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Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his hard-fought victory over Tiafoe. / AFP
The Spanish tennis player and current Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz needed five sets to win this Friday in the third round of the London Open, defeating the American Frances Tiafoe with scores of 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2.
Her entry into the last 16 was in stark contrast to another contender on Friday, American Coco Gauff, who lost just four sets in her win over local Sonai Kartal (6-4, 6-0).
Italian world number one Jannik Sinner is another highlight at the All England Club on Friday, where he will face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 52) in the third round.
– Champion comeback –
Alcaraz (world No. 3) and Tiafoe (No. 29) revisit the 2022 US Open semi-final, a match in which the Spaniard also won in five sets, a prelude to his first Grand Slam title.
“It’s always a challenge to play against Francis. He’s a very talented player and today we saw again that he should be at the top and fighting for great things,” Alcaraz said in his post-match courtside interview.
“I had a hard time adjusting to my game, finding solutions and causing him problems, but I’m very happy with the way I finished the match,” added the Spaniard, who admitted to suffering a lot in the fourth set.
Alcaraz experienced many ups and downs in a match that lasted nearly four hours, reaching a 2-1 deficit before Tiafoe wasted a break point that would have made it 5-4 and won the match by serving.
The Spaniard responded by winning the fourth round match and forcing the fifth, where he prevailed as usual, continuing his desire to become the sixth tennis player in history to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.
– Easier for Goff –
There was less drama for American Coco Gauff, the No. 2 ranked female player, who defeated Britain’s Sonai Kartal (No. 298) in a logical manner (6-4, 6-0).
“It’s my first time playing against a British player here, so I’m a little nervous because I know the public will be behind her, which is understandable,” commented the tennis player, who was born in Atlanta 20 years ago. Her opponent in the round of 16 will be compatriot Emma Navarro (17th).
Last year’s US Open champion Gauff is best known for her performance at Wimbledon in 2019, when she defeated Venus Williams in the first round at the age of 15. He reached the last 16 in that tournament, as he did in 2021, but has never made it past the quarterfinals at the All England Club, and last year he was even eliminated in the first round.
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (No. 10) also had little trouble advancing to the last 16, defeating French veteran Gael Monfils (No. 33) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
– Badosa, two years later –
Another of the most important results of the day was achieved by the former world No. 2 Paula Badosa of Spain, who currently drops to No. 93 due to physical problems in recent seasons, who defeated the Russian Daria Kasatkina (No. 12) 7-6 ( 8 /6), 4-6 and 6-4.
The Catalan tennis player, who was born in New York 26 years ago, reached the round of 16 of the London Grand Slam for the third time in her career, having never advanced to this round in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the event.
His only previous appearance in the last 16 at a Grand Slam came at Roland Garros in 2021, when he reached the quarterfinals.
Friday’s victory was symbolic for Badosa, who has not made it this far at a Grand Slam since he last reached the last 16 at Wimbledon two years ago.
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