The Japan Times - Alcaraz seeks top gear at Wimbledon as Sabalenka stays calm

Defending champion Alcaraz, 22, has not hit top gear at this year's championships, dropping three sets in his three matches so far.

In contrast his two main rivals, top seed Jannik Sinner and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, have glided through the draw, looking ominously good.

But Rublev, who has never been beyond the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam, knows he will have to be at the top of his game to stand a chance against the world number two, who has won 32 of his 35 grass-court matches.

"You cannot show any weaknesses," said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in last month's French Open final.

Rublev, the 14th seed, has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit.

He has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game.

"There are two options," he said. "Try to go deeper. Or, if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way.

"That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way."

- Sabalenka power -

Sabalenka, 27, is the only woman left standing out of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club as she gears up for a match against Belgian 24th seed Elise Mertens.

The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far.

After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final, the Belarusian, who has never been beyond the semi-finals at Wimbledon, said she feels like a "different person".

"Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting," she said.

"I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure."

The odds are stacked against Mertens as she prepares to battle the power game of the world number one. Sabalenka has defeated no player on the tour more often -- a total of 10 times in 12 meetings.

After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, former semi-finalist Cameron Norrie and Sonay Kartal are tasked with keeping British hopes alive.

South Africa-born Norrie will fancy his chances against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry.

Kartal is enjoying the spotlight after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

"I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things," said the 23-year-old.

"I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging."

Among the other matches on day seven at the All England Club, Eastbourne champion and US fifth seed Taylor Fritz plays Australia's Jordan Thompson.

M.Saito--JT