Carlos Alcaraz admits to 'difficult moments' after sensational Wimbledon comeback win over Frances Tiafoe

But Alcaraz summoned the quality of a champion to break Tiafoe's heart and keep his hopes of retaining Wimbledon alive.

The world No 3, who won the competition last year with victory over Novak Djokovic, was pushed all the way by his American opponent.

He fell behind in the first set, with Tiafoe breaking late on to put himself in front.

Alcaraz then bounced back to win the second but fell behind once more as the tide started to turn, the fates seemingly against him.

The fourth instalment of their showdown was the vital moment, however, with the 21-year-old rising in the tie-break to swing the pendulum his way once more.

He was emphatic in the fifth, powering his way to victory without dropping a point in the final game.

And Alcaraz has now spoken out, with the youngster admitting there had been 'difficult moments' on his way to victory.

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He said: "I faced a lot of difficult moments during the fourth set.

"There were a lot of difficult moments in the tie-break and I was just thinking about hitting one more ball.

"I have to tell myself to go for it. If I lose it, I lose it but I have to feel that I went it all the time and most of the time it works on my side and that happened today again."

It is the second time Alcaraz has beaten Tiafoe over five sets.

He previously won a five-set epic at the US Open back in 2022.

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And Alcaraz praised Tiafoe, dubbing his beaten opponent 'talented' and tipping him for a bright future.

"Always a big challenge playing against Frances [Tiafoe]," he said.

"He is a really talented player, really tough to face and he has shown again that he deserves to be at the top and fight for big things.

"Really difficult for me to adapt my game, to find solutions to put him in trouble but really happy to do it at the end of the match."

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Alcaraz also sent a message to his team, thanking them for their support.

He acknowledges the stress he sometimes puts them through, having now won 12 of his 13 five-set matches.

"They say they suffer more than me," he said.

"Watching from the box and having the feeling that they can't do anything is really difficult to deal with.

"But the support is always so helpful from my team and my family.

"Probably matches like this one would be impossible to win without them."