Wimbledon 2023: Carlos Alcaraz beats Holger Rune to reach first Wimbledon semi, Daniil Medvedev through
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Updated 12/07/2023 at 21:59 GMT
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz drew a packed Centre Court crowd as he battled past fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune to reach the final four at Wimbledon. Daniil Medvedev fought back from 2-1 down to win a fifth set decider in a Court One thriller against underdog Chris Eubank. Eubank appeared to have the better of Medvedev with the crowd on his side, but the number three seed had too much for the American.
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World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is through to his first Wimbledon semi-final after a straight sets victory over Holger Rune.
The result keeps alive the possibility of a mouthwatering final at SW19 between 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, and Alcaraz, his heir in waiting.
"Honestly, it is amazing for me," said Alcaraz. "It’s been a dream since I started playing tennis."
"Making good results at Wimbledon, such a beautiful tournament, for me it’s a dream to be able to play a semi-final here.
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"I am playing at a great level, I didn’t expect to play a great level on this surface. For me, it is crazy."
But it wasn't easy for the Spaniard against Rune despite winning in straight sets. The two 20-year-old titans could hardly be separated during the tightest of openers. Alcaraz failed to muster a single break point against the Dane, but had to save one himself to take the set to tie-break.
After the pair exchanged mini breaks, an untimely double fault handed the advantage to Alcaraz who capitalised with four consecutive points to take the set in just over an hour.
Hitting his stride, Alcaraz served confidently through the second set without facing a break point, and he only needed one himself to go 5-4 up before holding to take a two-set lead.
And Alcaraz broke a drained Rune early in the third, roaring with delight as Rune dumped a backhand into the net.
Rune saved a set point at 5-3 down to keep the contest alive by holding serve. But Alcaraz saw out the match just moments later with an ice-cool hold to love.
Alcaraz goes up against third seedDaniil Medvedev who saw off American Chris Eubanks in a five-set thriller.
Medvedev made just one unforced error on his way to winning a tight opening set, but the underdog bounced back with some extremely aggressive tennis that saw him break the number three seed twice to level the match.
Eubanks had the crowd behind him much to Medvedev's dismay, and the favourite cupped his ear after barely hearing a cheer when hitting a magnificent winner down the line.
His frustrations continued as he was given a warning for inadvertently hitting a camera person with a ball. After a brief argument with the umpire, Eubanks took the second set to more applause on court one.
Medvedev survived to force a decider, clinching the tie-break 7-4 in the fourth with a thumping ace.
And as Eubanks double faulted in the opening game of the fifth to gift his opponent a break, a chance of a first Grand Slam semi-final slipped from his grasp as Medvedev snatched the double break on his way to sealing the match.
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You can watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ as well as the two singles finals live on July 15 and 16.
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