10 #Wimbledon wins in a row ✅ 10 Grand Slam wins in a row ✅ Alcaraz comes through a BATTLE with Tiafoe 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6 6-2! @carlosalcaraz @Wimbledon
"This one hurts a little more than the US Open," Tiafoe on dramatic Wimbledon defeat to Alcaraz
ATPSaturday, 06 July 2024 at 01:00
Frances Tiafoe couldn't overcome defending champion Carlos
Alcaraz at Wimbledon, despite having him on the ropes. The American was up two
sets to one in the match but fell just short of victory, ultimately losing 7-5,
2-6, 6-4, 6-7(2), 2-6.
Their last encounter had been in the semifinals of the 2022
US Open. Tiafoe had defeated Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev along the way,
positioning himself as the local hope for an American to reclaim the home Slam
title, but he fell to the impressive 18-year-old Alcaraz on his path to his
first Grand Slam title.
Tiafoe falls short against Alcaraz
This time Tiafoe was close to clinching the victory but
witnessed Alcaraz's resurgence in the most critical moments: "It was
huge," said Tiafoe. "Me coming after one of the best players in the
world and putting my game on display at the highest level, on a court I've
never played on. So that definitely sparked a huge light under me."
In the fourth set with the score tied 4-4, Alcaraz faced
0-30 on his serve, a promising opportunity for Tiafoe, but the Spaniard
delivered a series of big serves to avoid the break that would have allowed the
American to serve for the match. "It was really important to stay there in
the fourth set, for example, just to keep fighting," said Alcaraz,
"to keep trying to play better in the fourth set just to give myself the
chance to be alive in the match."
The fourth set extended to a tie-break, where Alcaraz
dominated from the start and took the set 7-6(2). "I was a little
tentative in the ‘breaker," said Tiafoe. "I wish I was swinging out
on my shots a little more from the ground on the breaker. I thought I let him
dictate a little too much." In the end, Alcaraz took 3 hours and 50
minutes to secure the 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory.
Frances Tiafoe at the 2024 Australian Open.
"But I think this one hurts a little more than the
Open. I feel like at the Open I was kind of hanging on
for dear life. This one was more one I thought was kind of on my racquet at
times. But in this situation of everything that happened before, leading in, I
think this one I can honestly take confidence from and can't hang my head too
low," the former world No. 10 added. "It was huge for me to be in that environment again
and play a match of such high quality," Tiafoe concluded.
Read also
Just In
Popular News
Latest Comments
- Why does Tennisuptodate feel like her PR Department's constant deluge of daily/weekly media submissions are 'tennis news' ?
mandoist19-11-2024 - 'Apologies', in cases like this where people are caught being their True Selves, are best shoved up their butts.mandoist19-11-2024
- Paolini playing Swiatek and then has to come back an hour later to play doubles. The BJ Cup is like the rest of tennis entrepreneurs.PalopoDave18-11-2024
- Nice amount
AceOfBase18-11-2024 - Bitchy Jean King just said (in interview) "the WTA players should stop whining about the schedule and just Play". That's how she really feels about "my girls".mandoist16-11-2024
