Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz took one step further towards a three-peat at Wimbledon after defeating Cameron Norrie in straight sets.
The Spaniard’s unrelenting winning streak extended to 23 matches as he crushed home hope and the only remaining unseeded player in the men’s singles, Cameron Norrie, in one hour and 39 minutes.
Those who flocked into Centre Court would have wanted more of an even contest to watch, but Alcaraz had every trick up his sleeve and seemed one step ahead of Norrie, who was not allowed to build momentum.
Alcaraz secured crucial break points throughout each set and gained enough control to assert his dominance.
His success rate when coming to the net to win points was high, while his serve, which had previously let him down in earlier rounds, was back to its best in accuracy and sheer power.
Although Norrie’s wide serve from left to right benefited his service games against Alcaraz’s returning prowess, Alcaraz's quality and experience in pressurising types of matches shone through.
In his four matches prior to the quarter-final, he only triumphed in straight-sets when he faced British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, but there seems to be no signs of slowing down.
"This was my best match so far in the tournament. I’m just really happy to see myself keep improving after every match and each day. My confidence is really high."
He added, "Once I started to enjoy the match, my level shot up. I think the key today was that I didn't think about anything else. I just enjoyed every single second out there. Playing a quarter-final at Wimbledon is a gift."
After 38-year-old Fabio Fognini almost pulled off a major upset in the opening round by pushing the world number two to five sets, doubts emerged over Alcaraz’s chances of defending his crown, especially with the apparent flaws in his usually finely tuned serve.
However, as the pressure rises when he progresses to the latter stages of the grand slams, Alcaraz often reaches a different level that opponents are unable to match, even if it takes five sets.
Alcaraz acknowledged how the level of his serve elevated against Andrey Rublev and how it has been the foundation to two more solid overall performances.
"I started to feel really comfortable serving in the Rublev match, and once you get a good rhythm on the serve, I think it's about trying to keep that going.
"On grass, when you're serving great, you go into matches with more confidence and play more calm and think clearer.
"I struggled a little bit in the first rounds of the tournament. I don't know if it was the toss of the ball or just the rhythm.
"The percentage went higher and winning points from the first serve was higher as well. I started to toss the ball on the serve much better and that helped a lot."
His performances at Wimbledon in three consecutive years has been superior to all of his competitors, and Alcaraz is looking to win a 6th grand slam at 22-years-old.
He will also have his sights set on usurping Jannik Sinner’s world number one ranking, and the two tennis frontrunners may collide in a grand slam final again.
Alcaraz admitted he thinks, "players have a target on me right now as the person they really want to beat."
Eastbourne Open champion Taylor Fritz reached his maiden semi-final at SW19, and he will face Carlos Alcaraz on Friday, with both players given significant recovery time to prepare.
It promises to be a scintillating contest between two of the most adept players on the grass in the current men’s singles tour, and they have never met each other on the unique surface before.
Alcaraz said: "His grass season this year has been really successful so far. I’m going to try to play at the same level or even higher than today.
"I will not let him play aggressively or dominate the game. I’m excited about the match as I think I have to raise my level if I want to beat him."
