Carlos Alcaraz is one step closer to a repeat…

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star and defending Wimbledon champion took a little time to rev his engines in his quarterfinal, but once he did, there was no stopping him during a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 12 Tommy Paul.

Coming off a title at the French Open last month , Alcaraz is seeking his fourth Grand Slam trophy.

For a set and a bit, Paul, the American who won the title at Queen’s Club last month, matched and even had the better of Alcaraz.

But like those select few who’ve been able to live with Rafael Nadal for a while only to fall away under the weight of the physical and mental contest, the sheer effort of keeping pace with the world No 3 proved to be too much.

Gaining strength with each set, Alcaraz pulled away the win and a place in the semifinals.

The third seed finished with 36 winners, 19 of them on his forehand, the niggling forearm injury that dogged him for much of the first part of this year no longer a factor.

Paul saved 19 of 27 break points but under the intense pressure coming from the other side, 52 forced errors and 51 unforced errors were too much to get the job done and Alcaraz moved a step closer to claiming back-to-back slams.

“He has been playing great tennis on grass, he won Queen’s, he’s been doing great stuff and today was a really difficult match for me,” Alcaraz said. “The first set and the beginning of the second set it was kind of like I was playing on clay, big rallies, 10 or 15 shots every rally. I had to stay strong mentally but I knew it was a really long journey and a really long match and I’m happy I was able to find the solutions.”

Alcaraz will take on Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals for the second consecutive year.