Wimbledon 2023: Carlos Alcaraz Survives Nicolas Jarry Challenge to Reach Last 16

Carlos Alcaraz was forced to dig deep on Saturday to see off the challenge of Nicolas Jarry and reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.

The Spanish top seed, seen as the man most likely to end Novak Djokovic’s long reign at the All England Club, was off-colour but still won 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 7-5.

What had looked like being a routine outing for Alcaraz when he claimed the first set after a solitary break, quickly turned into something more troublesome as Jarry raced into a 4-1 lead in the second.

While Alcaraz clawed back parity, the Chilean served like his life depended on it to level the match in the tiebreak.

Alcaraz got his nose in front once more but if he hoped to have dealt a decisive blow by winning the third set, Jarry had other ideas, racing into a 3-0 lead at the start of the fourth.

That, however, brought out the best in the Spaniard who finished off the contest with two further breaks, wrapping up the match with two massive serves that were just too hot for Jarry to handle.

“I’m really happy with the level that I played to get through this really tough match,” said Alcaraz.

He added: “It was really, really close. He has great shots… I would say the key is to believe all the time and stay focused.”

Alcaraz was playing his second match in two days after heavy rain earlier in the week caused a scheduling headache for tournament chiefs.

He is attempting to become the third-youngest player in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon title after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.

(With inputs from Agencies)