Alcaraz, Sabalenka through to Wimbledon quarter-finals
Alcaraz's quest for a third consecutive crown at the Championships continues with a win over Andrey Rublev. Photo: Reuters
Carlos Alcaraz found his best form after a shaky start to beat Andrey Rublev and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals as hot favourite in the women's draw Aryna Sabalenka also progressed.
The Spaniard, hunting a third straight title at the All England Club, has taken his fans on an emotional rollercoaster but is into the last eight after a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win.
While Alcaraz's main rivals, seven-time winner Novak Djokovic and world number one Jannik Sinner, are in ominous form, the second seed has blown hot and cold so far.
He will next face Cameron Norrie, who is the last British player standing at Wimbledon after beating Chile's Nicolas Jarry in five gruelling sets.
Alcaraz lost three sets across his first three matches and fell behind against Russian 14th seed Rublev under the Centre Court roof.
But he turned the match around in style, producing some of his best tennis in front of his adoring fans.
"I think I played intelligent and smart today against him, tactically," said the 22-year-old. "A really good match, which I'm really proud about."
The five-time Grand Slam champion said he always believes in himself, even when facing adversity.
"One point can change the match completely, turn everything around. "In tennis, you have to stay there all the time," he added. "Being strong mentally, to stay there. I knew that I was going to play better."
Women's world number one Sabalenka has yet to drop a set in four rounds at the All England Club as every other top six seed has fallen, but was given a tough workout by Belgian world number 23 Mertens.
The Belarusian came through 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) against her former doubles partner to set up a clash against Germany's Laura Siegemund.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is making up for lost time after missing last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury. She was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
"With your support guys I think everything is possible," said Sabalenka, who has never been beyond the semi-finals. "I don't know. It's such a beautiful tournament." (AFP)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Who is Laila Hasanovic – and is she dating Jannik Sinner, who just won Wimbledon? The Danish model has over 350,000 Instagram followers, and has worked with Prada Beauty and Armani Beauty
Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner is currently the most watched name in tennis as the No 1 men's player in the world with multiple grand slam titles to his name. The 23-year-old claimed his first Wimbledon title on July 13, defeating two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner (pictured) has claimed his first Wimbledon title, defeating two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on July 13. Photo: Xinhua Advertisement Sinner's rumoured girlfriend, Laila Hasanovic, was spotted at the Wimbledon final, further fuelling speculation of a romance between the two following Sinner's split from Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya earlier this year. Here's everything to know about Laila Hasanovic. She's a model and influencer Laila Hasanovic is a model and social media influencer with more than 350,000 Instagram followers at the time of writing. Photo: @lailahasanovic/Instagram Born in November 2000, Hasanovic is a model and social media influencer from Copenhagen . She has more than 350,000 followers on Instagram and over 47,000 followers on YouTube, at the time of writing, and posts content ranging from fashion week vlogs to outfits of the day. Hasanovic has also worked with brands like Armani Beauty and Prada Beauty. She used to date Mick Schumacher
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Meet Alexandra Eala, the first Filipina to reach Wimbledon's main draw: born into a sports-loving family, she studied at Rafa Nadal Academy – and used to date Hong Kong tennis star Coleman Wong
Alexandra Eala has a remarkable list of 'firsts' at just 20 years old – among them, becoming the first Filipino woman to reach the main draw of Wimbledon in the Open era. Last week, Eala stepped onto the Centre Court for a first-round clash against former Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejčíková. Czech Republic's Barbora Krejčíková (right) shakes hands with the Philippines' Alexandra Eala after winning their women's singles first-round tennis match at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, on July 1. Photo: Agence France-Presse Wearing Nike's custom-made gift – a hair tie featuring a sampaguita, the Philippines' national flower – Eala claimed the opening set 6-3, but the Czech player rallied to win the next two sets 6-2 and 6-1. Despite the loss, Eala's achievement was meaningful not just to her but to the Philippines' tennis landscape. Advertisement The sampaguita is the national flower of Alexandra Eala's country, the Philippines. Nike enclosed the hair tie in a tennis court-themed box with a personalised note. Photo: @ Just before making her Wimbledon debut, Eala achieved a career-high singles ranking of No 56 after a runner-up finish at the Lexus Eastbourne Open. In the semi-finals, she defeated French player Varvara Gracheva in a thrilling match that lasted over two hours. The Philippines' Alexandra Eala (pictured) celebrates after beating France's Varvara Gracheva in their women's singles semi-final tennis match at the Lexus Eastbourne International tennis tournament in June. Photo: Agence France-Presse Eala is the country's first tennis player to win a junior grand slam singles title, having triumphed in the 2022 US Open. She is also the first to rank in the world's top 100 and to reach the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament – defeating the Australian Open champion Madison Keys and world No 4 Iga Świątek at the 2025 Miami Open. Here's what else to know about Eala beyond her career breakthroughs. She is a Rafa Nadal Academy graduate Alexandra Eala graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2023. Her diploma was handed to her by Nadal himself, and Iga Świątek delivered a graduation speech. Photo: @rafanadalacademy/Instagram When Eala was 13, she made a bold decision to move to Manacor, Spain, to train at the prestigious Rafa Nadal Academy.
RTHK
14 hours ago
- RTHK
Marc Marquez dominates bruising German MotoGP
Marc Marquez dominates bruising German MotoGP The win was Marc Márquez's ninth at the German MotoGP. Photo: Reuters Marc Marquez won a bruising German MotoGP to mark his 200th premier class start in style and stretch his lead in the world championship. His brother Alex Marquez took second with Francesco Bagnaia third as only 10 riders finished, the lowest number completing a MotoGP since 2011. While the rest of the grid struggled to remain on their bikes at this notoriously tricky Sachsenring track, Marc Marquez enjoyed a dream afternoon. Setting off from pole he was never challenged, crossing the line over six seconds clear for his seventh perfect weekend of 2025 having also won Saturday's sprint. At the midway stage of the 22-race campaign Marquez leads brother Alex by 83 points in the riders' standings, with his Ducati factory teammate Bagnaia a yawning 147 off the lead. "My confidence is super high now coming here with three wins in a row and now it's four," beamed Marquez. "I have to be really concentrated for the second half of the season." His younger sibling was competing despite fracturing his left hand at the Dutch MotoGP a fortnight ago. "It's unbelievable, thanks to the doctors and everyone that I'm here," he said after his 100th MotoGP start. For the older Marquez, this was his seventh race win of the year and fourth on the trot as he tightens his grip on a seventh MotoGP world title – and first since 2019 – to draw level with the legendary Valentino Rossi. (AFP)
