The reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz bested Frenchman Ugo Humbert by 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 on Sunday in the round of 16 in the ongoing Wimbledon 2024 at Centre Court. Alcaraz was dominant in the first two sets but was stunned by Humbert in the third set.
However, the Spaniard bounced back strongly in the fourth set to advance to the next round. Alcaraz saved three break points in the fourth set as he kept his calm in crunch situations.
Alcaraz recently lost to Jack Draper in the round of 16 in the Queen’s championship and the Spaniard admitted he learned a lot after playing that game against the lefty.
“Playing a lefty is always tricky. I played a lefty at Queen’s and learned a bit from that match. I felt great playing today. I played at a really high level,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz is known to fight for every ball on the court and not for throwing in the towel. The same fighting spirit was on display on Sunday when Alcaraz won a point despite falling on the court but he was able to recover and produce an unforced error from his opponent.
“I just tried to fight for every ball,” Alcaraz said. “It doesn’t matter which part of the court I am in, just giving myself the chance to stay alive in the point. On set point, that was a really important point for me. It didn’t matter what he was going to do, I am going to be there, fighting until the last ball.”
“The last time I remember that I fell down and recovered and won the point at the end was against Sinner at the US Open. I remember that I fell down, recovered and made a passing shot. That is the last time I remember that I got a point like this one,” Alcaraz said in the post-match press conference.
“As I said on the court, that’s myself fighting for every ball. I think that I can reach every ball. It doesn’t matter the shot, the opponent hit or the place that I’m on the court. I just think that I’m going to get it, I’m going to hit another good shot or a passing shot, believing that I’m going to get the point.”
Alcaraz will face USA’s Tommy Paul in the quarterfinal on Tuesday.
