Wimbledon 2024: Carlos Alcaraz Grits to Quarterfinals; Madison Keys Exits with Injury One Game Shy of Win

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a mid-match slump to secure a spot in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Sunday, while American Madison Keys, despite being just one game away from victory, had to retire from her match due to injury.

World number three Alcaraz defeated French 16th seed Ugo Humbert with scores of 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, reaching the last-eight of a Grand Slam for the ninth time in just 14 attempts. However, it wasn’t an easy win for Alcaraz, who also needed five sets to overcome Frances Tiafoe in the third round.

During Sunday’s match, Alcaraz dropped serve five times and committed 33 unforced errors. The 21-year-old, aiming to become the sixth man to win both the French Open and Wimbledon consecutively, dominated the first set under the Centre Court roof and saved four break points in the fifth game of the second set.

Humbert fought back, breaking Alcaraz three times in the third set. Alcaraz then struggled to maintain his lead in the fourth set but managed to fend off three break points to stay level at 4-4. Eventually, Humbert lost his momentum, allowing Alcaraz to break his serve in the 11th game and seal the match.

“I will be there, fighting until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who is chasing his fourth Grand Slam title. He will next face either American 12th seed Tommy Paul or 36-year-old compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut, a semi-finalist in 2019.

On Court One, US 12th seed Madison Keys was forced to quit her match against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, just one game away from a third quarter-final at the All England Club. After losing the first set to Paolini, Keys fought back to level the match at 3-6, 7-6 (8/6). She then took a 5-2 lead in the final set before suffering a left leg injury in the eighth game.

Keys took a 10-minute medical time-out at 5-4, returned with her thigh heavily strapped, but struggled to move and was immediately broken by Paolini. After failing to run for a drop shot, Keys retired with the score at 5-5. Paolini will now face either reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff or 19th seed Emma Navarro for a spot in the semi-finals.

“I’m very sorry for her. It’s sad,” said Paolini, who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year.

Emma Raducanu, three years after her historic US Open title, aims to become Britain’s first Wimbledon women’s champion since 1977. Now ranked 135, Raducanu faces Lulu Sun, the first New Zealand woman to reach the fourth round since 1959. If she wins, a quarter-final match against either Paula Badosa or Donna Vekic awaits.

Raducanu’s victory over Maria Sakkari on Friday was only her second win over a top 10 player. “I’m just trying to cherish every moment I have here,” said Raducanu, who withdrew from mixed doubles where she was set to play with Andy Murray, ending Murray’s All England Club career quietly.

Lulu Sun, ranked 123rd, has guaranteed herself at least $340,000 for her efforts, more than she has earned in her entire career.

American Ben Shelton has made Wimbledon a family affair, reaching the fourth round 30 years after his father Bryan did the same. “We’re back, big dog,” the 21-year-old Shelton told his dad after defeating Denis Shapovalov in the third round. Shelton, ranked 14th, will face world number one and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner for a place in the quarter-finals.