Carlos Alcaraz repels Humbert assault

LONDON, July 7

Wimbledon’s reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz was pushed to the limit for the second match in succession but once again stood firm to beat Ugo Humbert and reach the quarterfinals. Outplayed at times by his French opponent, third seed Alcaraz dug deep to triumph 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-5 to move through to the last-eight at a Grand Slam for the ninth time.

Just as against American Frances Tiafoe in the previous round, Alcaraz struggled to contain an inspired opponent throwing the kitchen sink at him but this time narrowly avoided being dragged into another five-setter.

The players were protected from the torrential rain that drummed on the closed Centre Court roof early on but there was no hiding place for Humbert as Alcaraz stormed through the opening set after grabbing an early service break. Stylish left-hander Humbert began to make inroads with his early-struck returns in the second set but he went unrewarded. The warning signs had been there for Alcaraz though and he was stunned in the third set as an increasingly confident Humbert broke his serve three times in succession.

After a flurry of service breaks at the start of the fourth set, Humbert continued to look the more dangerous and had three successive break points when Alcaraz served at 3-4 but the three-time Grand Slam champion wriggled out of danger. Alcaraz then found some magic just when he needed it most. — Reuters