The desire for someone to step up, challenge and defend Novak Djokovic seems written into the walls and lawns of this place.
The sentiment was certainly there, on the packed mound, in the midday heat, where hundreds enjoyed watching the defending champion drop a set. It was also here when the evening sun came through on the field and the title contender set course for that endgame.
Thousands want Carlos Alcaraz on because he creates an emotional response that Djokovic simply doesn’t. There were certainly signs of how the Spaniard blossomed over the course of a year as he gradually mastered and neutralized Marco Berrettini’s serve, although there were also hints as to why Djokovic will be the favorite when they meet in four days. Alcaraz learns. That much was clear on Monday evening.
You imagined that Murcia lad going like a train for Berrettini from the start, maneuvering the Italian around the pitch and stirring up the doubts that had surfaced on his game after a miserable run of injuries. After all, this was an opponent who left the field in tears after a first-round defeat to Stuttgart a month ago, declaring that he was still working ‘day to day’.
But in the first set, Alcaraz did much of the chasing and struggling to contend with the bumpers going up to 130, 131 and then 213 mph. In the heat of those first exchanges, the drop shot that has become a hallmark of the Spaniard’s game has been inconsistent. Some of the forehands, which are his primary weapon, were hit.
Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at Wimbledon on Monday
He underwent a tough test from Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, but completed the job under the red
Berrettini had won the first set, but the world No. 1 bounced back and moved one step closer to facing Novak Djokovic
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Had Berrettini not been injured, he could well have been one of Djokovic’s leading contenders by now. He certainly seemed to be heading in that direction after winning the Queen’s Tournament last summer and as the sun bathed this pitch we were reminded why.
It was a meeting of equals for a while. Berrettini took Alcaraz out of the umpire’s seat with a shot over the court that met Alcaraz and traded a corner return into court. Liquid tennis. Every inch of the width of the track is used. Alcaraz was a person lost in thought as he returned to his seat after losing the first set.
What followed was a testament to the way his game has evolved in the year since his play evaporated here in the face of Jannik Sinner’s long, rake-like big shot. Alcaraz navigated more of the thumping serve back, played himself into the rallies on Berrettini’s serve and found more of his massive forehand to win in four sets, in just over two and a half hours.
The BBC has some AI generated measures for this tournament and one that tracked the spin, depth and width of that forehand revealed it to be as strong as such a weapon can get. This is perhaps what puts Djokovic to the test the most when they meet.
Without injuries, Berrettini might have become one of Novak Djokovic’s leading contenders
Alcaraz also found less conventional methods to deflect Berrettini’s serve, a paddled return from one coming up, and gradually the intelligence to test Berrettini’s weaker backhand side with his forehand from the weaker second serve.
If there’s any concern about what’s on the road, it’s been Alcaraz’s struggle to get rid of the breakpoints. He had converted only one out of ten before converting one, giving him the third set. Already at the first match point, a regulation volley was skipped. On a second match point he committed a double fault. Sometimes the drop shot came about when the forehand was needed.
But with the roof on, he did finish with shots to Berrettini’s own backhand side, which resulted in two fouls. His shout of joy was drowned out as he broke ground and reached a Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Three days ago we had two of the old stagers – Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka face each other here. Now we have two 20-year-olds, Alcaraz and Holger Dune, the youngest Wimbledon quarterfinal contenders in the Open era. Those who yearn for a new champion can only hope that Alcaraz has learned enough in a short time. It will be a title for the ages when he can travel all the way and win.
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