No. 2 boys’ seed Carlos Alcaraz endured early horror from No. 14 Andrei Lubrevillev and continued to pursue a third consecutive Wimbledon title, winning four sets Sunday 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Rublev challenged Alcaraz from the start, taking a 4-1 lead in the first set as the defending Wimbledon champion struggled to get into rhythm. He had difficulty getting serves, but he was also committed to some unforced errors.
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Alcaraz finally maintained service to close within 4-2, and showed some emotion when he tried to launch himself. Rublev then made an error online with the Alcaraz Drop Shot and gave him an opening to score two points on the set. Alcaraz scored 11 of the next 12 points.
Rublev looked as if he could have had less energy after a frenzy start, which allowed Alcaraz to return to the set. Alkaraz went into a violent fall and lost his racket while reaching out to return the serve but was not injured. It almost seemed to be the answer to Lublev’s early aggression, and he did everything he could to go back to the match and force a tiebreaker.
Carlos Alcaraz slipped into the grass in the first set of his fourth match at Wimbledon on Sunday with Andrey Lubreviff. (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
(Clive Brunskill via Getty Images)
After the two sides were switched, despite his own falling into the same corner, Lublev was not deterred and advanced 3-2 with a tiebreaker. Alcaraz showed range by digging deep into the corner and returning two shots, but then thrusts the next one into the net and collapses 6-5.
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And at that point the crowd was coming back to life, and Rublev was about to win the first set. That feeling was asserted when Alcaraz came back behind the Birthline again, but then hit the net and lost his tiebreaker 7-5. Rublev won four of the six tie-break sets in this Wimbledon tournament.
Still, anyone who thought Alcaraz might be shaken up by losing that first set was quickly fixed. He took control with his serve in the second set, and the return of the forehand looked to surprise Lubrev.
Rublev tied the set to tie the set to 2-2, and Alcaraz mixed it with his rocket serve and forehand with various tactics, sliced the ball into the line and mixed feather drop shots with the net. It suppressed what was a successful offensive approach that Lublev moved the entire court.
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Lebrev tied 3-3 was double folded to allow Alkaraz to break the serve. The Russians were unable to recover from there, making it frustrating that he couldn’t get his serve as Alkaraz, who was held to score the final two points and score the second set.
The two started the third set back and forth, but Alkaraz undoubtedly scored points in the match by sliding up the grass towards the corner and returning a cross-court shot that took a 4-3 lead from Lubrevi’s reach.
The crowd erupted with great plays from Wimbledon’s two-time champions, and Alcaraz grabbed his fingers into his ears and asked more. From there, Lublev played as if he knew the set was lost and ready to start fresh.
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Perhaps the difference in the match was that when Rublev caught up with Alcaraz, he was unable to take his play to another level. On the other hand, Alcaraz seemed to get better as the match went up, reaching out to find an extra boost when needed.
Rublev continued to try and get his serve, aiming for the line to chase after Alkaraz. However, Alkaraz either reached a shot that he couldn’t get to early in the match, or Rublev wasn’t as accurate as he started.
The fourth set started with Alcaraz getting two aces, but Rublev didn’t even try to go back and adapt to serve. That could have been a different difference as Alcaraz changed his approach and confused his shots as the match progressed. These adjustments helped him recover from Lubrev’s early onslaught.
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Lublev has returned to save three breakpoints to stay alive. However, Alkaraz defeated his serve and went 3-2. If there was one adjustment that Rublev seemed to have made, it was his mental and emotional approach. During the break, he seemed to be trying to calm down and not lose his composure as Alkaraz controlled. In such a situation, Lubrev not only fights his opponent, but also not himself.
Three consecutive errors showed Rublev lost that fight, despite the crowd trying to give him a lift. After losing the fourth set in the end, he quickly left the court, like someone who knew that career-making victory opportunities would escape.
Alkaraz praised Lubrev’s strength in an on-court interview after the game. However, he believes in his own mental approach and says, “It was just a belief,” and is not depressed after losing that first set.
“Andrei is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful player we have on the tour,” Alcaraz said. “It’s difficult to face him aggressively with that forehand. He’s running you left and right to push you against the limit. But I was happy with my move. I think I played smarter and smarter today.”
Alcaraz will face Cameron Norry in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Especially after winning thrilling five sets of matches at Chile’s Nicholas Jarry 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3, Britt was able to have a crowd on his side.
