CARLOS Alcaraz’s charge towards a third consecutive Wimbledon crown faces a tricky test against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev on Sunday.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the big favourite for the women’s title ahead of her meeting against Elise Mertens, while British hopes now lie in the hands of Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie.
AFP Sport looks at the matches to watch on day seven of the tournament at the All England Club:
Win or lose ‘in the right way’ for Rublev
Alcaraz has yet to hit top gear in south-west London after dropping three sets in his three matches en route to round four.
Yet, Rublev is aware he has to be at the top of his game to cause an almighty upset and break his curse of never progressing beyond a Grand Slam quarter-final.
The world number 14 has reached the last eight on 10 occasions without ever making it to a semi-final.
“You cannot show any weaknesses,“ said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz.
Rublev 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.
But 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 added. “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.”
Pressure-proof Sabalenka a ‘new person’
Sabalenka is the only woman left standing of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club.
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 last month, the Belarusian said she feels like a “different person”.
She added: “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.
“I was just reminding myself that I’m strong enough, and I can handle this pressure.”
Kartal enjoying the spotlight
After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, Kartal and Norrie are tasked with maintaining British interest.
South Africa-born Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, will fancy his chances of progressing against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry.
Kartal, meanwhile, is enjoying the spotlight after reaching her first ever Grand Slam fourth round, where she will face Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
“I enjoy it. I think it’s an honour. Obviously you’ve got a lot of attention on you, it means you’re doing good things,“ said the 23-year-old.
“I feel like I’m going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I’m going to go swinging,“ she added.-AFP
