World number one Carlos Alcaraz toasted a “special” maiden win on Wimbledon’s Centre Court before he fired a warning to his rivals.
Alcaraz had to work hard to beat France’s Alexandre Muller 6-4 7-6 (2) 6-3 in a tough second-round contest that lasted two hours and 33 minutes on the main stage at the All England Club.
The Spaniard lost on Centre Court to Jannik Sinner last summer and despite combining 31 winners alongside 42 unforced errors against Muller, this latest victory made it seven successes in a row on the grass.
US Open champion Alcaraz has won his last 16 sets on English grass, but feels even better is to come ahead of a third-round meeting with Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
“Yeah, I feel that I can be better. Today I’m going to say it wasn’t my best match on grass, but I feel great,” Alcaraz insisted.
“I always say that doesn’t matter if you play a perfect match, you can be better. It’s my case.
“Of course it is really special to have my first win on Centre Court here in Wimbledon. A really beautiful court. I really wanted to have my first one.
“I feel that I belong in that court. I feel like I’m ready to play more matches, to play more great matches on that court.”
Nerves did appear to be present for Alcaraz during the early exchanges and he sprayed 10 unforced errors in the opening half an hour, but a 135mph ace seemed to ease his tension before he clinched a break in the next game as he edged a tight first set.
Muller, ranked 84 in the world, continued to take the match to Alcaraz, who saw four break points come and go at the start of the second set.
Alcaraz eventually had to go to a tie-break and he reserved his best tennis for the crunch moment. A volley at the net got him off the mark and he followed up with a succession of drops shots that helped him claim the second set.
More break point opportunities were squandered by the 20-year-old in sweltering heat with the roof open on Centre Court, but he eventually did break for only the second time in the match at 4-3 up in the third.
Match point was brought up with a 116mph ace and, although Muller briefly stole the show with a stunning backhand return, another big forehand winner from Alcaraz confirmed his 42nd win of the season.
The first seed added: “A little bit (nervous) at the beginning, but the experience that I had last year help me a lot to manage the nerves better than the last year.
“Of course, the round is different, playing the fourth round against Sinner. It was different. This time I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot.
“I felt different from Centre Court than the Court One. I felt the Centre Court is faster for me than the Court One. It was different for me.
“At the beginning the match was long, let’s say, and I adjust very well until the end.”
Victory for Alcaraz means he remains on collision course to meet defending champion Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a record-equalling eighth title in SW19, in the final on July 14.
But the 20-year-old said: “It would be amazing for me to play a final here in Wimbledon, even better if it is against Novak obviously, but there’s a lot of great players playing here on grass, that feel really, really comfortable on grass.
“I have to be really, really focused until the final. It’s a lot of matches ahead. I have to play my best in every match.
“Let’s see if I reach the final or not.”
Griekspoor heroics send the Netherlands to historic Davis Cup final
Tallon Griekspoor produced a thrilling comeback to help the Netherlands reach the Davis Cup final for the very first time after they downed Germany 2-0 in Malaga.
After losing the opening set to Jan-Lennard Struff, Griekspoor held his nerve to emerge a 4-6 (4-7) 7-5 6-4 victor on an enthralling day of action on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Botic van de Zandschulp, who beat Rafael Nadal in the final match of the Spaniard's career on Tuesday, put the Dutch 1-0 up with a win over Daniel Altmaier.
The world number 80 needed 10 match points to wrap up a tense 6-4 6-7 (12-14) 6-3 victory, after Altmaier saved five break points in a second set tie-break.
Griekspoor then stopped the best-of-three tie from going to the deciding doubles, rallying back with a fine display, though Struff let two crucial break points slip in the eighth game of the second set.
“We have been talking about this [moment] for two or three years,” said Griekspoor.
“We came here all the time with unbelievably tough draws, but we believed in ourselves so much. We always felt like this was possible.
"To do it now feels unbelievable. I am so happy for the team, and for Holland.
“I just tried to focus on my own game. I felt like he was playing unbelievable tennis, I didn’t do much wrong in the first set.
