Alcaraz battles back against Rublev to reach quarter-finals

Wimbledon 2025

Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club

Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz produced an impressive fightback to overcome Andrey Rublev and set up a Wimbledon quarter-final against Britain's Cameron Norrie.

Alcaraz edged a step closer to becoming only the fifth man in the Open era to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles with a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over the Russian 14th seed under the Centre Court roof.

The 22-year-old Spaniard clinched his only break point in both the second and third sets to turn the match around, before a single break of serve again proved enough to end Rublev's admirable resistance in the fourth.

Alcaraz will face Norrie for a semi-final place after the British number three withstood a fightback from Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry to win in five sets.

On executing his comeback, world number two Alcaraz said in his on-court interview: "It is just about belief in yourself. It doesn't matter you are set down.

"Tennis can change in one point. One point can change a match completely. You have to stay there all the time, be strong mentally."

On meeting home favourite Norrie in the next round, he added: "Every time I can turn up on this beautiful court is a gift, so I have to make the most of [it].

"It will be really difficult. Cam is playing great, I know him well. It will be interesting but I'm just excited about playing the quarter-final here."

While expected title rivals Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic continue their serene progress through the draw, Alcaraz has certainly not had everything his own way.

Given a scare by Italian veteran Fabio Fognini before coming through his opener in five sets and almost five hours, he also lost a set in what he described as a "stressful" third-round victory over the 125th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff.

The ebbs and flows of Alcaraz's matches are quite the contrast to the near-robotic consistency of world number one Sinner, although the Spaniard tends to save his best for the biggest moments - as evidenced in their blockbuster French Open final.

It soon became apparent that this match - a first meeting between two top-20 men in this year's draw - would be no different.

Rublev, renowned for his on-court outbursts but who has been working on controlling his emotions to help bridge the gap to the world's best, settled quickly and seized the first break of serve - to love.

Alcaraz recovered from a 4-1 deficit, and whipped the crowd into a frenzy after taking a 5-3 lead in the tie-break, but Rublev demonstrated the progress he has made by regrouping impressively to close out with four straight points.

However, the momentum switched when, after a run of comfortable holds of serve, Rublev double-faulted on the first break point of the set - and Alcaraz made no mistake in serving out.

In further evidence of his increased resilience, Rublev forced the first three break points of the third set.

But Alcaraz displayed his class with a stunning winner, one which brought the crowd to their feet, to seize his only opportunity in the seventh game - and once again it proved enough as he closed out with a composed drop shot.

Unable to find a way through his opponent's serve, Rublev conceded the decisive blow when he yielded to a fourth break point in the fifth game.

The former world number five continued to show great spirit, saving three more break points two games later, but Alcaraz would not be denied and served out victory after two hours and 44 minutes.

It means he will go into his eagerly anticipated showdown with Norrie on a career-best 22-match winning streak, having now not lost in 18 matches at the All England Club.