop shot and sealed the win with a service winner.
“I felt great playing today, I think I played at a really high level,” said Alcaraz, who will next face the winner between No. 12 Tommy Paul and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Earlier in the day, French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal after Madison Keys retired with a leg injury at 5-5 in the third set of their fourth-round match. Keys had been serving for the match at 5-2 in the final set but began limping and required a medical timeout to address her left leg. Despite her efforts, Keys was broken again and ultimately retired, in tears, after Paolini hit an ace.
Paolini, who won the first set 6-3 before Keys took the second 7-6 (6), expressed mixed emotions about her victory. “I’m so sorry for her. To end the match like this, it’s bad,” Paolini said in her on-court interview. “What can I say? We played a really good match. It was really tough. A lot of ups and downs. I’m feeling a little bit happy, but also sad for her. It’s not easy to win like that.”
Paolini becomes the fifth Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals in the professional era and will aim to become the first to make the semifinals. She will face the winner between No. 2 Coco Gauff and 19th-seeded Emma Navarro, who played later on Centre Court.
Keys, the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up, was attempting to reach the last eight at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year and the third time overall.
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