Carlos Alcaraz took a page out of England footballer Jude Bellingham’s book following his win over Frances Tiafoe in the third round at Wimbledon. The Spaniard copied Bellingham’s trademark ‘arms wide open’ celebration on Centre Court.
In a pulsating battle at SW19, defending champion Alcaraz returned from a set deficit to eliminate Tiafoe 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. The momentum swung to and fro between the players throughout the match but it was the Spaniard who prevailed with a convincing performance in the deciding set.
Following his victory, Alcaraz recreated the trademark celebration of Bellingham. The Spaniard is a football fan and has been seen supporting his nation during the ongoing UEFA Euro 2024. The 21-year-old walked toward the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd and opened his arms wide soaking in the atmosphere.
Interestingly, Bellingham recently pulled out his celebration after he scored a 95th-minute equalizer to keep England in the match against Slovakia in the Round of 16 of Euro 2024. Alcaraz recreated the celebration after making a comeback from a grave situation as well.
Carlos Alcaraz all praise for Wimbledon 2024 3R opponent Frances Tiafoe
Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe were tied 1-1 in their head-to-head record before they entered the Centre Court at Wimbledon. Both players started strong to take the lead in that record.
The Spaniard led 4-2 in the first set but Tiafoe broke back and eventually made it 5-5 before breaking again to bag the first set. Alcaraz came back resoundingly to win the second set.
In the third set, Alcaraz stopped multiple chances of a break from Tiafoe but could not hold on for long as he broke for 4-3. The American won his next two service games to take the set. In the fourth, Tiafoe forced a tiebreaker but the Spaniard was impeccable and raced to a 5-0 lead before forcing a decider.
The deciding set was one-way traffic as Alcaraz won the set and advanced into the fourth round.
“It is always a big challenge playing against Frances… He is a really talented player and tough to face and we saw it once again that he deserves to be at the top and deserves to fight for big things,” Alcaraz said after the match.
“It was really difficult for me to adapt my game, find solutions and try to put him in trouble, but I am really happy to do it at the end of the match,” he added.
Carlos Alcaraz is now on a 10-match winning streak as he tries to capitalize on the momentum built by his French Open triumph just a month ago.
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