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Wimbledon day eight: Alcaraz reaches first quarter-final amid three retirements

Wimbledon day eight: Alcaraz reaches first quarter-final amid three retirements
© Reuters
Carlos Alcaraz progresses to his maiden Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday, while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva is eliminated in unsavoury circumstances.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time in his career with a pulsating four-set win over Matteo Berrettini on Centre Court.

The Spaniard managed to avoid the 11pm curfew by a good two hours, recovering from an underwhelming start to see out a 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 win under the roof in three hours and five minutes.

Alcaraz failed to take any of his three break points in the opening set as Berrettini powered his way into an early advantage, but the Spaniard soon began to flaunt his newfound dominance on grass.

A shanked forehand from Berrettini saw Alcaraz break for a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, although the Spaniard subsequently missed two match points in succession and squandered a third with a double fault.

However, Alcaraz quickly brought up a fourth and got over the line as Berrettini sent a backhand wide of the tramlines, and the US Open champion now faces a quarter-final showdown with his fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune.

Christopher Eubanks reacts at Wimbledon on July 10, 2023© Reuters

The Danish sixth seed - who had never played a tour-level match on grass before this year's Queen's - also lost the first set against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov but prevailed 3-6 7-6[6] 7-6[4] 6-3.

Rune only needed to take two of the nine break points he accrued on Court One and progressed on his first match point, as Dimitrov reeled off several cross-court backhand slices before unsuccessfully trying to go down the line.

Whichever youngster prevails in their last-eight clash could be set for a semi-final with American breakthrough star Christopher Eubanks, whose sensational run continued with a five-set upset of fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Eubanks - ranked 43rd in the world - defeated the Greek 3-6 7-6[4] 3-6 6-4 6-4 in just over three hours, hitting 53 winners and saving eight of the 13 break points he faced on the day.

The 27-year-old now faces another marquee match with Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev, who raced into a 6-4 6-2 lead against an error-strewn Jiri Lehecka before the Czech retired with an injury.

Mirra Andreeva reacts at Wimbledon on July 10, 2023© Reuters

Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz and defending champion Novak Djokovic resumed their suspended fourth-round tie, in which the latter won two tie-breakers before play was called to a halt on Sunday.

The rest period benefitted Hurkacz as he won the third set, but Djokovic only lost one point on serve during the fourth to clinch a 7-6[6] 7-6[6] 5-7 6-4 triumph, making just 16 unforced errors on the day.

In the women's tournament, Russia's trailblazing teenager Mirra Andreeva cut a disconsolate figure as she lost 6-3 6-7[4] 2-6 to the USA's Madison Keys, who was gifted a match point after Andreeva was penalised for smashing her racquet for a second time.

The 16-year-old had already been warned for throwing her racquet towards her bags before appearing to smash the court while slipping over, controversially incurring a point penalty and refusing to shake the umpire's hand after Keys took her match point with a forehand winner.

The other three women's singles matches on Monday were rather short-lived, as a ruthless Ons Jabeur took just 63 minutes to dismantle a misfiring Petra Kvitova 6-0 6-3, while Aryna Sabalenka was 6-4 6-0 up against Ekaterina Alexandrova before the 21st seed retired.

Alexandrova and Lehecka were subsequently joined in the medical bay by a tearful Beatriz Haddad Maia, who was only on the court for 27 minutes against defending champion Elena Rybakina before having to withdraw with a hip problem at 4-1 down.

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