Alcaraz Overcomes Rublev “Trap” to Continue Wimbledon Run

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz endured a relatively tough battle to secure his place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, the third Grand Slam tournament of the tennis calendar, following a 6-7 (7/5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the most intense match of the Round of 16.

Chasing his third consecutive title at the All England Club, Alcaraz struggled to find his rhythm at the start, as Rublev delivered a strong performance to take the opening set via a tiebreak.

But the Spaniard mounted an impressive comeback, breaking his opponent’s serve in the eighth game of the second set before holding serve to level the match.

The third set remained evenly poised until Alcaraz asserted his dominance with some brilliant shot-making, breaking Rublev’s serve to claim the set.

The fourth followed a similar pattern, with Rublev losing his serve in the fifth game and Alcaraz maintaining firm control to close out the win.

Alcaraz will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the next round, after the latter defeated Chile’s Nicolás Jarry 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (7/5), 6-3.

In the women’s draw, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reached the quarterfinals by overcoming Belgian Elise Mertens, the 24th seed, with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory.

Sabalenka has never reached the final at Wimbledon but is on a solid path toward capturing the title for the first time, especially as the only top-six seed still remaining in the tournament.

The 27-year-old missed last year’s competition due to injury and was also barred from playing in 2022 after Russian and Belarusian players were banned following the invasion of Ukraine.

Sabalenka got off to a fast start, taking a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Mertens rallied to level at 4-4. The three-time Grand Slam champion responded by winning eight of the next 11 points to seal the set.

Mertens opened the second set strongly with a break, but she found herself overwhelmed by an opponent who has now defeated her in ten consecutive meetings.

Sabalenka broke back to level the score at 3-3, and with both players holding serve, the set was decided in a tiebreak.

Despite an early edge for Mertens, Sabalenka refused to give in, sealing victory after 90 minutes on court.

Next, Sabalenka will face Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, after Siegemund ousted Argentina’s Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2.

Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also progressed, defeating Britain’s Sonay Kartal 7-6 (7/3), 6-4. She will meet 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who overcame Czech Linda Noskova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

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