Two-time defending Wimbledon champ Carlos Alcaraz extended his SW19 winning streak to 18 matches after a gruelling four-set win against perennial Grand Slam underachiever Andrey Rublev.
2025 ATP Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England (Outdoor Grass-court)
Selected Quarterfinals- 8th July
Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs Cameron Norrie
Rublev’s brand of aggressive, flat hitting knocked the Spainard back in the first set. But Alcaraz made his adjustments and slowly started to wrestle away control of the match, ultimately ending with 41 winners to 36 unforced errors. Alcaraz won 82% of his first-serve points and won 22 of his 29 visits to the forecourt. Alcaraz has now won his last 22 matches and is aiming to become only the 2nd man (after Bjorn Borg) to win the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in successive years. To be fair, Alcaraz wasn’t at his best in the early stages of this tournament. He needed five sets to overcome Fognini in the first round and dropped another set against Struff in the 3rd. But as I said in my main Wimbledon preview, Alcaraz isn’t one of those guys- like Sampras-who blows players away with ruthless efficiency. He grows into tournaments like Novak Djokovic, almost toying with his prey.
With so much attention focused on Jack Draper and Emma Radacanu, it was easy to forget that Cameron Norrie was competing this year. The pugnacious British lefty has struggled over the last 18 months or so (which I personally think was a consequence of playing too much tennis these past five years). Norrie came into this event with little fanfare but has defied expectations, becoming just the 3rd British man- after Murray and Henman- to reach two quarterfinals here in the last 50 years (Norrie reached the semifinals here back in 2022). He tried his best to sabotage his run during his round of 16 clash with Chilean clay-court specialist Nicolas Jarry, alsmot squandering a two-set lead. The 29-year-old dug in in that final set, ultimately prevailing 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3. Norrie hit 36 winners to 26 unforced errors in a solid display of cunning grass-court tennis. Norrie has looked threatening at Grand Slam level this season, reaching the 4th round of the recent French Open.
The Verdict: Alcaraz to win in four at 2.1- Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 4-2. However, Norrie has won two of their last three meetings, winning their most recent meeting at the 2023 Rio Open. Norrie has troubled Alcaraz with his heavy topspin (especially when he targets Alcaraz’s backhand wing). I just can’t see that happening this time around. Alcaraz was flying towards the end of the Rublev clash, and he should have too much shot-making ability for the Brit. However, Norrie could nick a set in front of his adoring fans.
Taylor Fritz (5) 0.32 vs Karen Khachanov (17) 2.3
Taylor Fritz has been on a real journey this year. He battled through injury in the early portion of the season but burst into life during the grass-court swing, winning titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne. But it almost fell apart in his first-round clash with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The American overcame a two-set deficit and recovered after trailing 5-1 in the 4th set tiebreaker. Fritz then has to come through another five-set marathon against Gabriel Diallo. He beat Davidovich Fokina in four sets in his 3rd round clash and just benefitted from a early withdraw form Jordan Thompson in his round of 16 tie. Fritz- who reached last year’s US Open final- has now reached the quarterfinal here in three of the last four seasons. He is 12-1 on grass this year and looks a credible threat for the title. He looked dominant against a visibly ailing Thompson, hitting 20 winners to just three unforced errors (he won 100% of his first-serve points before Thompson’s retirement).
29-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov progressed to a 2nd career Wimbledon quarterfinal courtesy of a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Kamil Majchrzak. Khachanov was remarkably efficient, hitting 44 winners to 21 unforced errors (he won 79% of his first-serve points). Khachanov has also been on the brink of elimination this fortnight, surviving five-set marathons in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. But the Russian ironman looked remarkably composed against surprise package Majchrzak (improving to 22-15 for the season in the process). Khachanov started the season poorly but picked up some steam with a semifinal run in Rome. He also showed some grass-court prowess with a semifinal run in Halle (he is now 8-1 on grass this year). The aggressive baseliner is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist who tends to thrive on adversity.
The Verdict: Khachanov to win in five at 6.8- Khachanov leads the head-to-head 2-0 (though they last met all the way back in 2020). This one also looks set to go all the way. Fritz and Khachanov have both played multiple five-set thrillers this fortnight and this has a solid chance of going in that direction. Fritz will look to get cheap points on serve while Khachanov’s incredible court-coverage could give him an edge in the longer rallies.
