Football legend Gary Lineker has likened Carlos Alcaraz to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as he breezed into the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
Alcaraz defeated Holger Rune 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday to reach the final four at the All England Club for the first time. The Spanish top seed has previously won the US Open, but has never previously reached the semi-final stage at Wimbledon.
He did it in style this time around though, putting in a dominant performance against his Danish opponent. This is only Alcaraz's fourth senior tournament on grass, with the 20-year-old having been born a week after Rune.
The Spaniard's performance against the Dane left Lineker impressed, with the former England star taking to Twitter to praise the 20-year-old. He likened Alcaraz to Messi and Ronaldo amid his rapid rise to the top of tennis.
"What a talent, @carlosalcaraz is. He looks and moves like a footballer, with the power and pace of a Ronaldo, mixed with the deftness of touch and feel of a Messi, but with a racket," Lineker tweeted.
Alcaraz set up a semi-final tie against Daniil Medvedev, who himself defeated Chris Eubanks, with his impressive display against Rune. The Dane did earn an early break point, but Alcaraz saved it with an ace.
The Spaniard then began applying pressure though was forced to go to a tie-break for the first set. Alcaraz claimed it with a backhand winner to take advantage of the early stages of the match.
Rune's mistakes proved critical in the second set, with Alcaraz beginning to ease away from him. The Dane did hold serve in the opening game of the third set, but a time violation with the set level a 2-2 allowed Alcaraz back into and he took control.
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Alcaraz was delighted to cruise into the semi-finals as he continues his charge to the final. Though the Spaniard did concede that he had not expected to defeat Rune with the ease that he did.
“I didn’t expect to play at a great level on this surface. For me, it is crazy. It was tough. At the beginning I was really nervous playing the quarter-final at Wimbledon, but even more so against Rune," he said.
"He is someone the same age as me, playing at a great level. It was tough to play against him but once you get into the quarter-finals there’s no friends. I played my game and put a smile on my face which is the key for everything.
“We [Medvedev] played two times and one was here in Wimbledon. It's going to be a really tough one. His game suits this surface really well. You can’t play in a semi-final every year so I’m going to enjoy this moment and prepare for the match once it’s closer."
