Today’s Wimbledon matches including Elina Svitolina after Carlos Alcaraz win

Last year, the emotions were too much for Ons Jabeur. For so long dubbed the woman to bring home Grand Slam glory to a whole continent, the Tunisian’s defeat in the Wimbledon final to Elena Rybakina was too much to take. Just to rub salt in the wounds, the Netflix cameras were present in the warm-up area to see it, as she was consoled by her husband and fitness coach Karim Kamoun.

But revenge is a dish best served cold. A rematch between the pair in the quarter-finals has long been in the pipeline since the draw was first published. Yet on this occasion, back on Centre Court with her emotions again tested after losing a tight first set, Jabeur came out on top in a fashion as bold as it was riveting. Following a 6-7(5), 6-4 6-1 victory, the Wimbledon dream is still alive.

But what swung the match – a toing and froing which saw little to split these grass court connoisseurs – was a game for the ages from Jabeur on her forehand wing. A shot custom to inconsistency, with a slap into the net not unfamiliar, in the end proved her opponent’s undoing when it mattered most.

Carlos Alcaraz walked out of Centre Court and into a spying controversy after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.

The world number one beat fellow 20-year-old Holger Runein straight sets to reach the last four. He then had to respond to reports his father Carlos, a regular member of his entourage, recorded Novak Djokovic – who he is seeded to meet in the final – while the seven-time champion was training at Wimbledon’s Aorangi Park.

“Oh, probably it is true. My father is a huge fan of tennis. He doesn’t only watch my matches,” said Alcaraz. “I think he gets into the club at 11am, gets out at 10pm, watching matches, watching practice from everyone.”

After more than an hour of Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune serving up a classic opening set of futuristic tennis, the door suddenly closed. Standing in its way was the World No 1, as Alcaraz took the match away from his young rival and raced through the second and third sets to reach his first Wimbledon semi-final.

This first grand slam meeting between Alcaraz and Rune, and first Wimbledon quarter-final played between two men under the age of 21, burned immensely bright to begin with. The stunning attacking play on both sides, creating fun points and absorbing rallies, seemed set to last until it reached the fading evening light on Centre Court.

There was a shine to it, a gleaming freshness, until Alcaraz put his foot down. Staggeringly, after edging ahead by taking the first-set tiebreak, Alcaraz didn’t make a single unforced error in the second set and only one in the third. This was a performance that Novak Djokovic would have been proud of.

World number one Alcaraz and sixth seed Rune played doubles together when they were 14 and now the duo were the first men under 21 to face each other in a Wimbledon quarter-final in the open era.

It was the first time they had met at a grand slam, the start of a rivalry which could last for 10 or 15 years, and it was the Spaniard who came out top with a 7-6 (3) 6-4 6-4 victory on Centre Court.

Welcome along to live coverage from Wimbledon 2023 on Thursday, as the women’s semi-finals take centre stage.

From where Ons Jabeur was sitting on Centre Court, a spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals was as good as guaranteed.

The sixth-seeded Tunisian walked into the main stadium at the All England Club on Wednesday to play Elena Rybakina in a rematch of last year’s final. Jabeur lost that time, but not this time — later joking that it was possibly thanks to the seating arrangements.

“When we entered the court, felt like a similar feeling of playing (the) same match against her. But I made sure I changed seats this time. I went for the other seat that she won (from) last year,” Jabeur said. “Maybe it’s the seat that made me win today.”

Jabeur, who last year became the first woman from North Africa and first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, beat the defending champion 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.

She won eight of the final nine games, mixing her drop shots and slices throughout with some hard-hitting forehands and backhands.

“Last year maybe I wasn’t ready to play this kind of match,” Jabeur said. “I don’t regret last year. It happened for a reason. I always say it. It was meant to be this year. It was meant to be in the quarterfinals.”

In the other men’s semi-final yesterday, Daniil Medvedev delivered the knockout blow on Chris Eubanks’ remarkable Wimbledon run by booking a semi-final spot with a thrilling five-set win.

World number 43 Eubanks looked set to once again punch above his weight in south-west London after leading the 2021 US Open champion 2-1 going into a fourth-set tie-break.

But third seed Medvedev battled back to win 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (4) 6-1 under the Court One roof.