Alcaraz masterclass ends Norrie’s Wimbledon hopes

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz produced a Wimbledon masterclass to end British hope Cameron Norrie’s run and move into the semi-finals once again.

Second seed Alcaraz underlined why he is the tournament favourite with a scintillating 6-2 6-3 6-3 win.

The Spaniard will face Taylor Fritz – the American fifth seed bidding for a first major title – in the last four.

Fritz secured his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time with a 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) victory over Russia’s Karen Khachanov.

Alcaraz is seeded behind Italian rival Jannik Sinner because of their respective world rankings, but his superior record on grass courts – and current hot streak – makes him the man to beat.

Victory over Norrie marked a 23rd win in a row for Alcaraz, who is bidding to become the fifth man to win three successive Wimbledon titles in the Open era.

“I’m really happy – to play another Wimbledon semi-final is super special,” said Alcaraz, who secured victory in one hour and 39 minutes.

Norrie’s defeat signals the end of British interest in the Wimbledon singles for another year.

But, when the dust settles on a brutally one-sided result, the 29-year-old left-hander will take positives from his run after a difficult 18 months.

After saving four break points in his opening service game, five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz quickly upped his level and wowed the Centre Court crowd with his all-court ability.

With Alcaraz serving strongly, hammering groundstrokes and moving elegantly around the court, 61st-ranked Norrie had little chance of causing a shock.

Norrie, who had been bidding to match his run to the last four in 2022, will regain his place in the world’s top 50 when the ATP rankings are updated next week.

Many British tennis fans may have thought they would not see Norrie playing at this level again.

A forearm injury last year contributed to his ranking plummeting towards the bottom of the top 100 but, after soul-searching talks with his team after the Miami Open in March, he has rediscovered his form.

Since then, Norrie has reached the French Open fourth round before forging another deep Grand Slam run at Wimbledon.

Heading to the Balearic party island for a break is a strategy which has also served Alcaraz well.

Alcaraz plays at his fluent best when he is completely relaxed and barely thinking about the shots he is producing – although he can be prone to occasionally losing concentration.

He found the perfect balance against Norrie.

His deft touches at the net brought gasps of appreciation, and the explosive power and pinpoint accuracy of his baseline strokes were met by exhales of breath.

Norrie, simply, had no answer. Alcaraz lost just nine more points after seeing off the four break points and clinched the opening set after only 28 minutes.

Even when Norrie earned a break-back point at 3-2 in the second set, there was no mercy.

Alcaraz upped his serve and battered down three deliveries over 130mph to hold, breaking again to clinch the set and refusing to let his level drop in the third.

Fritz had to work hard to beat Khachanov, having looked on course to wrapping up the match in straight sets.

But things suddenly fell apart as he struggled to land his first serve while sending more shots beyond the baseline.

The 27-year-old then had a medical timeout to address some taping on his foot as he looked to avoid being taken to five sets for the third time in five matches at Wimbledon.

There was a bizarre incident at the start of the fourth set when a malfunction by the electronic line call system meant ‘fault’ was called during play, and the point was replayed.

But it didn’t impact Fritz’s return to form as he dug deep to come out on top of a tie-break.

“I’m feeling great to get through it,” he said in his on-court interview.

“I’ve never had a match really just flip so quickly, so I’m really happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done.

“I felt I couldn’t miss and then all of sudden I’m making a ton of mistakes. Momentum was definitely not going to be on my side going into a fifth.”

World number five Fritz is looking to end his country’s long wait for a male Grand Slam winner, with Andy Roddick the last to achieve it with a 2003 US Open success.