Carlos Alcaraz has shown one weakness at Wimbledon that ‘servebot’ Taylor Fritz can exploit

After 10 days of tennis and 124 matches, the Wimbledon semi-finals are set.

There were shocks aplenty in the first few days of the tournament, with world number three Alexander Zverev and former Grand Slam champion Daniil Medvedev among the early casualties.

While upsets were the theme of the first week of Wimbledon, the shocks largely disappeared in the second and the men’s semi-finals are made up of the three pre-tournament favourites and the fifth seed.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, seven-time winner Novak Djokovic and world number one Jannik Sinner are joined in the semis by world number five Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz, threatening to dominate Wimbledon in much the same way as predecessors Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic, continues his title defence with an intriguing semi-final against big-serving Fritz.

Carlos Alcaraz

Only four players in the Open Era have won three consecutive Wimbledon titles – Alcaraz is now two wins away from becoming the fifth. His quest to secure a rare ‘three-peat’ began in unconvincing circumstances as 38-year-old Fabio Fognini took the defending champion to five sets in his final game before he announced his retirement from the sport.

Alcaraz, with his remarkable shot-making and ground speed, was good enough to overcome the tricky Fognini but it was hardly an ideal start to his title defence. Since then the 22-year-old has beaten Great Britain’s Oliver Tarvet and Cameron Norrie in straight sets and Jan-Lennard Struff and Andrey Rublev in four.

Alcaraz was not at his scintillating best against Tarvet, Struff or Rublev, but produced a masterclass to emphatically end Great Britain’s hopes of an unlikely Wimbledon champion. Norrie did well just to take eight games off an inspired Alcaraz and said in his press conference that his conqueror was ‘obviously the favourite’ for the title.

Statistically the best returner in history – even superior to Djokovic – Alcaraz has a better chance than anyone to get hold of Fritz’s 140mph bombs. When it comes to rallies, his skill and variation will prove decisive. That variety was recently described as Alcaraz’s ‘super power’ by three-time Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick.

Dropping just four sets on the way to a Grand Slam semi-final is not to be sniffed at but BBC commentators John McEnroe and Tim Henman have both remarked upon Alcaraz’s tendency to go cold for a game or two and drop from the incredible standards that have resulted in five Grand Slams before his 23rd birthday.

Admittedly that did not materialise during his last match – a ruthless dismantling of an in-form player backed by the home supporters – and realistically Fritz will need to benefit from a significant and lengthy drop-off to compete with the most talented player in the world.

Taylor Fritz

After reaching the final of his home major last year, Fritz is one (surprise) victory away from a second Grand Slam final. The 27-year-old has become a regular at the business end of majors and could yet become the first American man to win one since 2003.

No one in SW19 worked harder to get to the semi-finals than Fritz, who began his campaign with two gruelling five-setters against two of the biggest servers in the game.

Since beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Gabriel Diallo, Fritz has enjoyed a more straightforward passage into the semis, dropping just a set against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Karen Khachanov. His other match lasted just ten games – Fritz was a set and a break up when his fourth-round opponent Jordan Thompson retired through injury.

Boasting one of the best serves in the world, Fritz’s game is perfectly suited to the grass, as shown by his four titles at Eastbourne, the tournament played in the run-up to Wimbledon. Sam Querrey, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, even rates Fritz as the ‘second-best grass player in the game’.

His serving will be crucial to his hopes of shocking Alcaraz and has been faultless so far – 95 aces have been delivered by the Californian, the second most in the tournament, and he has won 82% of points on his first serve.

But unlike some other ‘servebots’, Fritz can hold his own in rallies. And he’ll clearly need to against a five-time Grand Slam champion. These two have only faced off twice before – a surprisingly low figure given their status in the game – with Alcaraz sealing two convincing wins over his semi-final opponent. But Fritz is in an excellent place on and off the court and while a second Grand Slam final may be beyond him, it should be competitive.

‘I give Taylor a chance,’ former Wimbledon semi-finalist John Isner said on the Nothing Major podcast. ‘Taylor is crazy enough to believe he’s going to win this match. He’s full of confidence and competes every bit of good as Carlos. His serve is better too. I’m not calling the upset but I think it’s going to be an absolute battle out there. Fritz can hurt Alcaraz, that’s for sure.’

Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to beat Taylor Fritz in four sets

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