Carlos Alcaraz cushioned the boxing blows of Andrey Rublev and counterattacked to take his best victory of this Wimbledon (6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 and 6-4) and qualifying to the quarterfinals where an old known as Cameron Norrie awaits him.
The Murcian, in his most patient duel to date, played a very meritorious game and closer to the brilliance he usually, in which he means defending himself to the end of Rublev’s hammer, who was left over to punish with prize.
The Russian is one of the most unstable tennis players in the circuit, although Alcaraz insisted on the previous one that would not give away anything, but knew how to handle their emotions for almost two hours to really compromise the Spanish options on the track where he puts the last two titles at stake.
His axes and bombs game gave it during the first measures. He put 4-1 and, although he lost the advantage with two terrifying volley, he did not leave the game. He was stable and in the ‘tie break’ he raised a 4-5 and two serves to Alcaraz. With a serve to the line and a right that also lifted Cal, Rublev set ahead and increased the doubts of an Alcaraz that made some rare gesture with the shoulder, an area that massaged his physio on the morning of this Sunday during heating.
But nothing, false alarm. Alcaraz, with a barbarian concentration level and a very improved serve -he met 22 ‘ACES’, the second best record of his career -assumed the blows that were unstoppable in the two seconds sets and counterattacked when he needed. It is the most remarkable of his party, defense and counterattack, the ability to run two meters behind the track and lift points from “loser” positions.
Because Rublev, if he has a problem, is that he only knows how to play one thing. Do not cut the ball, you cannot climb to the network and make left, forget. Or sticks or no more plans.
If he lost the second and the third set, it was because basically he had a couple of bad minutes, a couple of games to the serve that escaped after not taking advantage of his scarce, but still existing, opportunities.
The break that diluted, that of the third set, was set with an incredible ‘passing shot’ attached to the background. One of those points that lifted the British of their seats and that caused the roar of the 15,000 people present on the central track, who left the champagne aside to fed themselves to applaud to the kid of El Palmar.
On the other side there was a destroyed ruleb, aware that it always falls into the same trap. His eleventh consecutive defeat (0-11) was approaching against a ‘Top 5’ in a Grand Slam. He is the only tennis player in the story that has reached ten rooms of a big one and has never stepped on the semifinals. It seems to be damn when the Grand Slams get hot and not even with their quieter version and away from their follies – he did not break a racket – he gives him to win the best in these tournaments.
Alcaraz is already the second Spanish with more quarterfinals in Wimbledon in history (3), only behind Rafael Nadal (8), and matched with Feliciano López and Manolo Santana. In addition, he adds 75 victories in Grand Slam, data that to give it wingspan can be compared with the 100 that Grigor Dimitrov, a man who has been in the circuit for fifteen years.
His rival will be an old acquaintance, Cameron Norrie, who won Nicolás Jarry in four and a half hours and will see the faces for the seventh time. Alcaraz won four times, in whipped land and cement, while the British defeated him in Cincinnati 2022 and in Rio de Janeiro 2023, on a day when the Murcian was clearly injured.
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Raducanu see Alcaraz live again
The British Emma Raducanu again witnessed a match by Carlos Alcaraz as she approached the central track of the All England Club of London to see the Eighth Final match that the Spanish disputes against the Russian Andrey Rublev.
Raducanu, Alcaraz couple in the mixed doubles that will be played in August at the United States Open, was already seeing one of the Murcian games towards the title.
In addition, in the days before Wimbledon he recorded an advertising campaign of a water brand with Alcaraz.
Asked at a press conference for her relationship with the two -time Wimbledon winner, Raducanu laughed and said: “We are just friends.”
The British reached the third round of Wimbledon where she lost Friday against the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka.
With EFE information.
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