Tennis-Sabalenka stands tall, Norrie survives to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals

The Star

2 days ago

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 6, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her round of 16 match against Belgium's Elise Mertens REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
LONDON (Reuters) -Top seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals following a tough workout by a familiar opponent on Sunday, while it was a mixed day for Britain as Cameron Norrie was left as the last home hope standing after Sonay Kartal went out.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was locked in tough match with Russian 14th seed Andrey Rublev of Russia on Centre Court, with the Spaniard battling to remain on course for a third straight title at the All England Club.
Sabalenka is eyeing her first on the pristine lawns in London 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 Elise Mertens.
Sabalenka, who claimed doubles titles at the U.S. Open and Australian Open partnering Mertens, was then put through the wringer before raising her level to prevail 6-4 7-6(4).
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 Briton Emma Raducanu last time out.
"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," Belarusian Sabalenka said.
"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."
BIG TEST
Sabalenka's next big test will come from Laura Siegemund, who at 37 is the oldest woman left in the singles draw, and the plucky German swatted aside Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra with a 6-3 6-2 victory in a rain-interrupted match.
Sierra's fellow South American, Chilean Nicolas Jarry, fell by the wayside as he was beaten 6-3 7-6(4) 6-7(7) 6-7(5) 6-3 in a classic match under the roof on Court One by Norrie despite hitting 46 aces for a tournament-high tally of 111.
Norrie, the 2022 semi-finalist, will continue to fly the flag for Britain when he takes on Rublev or Alcaraz in the next round but it was the end of the road for Kartal, who crashed to a 7-6(3) 6-4 defeat by unseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The big talking point in that match was the malfunction of the Electronic Line Calling system, which at one stage left the Russian former French Open runner-up seething after being robbed of a point at 4-4 in the opening set.
"We were waiting for a decision as the system was down, but I was expecting to hear if they said the ball was in or out," she said. "Instead they just said, replay the point. It was tricky especially as it was a very crucial moment in the match.
"I expected a different decision. I just thought also the chair umpire could take the initiative. That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it (was) out, he told me after the match. I thought he would do that, but he didn't.
"I think it's also difficult for him. He probably was scared to take such a big decision."
There was drama of a different kind earlier when American fifth seed Taylor Fritz marched on after his Australian opponent Jordan Thompson retired with a thigh injury at 6-1 3-0 down in their fourth-round meeting.
Up next for Fritz is a meeting with Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov who thumped Poland's Kamil Majchrzak 6-4 6-2 6-3.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; Editing by Ken Ferris)