Carlos Alcaraz outguns Holger Rune in Wimbledon quarterfinals, and provides a look into tennis’ bright future

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In the first Wimbledon men’s quarterfinal between two players aged 21-and-under in the Open era, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz completed a statement 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Holger Rune to reach his third Grand Slam semifinal.

Billed as a glimpse into the future of tennis, their Centre Court battle featured plenty of high-quality shot-making with their variety on full display—but it was Alcaraz’s physicality that eventually marked the difference after just over two hours and 20 minutes.

“The young guys reaching their dreams,” Alcaraz said ahead of their third pro meeting. “Coming here and playing a quarterfinal together is something great for tennis.”

Theirs is already an intriguing rivalry, level at one win apiece—but neither match was a full, completed encounter: Alcaraz’s win came during the 2021 NextGen ATP Finals, which features abbreviated scoring, and Rune’s win came via a retirement in 2022 Paris due to Alcaraz abdominal injury. Both players went on to win those respective titles.

With Jimmy Butler watching on from Centre Court’s Royal Box, Alcaraz and Rune came out of the gates with little to separate them. Were on serve for the entirety of the first set, but it was in the decisive moment where Alcaraz shined brighter. A double fault from Rune in the first-set tiebreaker opened the door for the Spaniard, who slammed a backhand pass return winner on set point.

With both players peaking at the same time, Alcaraz had to play perfectly in order to maintain his lead—and that’s exactly what he did. The world No. 1 didn’t hit a single unforced error en route to taking the second set. From there, Rune couldn’t find a way through on his serve, and surrendered an early break as Alcaraz closed out the victory for his first Wimbledon semifinal.

With Wednesday's victory, Alcaraz lapped 21-year-old Jannik Sinner to become the youngest man to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon since 2007, when a rising Novak Djokovic reached his second Grand Slam semifinal here at the age of 20.

“I remember the first time that I came here, it was really an unbelievable feeling to be able to play here,” Alcaraz recalled. “Right now it's totally different for me. I can't believe that I'm in this position right now in just a short period. It's something crazy for me.”

His next opponent is world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, who outlasted unseeded American Chris Eubanks in a five-set battle on No. 1 Court, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

The pair’s head-to-head is level at a win apiece, with Medvedev’s victory coming at this same venue in 2021. Medvedev defeated the young Spanish wildcard in straight sets to end his Wimbledon debut in the second round, but will clearly be expecting a stronger challenge from the current world No. 1 when they meet on Friday.

“He's playing great here on grass. He has a great, great year as well,” Alcaraz acknowledged. “I lost the first match we played here on grass. So I have to learn about it.

“But going to enjoy the semifinal. I think I'm playing great, a lot of confidence right now. So it's going to be a really good match I think. I going to enjoy.”