It hasn’t been long since Jack Draper showed his fellow southpaws that the way to beat Carlos Alcaraz on grass is to trust your natural lefty advantage and “play fearlessly.” Three weeks. Once he got over his doubts and got his shot flowing, the British No. 1 left-hander joined 32 other seven left-handers trying to beat the Spaniard on the original playing surface.
Is Queen’s University’s share price drop on June 20 an anomaly? That’s what Ugo Humbert might have thought in the early exchanges of the tournament’s fourth round and the more heated environment on Center Court as his best efforts died with the racquet in his left hand. But, like Draper, he believed it wholeheartedly. This is not enough.
Alcaraz, a 21-year-old clay-court player with a game designed for a variety of surfaces, took flight, crashed back to the ground, and emerged victorious in a fiery battle.
The defending champion has now beaten all seven southpaws he has played at Wimbledon. Unfortunately, he won 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in 2 hours and 58 minutes, with Alcaraz taking his tennis from good to shocking multiple times, and in the Survived three sets of hard knocks and defeats.
“It’s always tricky playing left-handed,” Alcaraz said on the sidelines. “At Queen’s Stadium, first of all it’s on the grass [against Draper]. It’s very difficult, but I just play my own game. I feel great today. I played at a very high level. I just have to stay on the point and show my opponent that I’m always going to be there for the last shot. Now I will take a break and be 100% ready for the next game.
Left or right, the winning formula on grass has always been sheer power, and there was plenty of that on Sunday.
Watching the game from the Royal Box on Day Seven was Rod Laver, another southpaw who once patrolled the court like a king.
Will Peak Laver confuse Akalas? It was fruitless conjecture—but a thought worth pondering when Spain’s new emperor emerged from the draw. He and Novak Djokovic, 16 years his senior, are the only remaining Grand Slam winners in men’s singles, and next weekend’s final between them will be a fitting match of the century.
Humbert’s coach, Jérémy Chardy, felt the power of Alcaraz’s game in the first round here last year, so he was more than just another interested spectator.
Everyone was mesmerized. An errant shot nearly hit a woman in the crowd, but she didn’t spill a drop of her drink. Admirably cool. Can the French maintain the same composure under Spanish pressure?
That didn’t seem to be the case 20 minutes later, when he broke down for the first time. The fluidity of Alcaraz’s movements on camera is astonishing, with power contained and released as if from the barrel of a gun. From the service line to the net, his threat is everywhere, swimming like a shark.
In the eighth game, he hit a 107-mph forehand that echoed 40 points of love around the closed court — only to see Humbert respond in kind in the next point. However, the world number 16 could only stand back and watch as Alcaraz thundered around him in response to taking the first set in 41 minutes. It was an exciting onslaught.
This was different from Alcaraz who had to fight back when trailing Frances Tiafoe 2-1 in the previous round, but Humbert proved stubborn.
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Alcaraz needed a pair of aces and a series of hard hits to save four break points in the long fifth game. In the seventh round, Humbert attacked him again, but was also repulsed. Now we have a fight.
“As is so often the case, Alcaraz found a solution,” Tim Henman said. A wonderful chip earned him set point when Humbert hit a forehand across the line at the end of a brilliant stand-off [during which Alcaraz slipped behind the baseline]After an hour and a half, the Spaniards led 2-0.
Raph could hardly have asked for better entertainment; Chaddy probably wouldn’t have liked it that much. Where’s the noble Humbert? He looked heartbroken, but he remained doggedly engaged and, in a fightback that caught everyone off guard, especially Alcaraz, broke serve three times in half an hour to take the third set.
Humbert was a set behind, but he was brimming with confidence. He knows no fear.
Both sides became nervous until the fourth game of the fourth set, when Alcaraz regained his rhythm and lost four consecutive service games to lead 3-1. Victory seemed to be just around the corner, but Humbert, desperate, discovered the red line for counterattack.
However, in the eighth game, Alcaraz rebuilt his shaky serve, saving two deuces and getting back into the match, starting from love-40. Alcaraz fell behind in the service cycle and had to hold on to hold on to the handicap. A stunning pass flew past Humbert, the Frenchman let out a roar of appreciation and we were back on an even keel with five draws and one defeat.
Alcaraz now took his trademark low-ball risks on clay and opened his shoulders on the forehand, his game regaining vigor and sharpness under intense pressure. His ferocious topspin hit the baseline and he tied the score to 15 points.
Humbert appealed to the crowd for support and they gave him it, hungry for a fifth set – but Alcaraz increased his serve speed to 132mph and finished with a lob and an unreturnable serve to his opponent’s backhand Game – This is a disadvantage for lefties. This is a game worth savoring.
