LONDON. — Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka and men’s defending champion Carlos Alcaraz both survived tough tests to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals and Cameron Norrie kept alive British singles hopes after surviving a five-set thriller on Sunday.
Sabalenka ruined home favorite Emma Raducanu’s dream in the previous round but had the Centre Court crowd cheering her on as she beat Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-6(4) in a high-quality duel.
Wimbledon’s new automated line-calling technology came under fire after an embarrassing malfunction robbed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of a point during her last-16 victory over Britain’s SonayKartal on Centre Court.
Spaniard Alcaraz came through a ferocious firefight against Russian 14th seed Andrey Rublev 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to stay on course for a third successive title.
“Andrey is one of the most powerful players we have on Tour and is so aggressive with the ball. He forces you to the limit on each point,” Alcaraz, bidding to become only the fourth man to win back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles multiple times, said on court.
The 22-year-old second seed extended his current winning streak to 22 matches and will take on Norrie for a place in the semifinals after the unseeded Briton soaked up 46 aces from towering Chilean Nicolas Jarry to win a feisty Court One battle 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3.
While Alcaraz seeks a Wimbledon hat-trick, Sabalenka is eyeing her first title on the London lawns after missing last year’s tournament with injury and the 2022 edition due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, and the 27-year-old made a fast start against Mertens.
Sabalenka, who claimed doubles titles at the US Open and Australian Open partnering Mertens, was then put through the wringer before raising her level to prevail.
The victory improved her win-loss record against Belgian Mertens to 11-2 and she said the growing adoration of the crowd made a big difference after fans were on the other side of the fence when she met Raducanu on Friday.
“I definitely felt the support. It was so amazing playing and feeling the support. I didn’t have to pretend that they were cheering for me because they were really cheering for me,” said Sabalenka, who will face the 37-year-old German Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals.
“What can be better than that? I really enjoyed it. I hope it can stay the same all the way, and they help me energy-wise to stay strong and to face all of the challenges.”
Siegemund, the second-oldest player to start in the women’s draw this year, swatted aside plucky Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in a Court Two match interrupted by the heavy showers that prompted organizers to shut the roofs for the day’s play on Centre Court and Court One.
