He didn’t fall to his knees. He didn’t roar to the crowd. He simply smiled, waved, and walked off Centre Court like it was just another Tuesday evening. But what Carlos Alcaraz had just done was anything but ordinary. With a performance that oozed confidence, the defending champion sent Britain’s final hope, Cameron Norrie, crashing out of Wimbledon in straight sets: 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, in just 1-hour and 39-minutes. It was clinical. It was calm. And it felt like Alcaraz was playing at his own rhythm, barely breaking a sweat while he carved through one of the biggest stages in tennis.

From the opening game, where he coolly saved three break points, Alcaraz made it clear this wouldn’t be a repeat of his five-set struggle against Fabio Fognini in the first round. Norrie, who had just fought through a grueling match against Chile’s Nicolás Jarry, just couldn’t match the Spaniard’s pace. Five breaks of serve. Thirteen aces. A first-serve percentage north of 70. It was the kind of tennis that makes opponents look helpless and fans look for words that go beyond ‘brilliant.’ With this win, Alcaraz extended his Wimbledon winning streak to 19. But just when you thought he’d start talking about strategies, stats, or even the path to his third straight Wimbledon title, Alcaraz caught everyone off guard.

When asked how he planned to relax before his semifinal clash with Taylor Fritz, the 21-year-old didn’t talk about tactics or pressure, he talked about people. “Well, yeah, today’s gonna be great, you know, to rest up a little bit, to try to, you know… such a, being able to say, for you… thank you for that,” he began, pausing thoughtfully. “No time, it’s no time. I’m just gonna try to make the most of the time, just to enjoy with my team, with my family. I have a lot of people here, you know, in London.”

And then came the most human part of all. “I will try to go. I don’t know if I will get the chance, but for sure I’m gonna play some golf, just switch off my mind a little bit,” he said, chuckling softly.“I mean, the things that I’m doing are working. I have to, I have to keep doing it. So I will, I will try to go play some songs.” Carlos Alcaraz wasn’t posturing. He wasn’t performing. He was just a 21-year-old trying to find small pockets of peace between the biggest matches of his life. And yes, golf was at the center of that peace.

Carlos Alcaraz, has it all mapped out. “Will be playing golf with my team. I mean, Fokina is playing great,”he said with a laugh. “And then there are the rest of the team who don’t play golf, and also I just love for them a little bit. So it will be, it will be a funny, funny moment with them.” You could feel the warmth in his voice. Even as he chases his third consecutive Wimbledon title, he’s not drowning in pressure. He’s staying grounded, with his family, with his friends, with laughter.

Can Taylor Fritz flip the script on Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon reign?

Who’s got the edge when Carlos Alcaraz meets Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon semis? On paper and on grass, it’s hard to bet against Alcaraz. The 22-year-old Spaniard is flying, fresh off a straight-sets dismantling of Cameron Norrie (6-2, 6-3, 6-3), extending his win streak to 23 matches this season. Fritz, though, is no pushover. He’s powered into his first-ever Wimbledon semifinal after a gutsy four-set win over Karen Khachanov. But here’s the kicker: he’s never beaten Alcaraz. Not once. Not even a set.

Their head-to-head is 2–0 in Alcaraz’s favor. The first time they clashed was at the 2023 Miami Open, where Alcaraz dominated 6–4, 6–2. Then came the 2024 Laver Cup, a different format, sure, but still a high-stakes battle and Alcaraz swept that one too. And yet, ahead of this semi, Fritz isn’t backing down. “I think grass is very much so an equalizer. So, trust in how I’m playing. I truly know the way that I played the first two sets today, there’s not much any opponent on the other side can do,” he said.

And he’s right to stay sharp. Fritz has looked confident, has been serving huge, and has nothing to lose. But Alcaraz? He’s chasing history, potentially a third straight Wimbledon title. He hasn’t lost a match at Wimbledon since 2022 and on grass since 2023 (unless you count that round of golf with Andy Murray). With form, experience, and momentum all on his side, Carlos Alcaraz is still the man to beat. But if there’s ever a time for Fritz to flip the script, it’s now.