DEFENDING CHAMPION CARLOS ALCARAZ SURVIVES A HUGE SCARE AT WIMBLEDON AS HE NARROWLY EDGES FIVE-SET, FOUR-HOUR EPIC ON CENTRE COURT AGAINST FRANCES TIAFOE

• Carlos Alcaraz's bid to defend his Wimbledon crown continues after a real scare
• Frances Tiafoe arrived at Wimbledon with injury concerns but performed well
• He took the first set and caused Alcaraz plenty of problems before being beaten 

Carlos Alcaraz rallied back from two sets to one down to show every bit of his championship pedigree en route to the fourth round at Wimbledon. 

The Spaniard was up against a version of Frances Tiafoe that has been lesser spotted this year up to this point. 

With Tiafoe in full flight this was an agonising experience for Alcaraz, champion in the men's singles here a year ago, and so for the Spaniard to come through 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 spoke volumes.  

Tiafoe has been dealing with a variety of knee issues and looked like he was limited in his movement at the start of the week on the practice courts. 

All that made him taking the first set versus Alcaraz from 2-4 and 0-30 down all the more remarkable. 

Alcaraz cleaned up his game immensely in the second set, which he won 6-2, by reducing his unforced errors, which were 13 in the first set, to just four in the second. 

Yet this was a version of Tiafoe that looked reminiscent of the player that slugged it out over five sets with Alcaraz two years ago in their US Open epic and by the time we reached the end of this gruelling affair there was lots said at the net following a warm embrace. 

'Obviously it's always a big challenge,' Alcaraz told the BBC afterwards. 

'He's a really talented player, really tough to play and you saw it once again. He deserves to fight for big things and it was really, really difficult for me to adapt my game, find solutions and put him in trouble.

On the fourth set tie-break he said: 'I saved a lot of difficult moments in the fourth set. A lot of 15-30, a lot of 0-30, and all I was thinking was, "OK, one more ball, fight for one more ball". 

'In a tie-break I always tell myself that I have to go for it and if I lose it, I lose it. Always go for it on my side.'

With Spain already in action in their Euro 2024 quarter-final against hosts Germany, Alcaraz was keen to make a speedy exit off court and he was afforded that with the score still at 0-0.

If Spain can show half as much resilience as their star tennis player, they'll be just fine.

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2024-07-05T16:52:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd