Carlos Alcaraz enters peak brutality mode in swiping aside Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon
On this occasion, much to the discontent of the punters and Union Jacks on Centre Court, Carlos Alcaraz was in no mood to hang about. Wimbledonโs defending champion had already dropped four sets across four matches, flirting us all in the press box with the idea of a shock exit. But as the sun set over SW19, this was the Spaniard in a hurry. Unshakeable and indomitable.
For British singles ambitions in the post-Andy Murray era? A final farewell. Cameron Norrie was not the left-handed home favourite most expected in the quarter-finals and, for that, we can only give the British No 3 credit for his gutsy run to the last eight, in wake of Jack Draperโs disappointing second-round exit. But, truth be told, an upset did not look remotely likely on Tuesday night, with Alcaraz victorious in one hour and 39 minutes: 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
Three years ago, Norrie entered the realm of public consciousness with a low-key run to the semi-finals here, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. Alcaraz, of course, has been the only player to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon since 2017. And with Jannik Sinner a wounded warrior ahead of his quarter-final on Wednesday, perhaps an identical final between the Spaniard and the Serb for the third consecutive year is falling into place for Sunday afternoon.
Five-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz, on a 23-match win streak dating back to April, is in the form of his life. With Norrie largely powerless on Tuesday, this was his best performance of the tournament to date, swatting aside Norrie with efficiency and panache. Thirty-nine winners compared to 13 for Norrie told the tale of the tape. It was Alcaraz in peak brutality mode.
โIโm really happy with the level I played today against a difficult player like Cam,โ he said, on-court, afterwards. โTo play another semi-final here at Wimbledon is really special.โ
Alcaraz now has two days off ahead of the semis on Friday. World No 5 Taylor Fritz will present his trickiest test to date, with the American having won 13 of his 14 matches on grass this year, including two titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne. That being said, Fritz has not won a set in two previous meetings.
โHeโs playing great, the grass season for him has been really successful so far,โ Alcaraz said of Fritz. โIโve got to be ready for this battle. Two days is going to be great to rest up a little bit. Iโm just going to make the most of the time with my family, and for sure play some golf.โ
Alcarazโs forays on the golf course have taken on a whole world of their own this fortnight, given his much-talked-about contests against Murray. Yet while the Spaniard may have been on the receiving end of a few losses against the fellow two-time Wimbledon champion, there was no such danger of a British triumph this Tuesday night.
Norrie entered Centre Court for the first time in this yearโs Championships โ in-part due to his preference for No 1 Court, in-part due to his lack of star billing โ with a patch of sunscreen below his eyes. Protection from the mid-20s rays or a nebulous attempt at intimidation? Either way, it was a Tom Brady-esque look for the world No 61, against a player with a real eye on becoming the greatest tennis player of all time.
And from the moment four break points came and went for Norrie in Alcarazโs first service game, the arduous battle in the face of the second seedโs typical explosiveness and guile began.
Having held serve throughout all four-and-a-half hours of his mammoth five-set win in the last round against Nicolas Jarry, Norrie gifted a break straight away to the Spaniard in the first set, via a limp double fault, before Alcaraz secured a double break with a whipped forehand pass, plum on the line.
Alcaraz is known somewhat for slow starts, but no such difficulties here. The state of play had been earmarked; first set done and dusted in 28 minutes.
For Norrie, the South African-born, Kiwi-raised, American-educated last British singles representative at SW19 this year, plan B was quickly implemented. This included serving while positioned right next to the doubles tramline while on the ad-side, generating extra width with his lefty whip. It also included an extra spring in his step of flat-hitting inside the baseline, a nod to setting the tone instead of reacting to it.
None of it worked. Alcaraz was quickly up another break in the second, winning a brief battle of the drop shots, before serving his way out of trouble when break point down. In many ways, it was a microcosm of the match: brief glimpses of opportunity for Norrie were obliterated by Alcaraz as quickly as one of his cannonball forehands. The Spaniard, ultimately, won the second set with another break of serve.
Norrie won their last meeting on the clay of Rio de Janeiro two years ago, when Alcaraz was just a teenager. Now, this lad from Murcia in south-eastern Spain is looking to add his name to the honours board at the All England Club for the third time, aged just 23. Only a fool would bet against him at this juncture.
Norrieโs hopes faded with finality midway through the third set, with a backhand straying long, a break down once more, and an agonising look up to his player box. They had no answers. Nor did he. And when Alcaraz is in this sort of form on the south-west London stage he has made his own, perhaps nobody does.