"I’m super proud of myself, super proud of the effort and very happy to get the win in the end.”
The Netherlands await either reigning Davis Cup champions Italy or Australia, who face off in the other semi-final on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Dutch delight
After reaching the semi-final stage for only the second time this century, the Netherlands produced arguably their finest display of the tournament against Germany.
It meant that after 185 ties played at the event across a 104-year timeframe, they had finally reached the showpiece match at the tournament for the first time.
But their victory was made possible by Griekspoor, who converted both his break points, while fittingly sealing his encounter with his 25th ace of the contest.
Sinner inspires comeback to help Italy reach Davis Cup semi-finals
Jannik Sinner kept Italy's hopes of retaining the Davis Cup alive after winning matches in the singles and doubles to inspire a 2-1 comeback triumph over Argentina on Thursday.
Sinner and Matteo Berrettini edged Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4 7-5 in the deciding game to set up a rematch of last year's showpiece against Australia in the final four.
However, the Italians started off on the back foot when Francisco Cerundolo downed Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 29 minutes.
Musetti converted just two of the eight break points he was presented with, as Cerundolo put Argentina on the brink of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2016.
But two-time grand slam champion Sinner, who won the ATP Finals last weekend, carried his momentum forward from Turin against Sebastian Baez.
The world number one breezed to a 6-2 6-1 win over his opponent, serving seven aces to the Argentine's one, while also saving all four break points he faced.
Sinner then returned to the court alongside Berrettini, with the pair replacing Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the must-win clash.
The pair won 90% of their first-serve points and fended off all five break points they faced, earning a key break at 5-5 in the second set before surging to victory.
"It was a must-win match," said Sinner. "Very different conditions. The court is very, very fast and tough to play.
"I haven't had so much time to adapt to the conditions, but I'm happy about today."
Data Debrief: The Italian Job
Italy edged closer to becoming only the sixth nation to retain the Davis Cup since the final stage was introduced 52 years ago, and first since the Czech Republic in 2013.
But they were inspired by Sinner once again, who proved why he will end the year at the summit of the ATP rankings.
And after leading Italy to their first Davis Cup title since 1976 with a victory against Australia's Alex de Minaur last year, he will fancy his chances this time around.
Ebden and Thompson send Australia to third straight Davis Cup semi
Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson booked Australia's place in the Davis Cup semi-finals after the pair clinched their deciding match against the United States to win 2-1.
The pair, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, beat Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4 6-4 to put Lleyton Hewitt's side into their third successive semi-final at the men's team event.
Australia, who have won the tournament 28 times, largely had Thanasi Kokkinakis to thank after his remarkable triumph over Shelton in the first match of the day.
Kokkinakis saved four match points and let slip six of his own before eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in an engrossing encounter that lasted two hours and 14 minutes.
However, in the rematch of a recent ATP Finals group-stage match, Taylor Fritz emerged victorious over Alex De Minaur as he did in Turin a week ago.
Despite De Minaur going 2-0 up in the second set, Fritz roared back to earn a 6-3 6-4 victory to send the tie the distance in Malaga.
But Australia held their nerve, and will discover their opponents later on Thursday when reigning champions Italy take on Argentina.
Ebden and Thompson’s win came after United States’ captain Bob Bryan opted for a late change, with Paul and Shelton replacing Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
“We were expecting the other pair, but we knew they’ve got incredible players who can play doubles,” said Ebden.
“We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any.
"Out here, finals live match, just to play with Jordan here was real fun. Following what Kokk did, unfortunately Alex went down, but what a day. So fun, so happy.”
Data Debrief: Australia ready to right Davis Cup wrongs
Australia have failed to win the Davis Cup since 2003, but they will be confident of halting that streak this time around.
If they take the trophy, they will have reason to thank Kokkinakis, whose tie-break win against Shelton was the longest an Australian player had featured in at the tournament, surpassing Pat Rafter's win over David Rikl in the 1997 quarter-finals of the competition (15-13).
Ebden and Thompson also shone when it mattered most, serving four aces compared to Paul and Shelton's two, while also winning 92% of their first-serve points.
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