Carlos Alcaraz faced a tough challenge in Frances Tiafoe at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, but he passed the test in five sets.
The two good friends played an exciting match on the Centre Court at Wimbledon. The American admitted in an interview last week that he regrets never getting a chance to play on the main court in London and promised a show if he ever gets the chance.
This was his chance, and he certainly delivered a show against the World No. 3. Tiafoe won the opening set despite Alcaraz leading 4-2, and it was quite a surprise. The Spaniard seemed in full control, but he missed a bit too much, allowing Tiafoe to escape and win the opener 7-5.
The second set saw the defending champion respond in a fascinating fashion. He played some really good tennis, didn't miss as much, and controlled the rallies to win the set 6-2.
The next set was also quite strange because Alcaraz reverted to that opening set where he missed too much. He missed too much in the third set as well, and Tiafoe was able to win it 6-4, making sure he will get to play five sets at worst against the Spaniard.
The match was mostly on Alcaraz's racket. If he hit the ball well, he won the set; if not, he didn't. The fourth set was the closest set fans at SW19 saw because both played really well.
There wasn't a single break point in the entire set, so the set entered a tie-break, which was dominated by the Spaniard. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Alcaraz closed it out, winning the tie-break 7-2 to force the decider.
As expected, Alcaraz used that momentum-shifting tie-break to turn around the match. He took a fairly early lead in the final set and, from there, easily outplayed Tiafoe, who, much like in the previous match they played, simply didn't play his best in the most crucial moments of the match.
Alcaraz won the match 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 to reach the second week of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, awaiting the winner of the match between Brandon Nakashima and Ugo Humbert.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Frances Tiafoe Match Stats:
| Carlos Alcaraz | 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 | Frances Tiafoe |
| 16 | Aces | 9 |
| 5 | Double Faults | 6 |
| 66% | First Serve % | 60% |
| 71% (76/107) | Points Won After First Serve % | 77% (70/91) |
| 61% (35/57) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 50% (30/60) |
| 63% (5/8) | Break Point Conversion | 30% (3/10) |
| 55 | Winners | 39 |
| 39 | Unforced Errors | 30 |
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