Alcaraz sets up Norrie quarter-final
London
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course for a third consecutive Wimbledon crown after surviving a scare to set up a quarter-final clash with Britain's Cameron Norrie.
The world number two's title defence was creaking when, having overturned a 4-1 deficit, he dropped the opening set against Russian 14th seed Andrey Rublev on a tie-break.
But a significant Centre Court upset was ultimately averted as Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 22 matches by coming through a tricky round-four contest 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday.
Having beaten Novak Djokovic in the last two finals, victory in two hours and 44 minutes marked the Spaniard's 18th successive win at the Championships, with his last loss coming against Jannik Sinner in 2022.
The 22-year-old will hope to be back on Centre Court next Sunday bidding to become a six-time Grand Slam champion.
Before then, the second seed must negotiate two more rounds, beginning with one-time semi-finalist Norrie - victor in a five-set epic against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry - in the last eight on Tuesday.
Earlier, Jordan Thompson's creaking body finally broke down on him as he had to retire from his match against fifth seed Taylor Fritz. The 31-year-old Australian has been basically held together with plasters and painkillers this fortnight due to a back injury, but somehow still reached the fourth round for the first time. However, he was forced to admit defeat in the second set against American Fritz, trailing 6-1, 3-0.
Fritz will next meet Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov, who beat Poland's Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
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