World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz fended off a stiff challenge from Nicolas Jarry of Chile to win their third-round match 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz, a 20-year-old Spaniard, was up two sets to one but down a break point with Jarry serving at 4-2. But Alcaraz, who had 14 break opportunities, turned the tide with in the seventh game of the four sets with a break, which got the set back on serve. He broke Jarry’s serve again in the 11th game — his fifth break of the match — to take a 6-5 lead and then serve for the match.
Alcaraz will meet the winner of the match between Matteo Berrettini of Italy and Alexander Zverev of Germany in the fourth round.
“It was really, really tough. Nico is a really good player and he played really well,” Alcaraz said of Jarry. “He deserves to be at the top and I am just really happy with the level I played.
“I had to stay focused. I knew that I would have my chances. It was really, really close. The key is to believe and stay focused the whole time.”
Alcaraz moved to 43-3 on the season with his win in the three-hour, 46-minute match. The 2022 U.S. Open champion, he is seeking his second Grand Slam title.
Also on a quest for a second major win is third-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, who lost the first set to Marton Fucsovics of Hungary but came back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on the grass courts in London.
Not known as grass-court master, Medvedev fought off early sloppiness to advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon for just the second time in six appearances. He did not compete in 2022 because of the tournament’s ban on players from Russia and Belarus.
“He’s a very tough player to play against and after the first set I was more decisive in some points and saved a couple of break points on my serve. I’m really happy to be through,” Medvedev said.
“I really want to do well here. I wasn’t playing here last year and it’s my worst Grand Slam in terms of results. I have a big motivation to change that. The further you go, the tougher the opponents. I hope that I can show my best tennis and enjoy.”
Medvedev’s fourth-round opponent will be Czech Jiri Lehecka, who advanced to the fourth round with a hard-fought 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-2 victory against 16th-seeded Tommy Paul. It will be the first meeting between Medvedev and Lehecka.
Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece sailed through the third round with a 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Laslo Djere of Serbia, but No. 6 Holger Rune of Denmark was pushed to the limits by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain. Rune prevailed in nearly four hours with a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8) win.
Tsitsipas next will face American Christopher Eubanks, who needed three tiebreaks to eliminate Australian Christopher O’Connell 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory.
–Field Level Media