Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz recovers to beat Tommy Paul and set up semi-final showdown with Daniil Medvedev

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made a slow start to his Wimbledon quarter-final against Tommy Paul on Tuesday, but he was able to find a way past the American despite losing the opening set. The Spaniard was given a stern test by the 12th seed and was never completely comfortable in their clash on Court 1, but he did enough to secure his place in the semi-finals.

Wimbledon Day 9 highlights: Medvedev downs Sinner, Alcaraz powers on, Paolini through

Video credit: SNTV

Carlos Alcaraz recovered from surprisingly going a set down to defeat 12th seed Tommy Paul in their quarter-final at Wimbledon 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-2 and set up a clash with Daniil Medvedev in the last four.

Paul produced an inspired opening set as he broke the third seed's serve in clinical fashion to prevent a tie-break and assume the early advantage in the match.

However, it did not take long for Alcaraz to respond in style as the world No. 3 from Spain took the second set with a ruthless break of serve and solid holds of his own.

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Another crucial break saw the 21-year-old assert his authority in the third set, and Paul was unable to get back on terms as he slipped behind for the first time in the match.

By this point, Alcaraz had really found his rhythm with Paul seemingly losing belief in his ability to force a way back in the match, and the third seed clinched the victory with a convincing fourth set.

The reigning champion will now prepare for a mouthwatering semi-final clash with Medvedev after the fifth seed stunned world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in their last-eight encounter.

"I believe that I can be back," Alcaraz said afterwards in his on-court interview. "If I'm struggling a little bit to find the solutions, if the opponent is playing great tennis and I don't get him in trouble, I believe at the end that I'll be able to come back and be able to find solutions.

"Even here in the Grand Slams, the matches are longer. I have more to recover, to be back, so I believe in myself the whole time."

On the challenge of facing Medvedev that awaits, he added: "He's a really great player. It's the same semi-final as last year. Hopefully, I'm going to get the same result.

"He just won against Jannik Sinner, the best player right now, so I know that he's in really good shape, so I have to play my best.

"I have to believe in myself and try to keep going if I want to beat him so it's going to be a difficult one but I'm going to enjoy."

Alcaraz is aiming to clinch his fourth Grand Slam title at the All England Club this week and his first major title defence.

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Stream daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm UK time, as well as the two singles finals live on July 13 and 14, on discovery+

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