Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz survives Tiafoe scare, Grigor Dimitrov rolls into 2nd week

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in the third round of Wimbledon 2024, beating a pumped-up Frances Tiafoe in five sets on Friday, July 6. Alcaraz and Tiafoe went toe-to-toe in an entertaining clash on the centre court in 3 hours and 50 minutes. Alcaraz embraced his good friend Tiafoe after raising his level and showcasing his champion’s trait in the final set, much to the delight of the London crowd.

Meanwhile, 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov seems to be finding his mojo back at 33. The Bulgarian eased past Gael Monfils in straight sets to reach the fourth round for the second successive year at Wimbledon. The former World No. 3 played flawless tennis against the Frenchman, sparking hopes of a deeper run at the grass-court Grand Slam this year.

Carlos Alcaraz has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon for the third successive year as the Spaniard is starting to become one of the firm crowd favourites in the Center Court in London. American Tiafoe got a standing ovation as he left the centre court after a valiant battle against one of the world’s best.

ALCARAZ SURVIVES ‘BIG CHALENGE’

Alcaraz won 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Alcaraz was under the pump when Tiafoe, who was flaunting his all-round skills, dragged the Spaniard into a fourth-set tie-breaker. It looked as if Tiafoe had the upper-hand, but Alcaraz raised his game and raced through to a 7-2 win in the tie-breaker.

“Obviously it’s a big challenge playing Frances. As I said many times he’s a really talented player. Tough to face. He showed it once again that he deserves to be at the top. He deserves to fight for big things. It was really difficult for me to adapt my game and find solutions and try to put him in trouble. Happy to do it at the end of the match,” Alcaraz said.

Tiafoe had said that he would come for Alcaraz in the lead-up to the game, but he was spent after losing the fourth set tie-breaker. Alcaraz steamrolled his opponent in the fifth set to keep his title defence alive.

Notably, Alcaraz and Tiafoe had played a five-setter in the 2022 US Open. The Spaniard crushed the American’s hopes and went on to win his maiden Grand Slam crown that year.

I AM ENJOYING: DIMITROV

Grigor Dimitrov rolled back the years to beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in less than two hours on Court 1. The Bulgarian, who reached the quarter-final of French Open, will be taking on the winner of another third round match between 5th seed Daniil Medvedev and Jann-Lenner Struff.

“I feel like I am playing better tennis. The work I put in the past years is also not to be neglected. You keep on building. In our sport, you never know when you might produce an amazing match or tournament. Overall I am just very happy I’m enjoying it out there,” Dimitrov said while acknowledging the love of fans in London on Friday.