Alcaraz seeks top gear at Wimbledon as Sabalenka stays calm
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 quarterfinals.
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 quarterfinals at a Grand Slam, knows he will have to be at the top of his game to stand a chance against the world No 2, 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 gears up 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 semifinals 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 No 1. Sabalenka has defeated no player on the tour more often – a total of 10 times in 12 meetings.
After the exits of Raducanu and world No 4 Jack Draper, former semifinalist Cameron Norrie and Sonay Kartal are tasked with keeping British hopes alive.
South Africa-born Norrie will fancy his chances against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry.
Kartal is enjoying the spotlight after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Khachanov saw off the challenge of Majchrzak in one hour 46 minutes and will face either fifth seed Taylor Fritz or Australia's Jordan Thompson in the last eight.
The 17th seed broke his opponent six times in an impressive performance, hitting 44 winners.
At one stage in the third set he slipped underneath the net.
"I wanted to rest, the rally was too long so I thought I would take the sun," he joked. "There was no sun unfortunately.
"After the last two matches in five sets, especially the last one, I recovered pretty well. Today I was really fit. I was ready for another five-setter if it was necessary but I'm glad it ended in three sets."
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