Alcaraz, Medvedev to meet in Wimbledon semifinals again

LONDON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Russia's fifth seed Daniil Medvedev will face off in the semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships after winning their quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Alcaraz, 21, came from one set down to defeat American Tommy Paul 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, improving their head-to-head record to 3-2.

"I had to stay strong mentally when I lost the first set," said Alcaraz. "It was kind of difficult for me, but I knew this is a long journey, a really long match. I'm really happy to find the solutions and the right path."

Medvedev, 28, fought even harder to edge out world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, ending a five-match losing streak against the 22-year-old Italian.

Sinner said he felt uncomfortable since the morning, "But nothing to take away from Daniil. I think he played very smart. He played good tennis."

Medvedev admitted that he could notice that Sinner was in trouble physically at a moment during the match, "Then he was less down. He started playing much better."

As Medvedev was beaten in straight sets by Alcaraz at last year's Wimbledon, the 2021 US Open champion believed that he could only expect a better serve to win over the Spaniard.

"I have to serve better. That's still the most important thing on grass. You serve aces, you serve on the line, you're less in trouble, and you feel better. That's where you can put pressure on his serve," said Medvedev.

In the women's singles, Croatian Donna Vekic ended qualifier Lulu Sun's amazing run, as the world No. 37 came from one set down to see off the 23-year-old from New Zealand 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

Vekic's semifinal opponent is Jasmine Paolini from Italy, as the French Open finalist breezed past American Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-1. ■