Wimbledon 2025: Alcaraz dominates Norrie to end British hopes

Carlos Alcaraz is genuinely one of sport’s good guys, but this was an exhibition of dominance that, in any other workplace, might earn you a visit from HR.

Cameron Norrie, the last Briton standing, saw his run to the quarter-finals come to an abrupt end. No sooner had he stepped onto Centre Court than he was back slumped in the locker room.

The statistics told the story of a one-sided quarter-final contest: a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 masterclass from a player who is attempting to join Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in winning three consecutive Wimbledon titles in the Open era.

Norrie had beaten Alcaraz twice before, but on these lawns — where the Spaniard is unbeaten in 19 consecutive matches — he is far more at home than the home hope.

So popular is Alcaraz that cries of "Come on, Carlos" were nearly as loud as those backing the British No 3.

The Centre Court crowd quickly sensed the inevitability of the result, and the defending champion wrapped up his victory in just 99 minutes — his swiftest of the Championships thus far. Even Oliver Tarvet, the world No 733, had made him work harder for over two hours last week.

Alcaraz won 89 per cent of his first-serve points and fired down 13 aces. He accumulated 94 points with 39 winners, and even when Norrie occasionally threatened his serve, the Spaniard remained unflustered.

"Yes we Cam," shouted one optimistic voice in the crowd, although the sentiment owed more to summer sunshine and too many glasses of Pimm’s than on-court reality.

There was sympathy for Norrie who, despite his exceptional fitness, may have been feeling the effects of a five-set thriller against Nicolás Jarry just 48 hours earlier.

Arthur Ashe, who won his historic title here 50 years ago, once remarked that the gap between the world No 1 and No 10 was as great as that between ten and 100. You did not need expert eyes to see that Norrie’s current ranking — No 61, though this run will lift it — was cruelly exposed.

"I was the underdog and he just took care of things really well," said Norrie.

"It was a good experience to play the best player in the world, on his favourite surface. I didn't take my chances and that showed in the score.

"When he's enjoying his tennis like this and he's serving that well, he's the favourite to win again for sure and the level he is playing is unreal. He's got so many options - he's got power and then he plays a drop shot. His physicality and movement makes it very tough for you.

"It was one of the biggest matches of my career but for him that was probably just another match. He just played much better than me in the big moments and it all seemed to happen very quickly. I fought to the last point and I'm proud of my championships and I can take lots of confidence from it."

Alcaraz paid tribute to Norrie’s work ethic and expressed confidence in his ability to return to the upper echelons of the sport after his best Grand Slam showing since reaching the semi-finals here in 2022.

His own focus now turns to Taylor Fritz, his semi-final opponent, whom he has beaten twice without dropping a set.

"This was my best match of the tournament," he said.

"I'm feeling great and while every match is different, my confidence is really high.

"The more matches I've played, the more I've started to get a good rhythm with my serve. I'm feeling really calm and my thinking is very clear.

"I struggled a bit in the first rounds of the championship but it's started to click now and feel really good.

"Taylor is having a really successful season and he's playing some great tennis on grass, his aggressive game really suits this surface.

"I need to find an even higher level than I did against Cameron, it doesn't get any easier. The key will be not to let him dominate the game.

"This is my 23rd match in my winning streak but I don't want to stop, the players have a target on me and I know that."

Fritz produced two outstanding sets to take control of his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov before inexplicably losing the third. He regained his composure, however, to complete a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 win.

It is further evidence of the American’s steely mindset, cultivated in recent years as he has become a consistent presence in the second week of majors.

This will be only his second Grand Slam semi-final, after his run to last year’s US Open final, where he was well beaten by Jannik Sinner. That experience, though, instilled fresh belief in his ability to navigate the latter stages of major tournaments.

His current Wimbledon campaign has underscored that resilience. Fritz came through two five-set matches in the opening rounds — including a first-round tie against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard that spanned two days — and has improved as the grass at the baseline has thinned.

His game has long been suited to grass, and after recent ATP Tour titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne, he is as confident as ever as he attempts to dethrone the reigning champion.

"[The US Open final] has given me a lot of confidence in those moments and situation — just having been there — that I can do it again," he said.

"I feel like in other years, when I reached the quarter-finals here, it felt like a really big deal. This time I went into the match much more calm and relaxed.

"I’ve just been really proud of how I’ve been mentally all week. I was about as close to being out of the tournament in the first round as you can be.

"I think grass can be an equaliser. I trust how I’m playing. I truly believe that, playing the way I did in the first two sets today, there is not much any opponent can do."

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website.