Alcaraz defeats Fritz and aims for his third Wimbledon

Fernando Murciego | 11 Jul 2025 | 17.22

CARLOS ALCARAZ will compete in his third final at Wimbledon. Source: Getty

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Like it's his own backyard, Carlos Alcaraz will fight once again to lift the title at Wimbledon. The champion of 2023 and 2024 also aims to achieve it in 2025, making a historic hat-trick that only a final challenge stands between now. Today, the Spaniard needed four sets to defeat Taylor Fritz (6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6), who only posed a threat when allowed by his opponent. With the winning streak extended to 24 consecutive victories – since April, he has only lost one match, the Barcelona final against Rune – now it's just a matter of waiting to see what happens between Sinner and Djokovic in the coming hours.

'And this Fritz, what about him?' This was the message I had to read yesterday more than once when checking my WhatsApp. These are friends who don't usually follow this sport regularly, but when we reach these rounds of Grand Slams, suddenly tune in to cheer on Carlos Alcaraz towards glory, trying to anticipate which rivals could stop him in his tracks. And how did I respond? Well, in principle, we should make it clear that the word 'easy' cannot exist in Grand Slam semifinals. Even less so on grass, facing the World No. 5, someone who has just won two titles on this tour. However, it seemed obvious to me, and I reassured everyone who asked me with the calmness of someone from the future. Maybe I rushed it, but the first set of this match proved me right.

Precise in every shot, lightning-fast in every exchange, and supported by a great serving level, Alcaraz himself was answering my friends' messages by placing 6-4 in the first set. 'And this Fritz guy, what about him?' A fabulous player, with the serve of a bison, but limited once the points go beyond the serve-return barrier. There will be moments when the shutter closes, his serve becomes untouchable, he may push for a tiebreak and even win it, but overall, it was clear who had more cards on the table. In that first set, it was the player from Murcia who made better use of his chances, but there was still a lot more to come. What would happen if he lost some determination in the next set?

The thing is, 'Fritz here' eats your lunch. Without doing anything exceptional, simply acting as a top 5 player, being consistent, secure in his service games, waiting for that moment of disconnection that allows him to take flight. And that disconnection arrived at the most inconvenient moment, with Carlos serving to make it 6-6. A couple of mistakes deprived us of the tiebreak, as this time, it would be Fritz who gained the right momentum to secure that first break, simultaneously taking the second set. Without being overly alarmed, as these twists were part of our plans, albeit less confident, we headed to the third set.

REGAINING CONTROL OF THE MATCH

With one set each, the same question arises again. Why does this happen to Alcaraz? Why does he fail just in the game where he shouldn't? Where the best should not fail. Does the excuse of being only 22 years old still hold? Age was never an excuse for me, neither for the good nor the bad; I prefer to see his response in the next half-hour. And in that half-hour, what happened was that the player from Murcia put on his work overalls from the very first ball, embracing his challenging service game, acknowledging that he had to step up immediately so that Taylor wouldn't start building more confidence than necessary. And once again, that inexplicable magic happens, that surge in tennis where Carlos escapes, unstoppable, a textbook 6-3 to restore order and prevent the betting markets from resting on a potential surprise at Centre Court.

In Carlos's mind, despite the scoreboard and the scene being dominated, there was still that unfinished business of faltering in the closing moments of the second set, not matching the required level when the script demanded it. Can you imagine if that silly mistake complicates the entire master plan? The player from Murcia didn't want to go through that tunnel again, so he gritted his teeth to the maximum to prevent the match from going to a fifth set, even though that's one of the most brutal battles within the circuit. The dynamics led them to a tiebreak, now, indeed, territory for the big servers. The thing is, this afternoon, to Fritz's dismay, he wasn't the one serving better.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz tumba a Fritz y apunta a su tercer Wimbledon