Carlos Alcaraz emulates ‘Big 3’ and Sampras, Borg as he hits Wimbledon milestone to reach final
Carlos Alcaraz has become just the sixth man in the Open Era to win 20+ straight Wimbledon matches after beating Taylor Fritz to reach his third final at SW19.
In sweltering conditions at the All England Club, world No 2 and second seed Alcaraz battled past fifth seed Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) to keep his title defence alive.
After a comfortable start to the semi-final, the 22-year-old appeared to dip mentally after a sloppy service game saw him concede the second set to his American rival.
However, he quickly righted the ship and regained control in the third set, before going on to seal a four-set triumph, saving two set points in the fourth-set tiebreak.
“It was really, really difficult match as always when I have to play against Taylor,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview.
“Even tougher with the conditions today, really hot again, so I’m just really happy with everything that I have done today, dealing with the nerves.
“Playing semi-final here is not easy, to deal with everything, the pressure that you might have. I’m just happy, in the fourth set saving two set points, one Taylor serving.
“I’m just really proud about the way that I stayed calm and then thinking clearly. I’m just pleased about my level today.”
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Victory for Alcaraz means he is now on a staggering 24-match win streak in 2025, having won his last three tournaments and having not lost a match since the Barcelona Open final in April.
However, he is also now on an impressive 20-match win streak at Wimbledon, having not lost a match at the tournament since 2022.
Having lifted the title in 2023 and 2024, a run to a third straight final makes Alcaraz part of an esteemed club to achieve a 20+ match win streak at the tournament.
Alcaraz draws level with Rafael Nadal’s run of 20 straight wins, with Pete Sampras holding separate 25 and 31-match win streaks, Novak Djokovic achieving 34 consecutive wins, and Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg holding the joint-record of 41 consecutive match victories.
The Spaniard will look to make it 21 straight wins with victory in Sunday’s final, where he will face Djokovic or top seed Jannik Sinner.
Should he triumph, he would follow Borg, Sampras, Federer, and Djokovic in becoming just the fifth man to win the Wimbledon title for three straight years.
“Right now, I don’t want to think about Sunday,” said Alcaraz.
“I just want to enjoy this moment, enjoy that I qualifed to another final, a third in row here at Wimbledon. It’s something that is really difficult.
“I have to think about it, to take my time, think about it and enjoy with my team, with my close people who are here.
“I will have time to play and think on Sunday.”
