Wimbledon: Alcaraz beats childhood friend Rune to reach semis
World No1 Carlos Alcaraz took a step closer to a possible Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic after the Spaniard toppled childhood friend Holger Rune in yesterday’s quarter-final.
The 20-year-old from El Palmar beat the player from Denmark in straight 7-6 6-4 6-4 sets to set up a semi-final against No3 seed Daniil Medvedev.
The winner of that battle will take on either Italian Jannik Sinner or, more likely, defending champions Novak Djokovic, who has won 90 matches at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz on fire
“Honestly, it is amazing for me. It’s been a dream since I started playing tennis,” Alcaraz said.
“Making good results at Wimbledon, such a beautiful tournament, for me it’s a dream to be able to play a semi-final here.
“I am playing at a great level, I didn’t expect to play a great level on this surface. For me, it is crazy.”
On playing his childhood friend Rune, Alcaraz added: “It was tough. At the beginning I was really nervous playing quarter-final at Wimbledon, but even more against Rune. Someone the same age as me playing a great level.
“It was tough to play against him but once you get into the quarter-finals there’s no friends.”
Medvedev booked his spot in the semi-finals after beating one of the stories of the Gentlemen’s Singles draw.
Christopher Eubanks beat British No1 Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas on his way to the quarter-finals but fell to Medvedev in five sets, going down 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-7 1-6.
Alcaraz will play Medvedev and Sinner will take on Djokovic tomorrow with today’s action focusing in on the women’s semi-finals.