By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) -Carlos Alcaraz said ahead of his Wimbledon quarter-final against Cameron Norrie that playing the left-handed British player can be a nightmare and for a few minutes it looked as though the defending champion might be in for a fright on Tuesday.
The Spaniard fell 0-40 down in his opening service game against the unseeded Norrie on Centre Court, but quickly snapped out of his slumber to seal a 6-2 6-3 6-3 victory that should send shudders down the spine of anyone hoping to de-throne him.
There were hundreds of empty seats at the start as fans sought refreshment after watching women’s top seed Aryna Sablaneka’s protracted last-eight victory.
By the time most of them returned to cheer on the underdog, Alcaraz was in full flow having blazed through the opening set in 28 minutes with a barrage of brilliance.
The tone was set and although Norrie tried his best to dig in, raising his fist in mock triumph as he held serve late in the third set, Alcaraz mercilessly extended his current match winning streak to 23.
Alcaraz, 22, reached his eighth Grand Slam semi-final and will continue his quest for a third successive Wimbledon title against American Taylor Fritz.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
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