Carlos Alcaraz becomes youngest player to reach Wimbledon 4R since 2011

Bhargav
Day Five: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022
Day Five: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

The stock of Carlos Alcaraz continues to rise with every match. On Friday, the 19-year-old dropped only six games against Germany's Oscar Otte to romp into the second week at Wimbledon.

Making only his second main-draw appearance at SW19, the Spanish teenager was taken the distance by Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round. However, Alcaraz made quick work of Tallon Griekspoor to reach the third round for the first time at the grasscourt Major.

Following his win over Otte on Friday, Alcaraz has become the youngest player in 11 years to make the second week at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz has won a joint tour-leading four titles this year and has now won 35 of his 39 matches. He has picked up titles in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid. After making the Roland Garros quarterfinals, the teenager is now a win away from doing the same at Wimbledon.

In his third-round win over Otte, Alcaraz played one of his best matches on grass, on which he remains a relative novice. He hit 37 winners and leaked only eight unforced errors, winning nearly 90% of his first-serve points to book a fourth-round meeting with Jannik Sinner.


"I'm more comfortable on grass right now" - Carlos Alcaraz after Wimbledon 3R win

Day Five: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022
Day Five: The Championships - Wimbledon 2022

Carlos Alcaraz has lived up to his billing as one of the game's most exciting young players.

However, grass can be a tricky surface to get consistent results, as the grass season is only a few weeks long. That means most players don't get much time to acclimatize to the surface - its quickness and low bounce.

Alcaraz had played just two matches on grass - going 1-1 - before arriving at Wimbledon this year. He made it to the second round last year before losing to Daniil Medvedev. A year later, though, Alcaraz is growing in confidence on a surface that poses unique challenges.

Following his win over Otte, he now has three more wins on grass. The teenager said that he's learning the nuances of playing on the manicured lawn.

"I'm more comfortable to move on grass right now than in the first round, for example," Carlos Alcaraz said. "Every training, every match that I play... I feel more comfortable, and hope in the next round (that I will) feel more comfortable. "Every day that (passes), I feel more ready on grass."

It remains to be seen how his new-found confidence will serve him against Jannik Sinner on Sunday as Carlos Alcaraz eyes back-to-back Grand Slam quarterfinals.

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