Jannik Sinner punched his ticket to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday.
Sinner, a 20-year-old Italian, finally converted his sixth match point to dismiss the 19-year-old Spaniard in three hours, 35 minutes.
“It’s tough when you have match point, and you still have to play (on),” Sinner said. “I tried my best, it is just part of the game, part of tennis, and obviously I am very happy how I reacted, because in the first (game) I was struggling. I am very happy to be in the next round and hopefully I can play some good tennis.”
Sinner’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be either defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia or Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven. The latter two were still playing on Sunday afternoon.
Also on Sunday, Belgium’s David Goffin was pushed to the limit before advancing to his second Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Goffin recorded a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory over 23rd-seeded Frances Tiafoe in four hours, 36 minutes.
“It was an amazing battle. I had to stay mentally in the match the whole time,” the 31-year-old Goffin said. “Just after the match point, I was mentally dead, because I had to stay fresh all the time to keep my serve, to fight to come back after losing the third set. It was a tough one.
“It was an amazing atmosphere on this court, another epic match against Frances, so I’m very happy to be in the quarterfinals again.”
Tiafoe was unable to convert a pair of break points at 5-5 in the fifth set before Goffin made good on his first match point.
Goffin advanced to set up a clash against ninth-seeded Cameron Norrie, who moved on to the quarterfinals of a grand slam for the first time with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over 30th-seeded Tommy Paul.
“To make the quarters for the first time, in front of my family and friends here from college is so special,” the 26-year-old Brit said. “In a huge match, to play the way I did, was really good. To execute everything. I really enjoyed it. It is pretty crazy, I have a lot of feelings.
–Field Level Media