‘A beautiful sight’: Why tennis – and Nike – can’t get enough of Carlos Alcaraz

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The dancing feet, explosive speed off the mark, raw power, skill, athleticism and dominance were all on show. There is a reason Nike has prioritised two-time defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz like few other athletes on its books, and once again he is captivating London.

Alcaraz delivered his self-professed finest performance of this Wimbledon fortnight on Tuesday, demolishing local hero Cam Norrie, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, to reach another semi-final.

Defending two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz slides to return serve against Cameron Norrie.

It was the continuation of his pursuit of a historic hat-trick of titles at the All England club that has already been spectacular.

Take Sunday, for example, when Spain’s smiling assassin was locked at a set-all with Andrey Rublev in the fourth round. Alcaraz responded by doing Alcaraz things. Down break point in the third set, Rublev played almost perfectly. Almost was not good enough.

The Russian had crushed an inside-in forehand that pushed his rival back and forced him to perform his best impression of a gymnast, doing the splits to dig out a forehand.

It was go time for Rublev, who thrashed a backhand down the line, then rushed the net. There appeared few options, but Alcaraz saw an opportunity, sliding again, and with incredible leg strength, flexibility, arm control and skill, whipped a forehand passing shot for a magnificent winner.

“No way! Impossible!” was how one commentator captured the moment, followed by his calling colleague’s equally bewildered take: “What have you got to do? He [Rublev] couldn’t have played a better point.”

Rublev briefly stared down the court in disbelief at Alcaraz. Ever the showman, Alcaraz threw his arms out, then pointed to his ear in a Novak Djokovic-like blatant request for appreciation.

He need not have bothered. The London crowd was already in raptures. There is a familiar reaction of wonder to all of Alcaraz’s on-court deeds.

“He is a mixture of some of the top players of all-time, in my opinion,” says former world No.2 Tommy Haas.

“Watching him up close and personal is something special, and I think a lot of tennis fans around the world have seen that. That’s what makes him so exciting to watch, [and] also his characteristics, his aura on court, always with a smile ... when he’s dialled in and playing his best, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”

There was nothing quite like that Rublev moment in Alcaraz’s quarter-final blitzing of Norrie, which took him only 99 minutes to complete – but there was still plenty to admire.

The joy in Alcaraz’s play is infectious to everyone who watches, but there is depth to him as a tennis player, which is why he is so revered and already being compared with some of the game’s greats.

His grit was one of the first traits he showed, as he rallied from 0-40 in the second game of the match. His dismissive backhand return winner to bring up double-break point in the next game was an example of the way he rips matches away from his opponents.

And the crowd was treated to the entire Alcaraz catalogue across three consecutive points in the opening game of the second set.

Norrie played some terrific defence on the first of those points then drilled a backhand low at Alcaraz’s feet, only for the Spaniard to produce an exquisite angled volley off his shoelaces.

John McEnroe loved it. “You’ve got to be kidding. It’s a beautiful sight to behold, to watch him play.”

On the next, Alcaraz barely missed a forehand that would have been a winner. After what seemed a momentary hint of frustration, he looked up and grinned, like only he does in those circumstances.

Alcaraz celebrates his quarter-final victory.

If the first point was evidence of Alcaraz’s rare touch, then the third was a showcase of his aggression and power.

Norrie, a blue-collar Brit who has earned everything he has achieved in his career, looked ready to settle in for an extended rally. But Alcaraz, who has been a Nike athlete since 2019 and last year signed a contract extension worth $US15-20 million annually for a decade, had other ideas.

He directed a forehand down the middle of the court to Alcaraz’s forehand and was in readiness for what was to come back, but the five-time major champion cranked the volume – and Norrie did not even bother trying to get a racquet to the ball.

The theme was obvious: Alcaraz controlled just about everything that happened, even as the British crowd began roaring in the third set each time Norrie won a single point.

There were not many of them by then, particularly when Alcaraz was serving. He won 17 of 18 first-serve points, and rarely had to hit a second shot when he did.

Six of Alcaraz’s 13 aces came in that set alone, and many more went unreturned.

Norrie gave British fans a glimmer of hope by staying on serve with Alcaraz through the first five games, but the new pin-up boy of tennis soon broke hearts. Norrie slumped to 0-40, and the break was secured two points later.

It was a countdown to the end by that stage, given Alcaraz’s serving form.

“Today was a great, great match. I think [my] best match so far in the tournament,” Alcaraz said.

“I’m really happy to see myself just keep going, keep improving after every match, each day. I’m going to try to make the most of these two days [off], just to be in a good shape for another semi-final at Wimbledon.”

After that, Alcaraz fielded questions from his off-day golf routine – which has become a media fascination in London, including ex-English cricketer Stuart Broad publicly challenging him to a game – to how his level compares with his past two Wimbledon title runs, and his next opponent, American Taylor Fritz.

There were no Emma Raducanu mentions this time after the Brits obsessively reported on their unfounded love match early in the tournament.

Most importantly, Alcaraz had fun.

“I think today the key was that I didn’t think about anything. I just enjoyed every single second out there,” he said. “Playing a quarter-final at Wimbledon is a gift. I just tried to make the most of my time stepping on centre court. It was such a great atmosphere out there.

“It’s a pleasure for me.”

Fellow Spaniard and 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who now coaches Mirra Andreeva, enjoys the Alcaraz experience like everyone else.

“He is very electric on the court, and very complete as well. He is moving amazing, his hitting [is incredible], he is going forward – it is a lot of fun to watch him.”

Aryna Sabalenka celebrates her tough quarter-final win over Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

Fifth-seeded Fritz booked his Alcaraz date with a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) defeat of No.17 seed Karen Khachanov, while the first women’s semi-finalists are world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and 13th seed Amanda Anisimova.

As has been the norm this Wimbledon fortnight, Sabalenka had to dig deep to win.

The triple grand slam champion, who has never triumphed at the All England club, was twice down a break in an error-strewn final set before chasing down 37-year-old German Laura Siegemund, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, to escape again.

Anisimova had a more straightforward path to her maiden Wimbledon semi-final, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 (11-9).

Marc McGowan travelled to Wimbledon with the support of Tennis Australia.

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