Alcaraz seeks top gear at Wimbledon as Sabalenka stays calm

News.com.au

6 days ago

Carlos Alcaraz faces a tricky test on Sunday against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev in his charge towards a third consecutive Wimbledon title, while Aryna Sabalenka looks unstoppable as she prepares to take on Elise Mertens.
Russia's Karen Khachanov was the first winner of the day, brushing aside Polish player Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Court Two to reach the quarter-finals.
He will face US fifth seed Taylor Fritz, who was only on court for 41 minutes before Australia's Jordan Thompson retired injured, trailing 6-1, 3-0.
Defending men's champion Alcaraz, 22, due on Centre Court later, has not hit top gear at this year's championships, dropping three sets in his three matches so far.
In contrast, his two main rivals -- top seed Jannik Sinner and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic -- have glided through the draw to reach the fourth round, looking ominously good.
But Rublev, who has never been beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam, knows he will have to be at the top of his game to stand a chance against the world number two, who has won 32 of his 35 grass-court matches.
"You cannot show any weaknesses," said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in last month's French Open final.
Rublev, the 14th seed, has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit.
He has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game.
"There are two options," he said. "Try to go deeper. Or, if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way.
"That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way."
- Sabalenka power -
Sabalenka, 27, is the only woman left standing out of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club as she prepares for a match against Belgian 24th seed Elise Mertens.
The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far.
After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final, the Belarusian, who has never been beyond the semi-finals at Wimbledon, said she feels like a "different person".
"Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting," she said.
"I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure."
The odds are stacked against Mertens as she prepares to battle the power game of the world number one. Sabalenka has defeated no player on the tour more often -- a total of 10 times in 12 meetings.
Britain's Sonay Kartal went down 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, leaving Cameron Norrie as the only British player left in the tournament.
Pavlyuchenkova, 34, a former French Open runner-up, broke her opponent five times in the match and struck 36 winners against 47 unforced errors to reach the last eight at SW19 for the second time.
America's Fritz faced gruelling five-set battles in his opening two matches at the All England Club but it was a different story in his fourth-round encounter on Court One.
The Eastbourne champion broke Thompson twice to seal the first set in just 21 minutes and led 3-0 in the second set when the Australian decided he could not go on, due to an apparent thigh injury.
Former semi-finalist Norrie is in action against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry.