Carlos Alcaraz overcomes frustration to blast past Holger Rune and into last four

World No 1 will face Daniil Medvedev after 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 winAlcaraz surprised by his ‘crazy’ progress on grass courts

Throughout the first set of the first major meeting between the two brightest young players in men’s tennis, Carlos Alcaraz’s growing frustration was palpable. He was struggling just a little with his backhand, his return of serve wasn’t penetrating quite as well as normal and Holger Rune chased down all of his mediocre drop shots. The world No 1 gestured regularly to his box and, at times, roared to the skies.

Yet even as he briefly failed to match up to his stratospheric standards, Alcaraz was still supreme. Every time he needed to call upon his best tennis on the decisive points, he found it with ease. The first Wimbledon men’s quarter-final match in the open era between two players younger than 21 had rightfully commanded immense hype. But, as Alcaraz defeated Rune 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, his performance underlined that for the moment he has no true rivals of his age.

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