Wimbledon 2025: Carlos Alcaraz withstands early onslaught from Andrey Rublev to win in 4 sets
No. 2 men's seed Carlos Alcaraz withstood an early scare from No. 14 Andrey Rublev to continue his pursuit of a third consecutive Wimbledon title, winning in four sets on Sunday 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Rublev challened Alcaraz from the start, running out to a 4-1 lead in the first set as the defending Wimbledon champion struggled to get into a rhythm. He had difficulty winning his serve while also committing several unforced errors.
Advertisement
Alcaraz finally held serve to close within 4-2 and showed some emotion as he tried to fire himself up. Rublev then made an error at the net on an Alcaraz drop shot, giving him an opening to gain two points in the set. He went on to win 11 of the next 12 points.
Rublev appeared as if he might be running low on energy after a frenetic start and that allowed Alcaraz to get back into the set. He took a hard fall and lost his racket while reaching to return a serve, but wasn't injured. That almost seemed to be an answer to Rublev's early aggressiveness, doing everything he could to get back into the match and force a tiebreaker.
Carlos Alcaraz slipped and fell to the grass during the first set of his fourth-round match at Wimbledon with Andrey Rublev on July 06, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by)
(Clive Brunskill via Getty Images)
Despite his own fall in the same corner after the two switched sides, Rublev was undeterred and went ahead 3-2 in the tiebreaker. Alcaraz showed his range by going deep in the corner to return two shots, but hit his next one into the net to fall behind 6-5.
Advertisement
And at that point, the crowd came to life, sensing that Rublev was about to win the first set. That feeling was affirmed when Alcaraz again went deep behind the baseline for a return, but hit it into the net to lose the tiebreaker, 7-5. Rublev had won four of his six tiebreaking sets during this Wimbledon tournament.
Yet anyone who thought Alcaraz might be shaken by losing that first set was quickly corrected. He took control with his serve in the second set and a forehand return seemed to surprise Rublev, perhaps affecting his early aggressiveness.
After Rublev held serve to tie the set at 2-2, Alcaraz mixed in different tactics with his rocket serves and forehands, slicing balls down the line and feathering drop shots at the net. That had Rublev moving all the court and curbed what was a successful aggressive approach.
Advertisement
Tied at 3-3, Rublev double-faulted to allow Alcaraz to break serve. The Russian couldn't recover from there, frustrated that he couldn't win his serve as Alcaraz held to get the final two points and win the second set.
The two began the third set going back and forth, but Alcaraz arguably won the point of the match by sliding on the grass toward the corner to return a cross-court shot that darted just out of Rublev's reach for a 4-3 lead.
The crowd erupted at the amazing play from the two-time Wimbledon champion and Alcaraz held his finger to his ear, asking for more. From there, Rublev played like he knew the set was lost and ready to start fresh.
Advertisement
Perhaps the difference in the match was that Rublev couldn't raise his play to another level when he had Alcaraz playing catch-up. Contrarily, Alcaraz seemed to get better as the match wore on, reaching to find an extra boost when he needed it.
Rublev kept attempting to win his serve, aiming toward the lines to get Alcaraz chasing. But Alcaraz either got to the shots that he wasn't earlier in the match or Rublev wasn't quite as precise as when he started.
The fourth set began with Alcaraz getting two aces, but Rublev didn't move further back to try and adjust to that serve. That may have been another difference as Alcaraz changed his approach and mixed up his shots as the match progressed. Those adjustments helped him recover from Rublev's early onslaught.
Advertisement
If there was one adjustment Rublev appeared to make, it was with his mental and emotional approach. During breaks in play, he looked like he was trying to calm down and not lose his composure as Alcaraz took control. Under those circumstances, Rublev wasn't just battling his opponent but himself as well.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
19 minutes ago
- Associated Press
'Props to the moms': Bencic reaches her first Wimbledon quarterfinal on ninth attempt
LONDON (AP) — Belinda Bencic advanced to her first Wimbledon quarterfinal — 11 years after her All England Club debut — by beating 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Monday. Bencic, who had lost in the fourth round on three previous occasions, failed to convert five match points while serving at 5-3 in the second set. But on the sixth one, Alexandrova sent a forehand long on No. 1 Court. 'For you guys it was entertaining,' Bencic said about that marathon game at 5-3, where Alexandrova finally converted her fourth break point to stay in the match. 'For me it was a big stress.' The 28-year-old Bencic's best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open, where she also reached the quarters on two other occasions. The Tokyo Olympic champion, playing at Wimbledon for the ninth time, had not been into the last eight at any of the other three majors, until now. 'I always got stuck in the fourth round (at Wimbledon),' Bencic said in an on-court interview. 'So it was so important for me today to be able to kind of break through to the quarterfinal.' Bencic missed last year's grass-court Grand Slam tournament while she was on maternity leave, having given birth to her first child — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024. She said traveling with a child on tour is still relatively easy while Bella is so young, but that she's spending a lot more time taking pictures when she's at tournaments. 'I'm juggling it like every mom does,' Bencic said. 'So, props to the moms.' Bencic will play the winner between seventh-seeded Mirra Andreeva and No. 10 Emma Navarro, who were playing on Centre Court later. Navarro beat defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round, ensuring there will be a first-time winner of the women's tournament this year. Also later, No. 8 Iga Swiatek was playing Clara Tauson and No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova faced Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. ___ AP tennis:
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Props to the moms': Bencic reaches her first Wimbledon quarterfinal on ninth attempt
LONDON (AP) — Belinda Bencic advanced to her first Wimbledon quarterfinal — 11 years after her All England Club debut — by beating 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Monday. Bencic, who had lost in the fourth round on three previous occasions, failed to convert five match points while serving at 5-3 in the second set. But on the sixth one, Alexandrova sent a forehand long on No. 1 Court. 'For you guys it was entertaining,' Bencic said about that marathon game at 5-3, where Alexandrova finally converted her fourth break point to stay in the match. 'For me it was a big stress.' The 28-year-old Bencic's best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open, where she also reached the quarters on two other occasions. The Tokyo Olympic champion, playing at Wimbledon for the ninth time, had not been into the last eight at any of the other three majors, until now. 'I always got stuck in the fourth round (at Wimbledon),' Bencic said in an on-court interview. 'So it was so important for me today to be able to kind of break through to the quarterfinal.' Bencic missed last year's grass-court Grand Slam tournament while she was on maternity leave, having given birth to her first child — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024. She said traveling with a child on tour is still relatively easy while Bella is so young, but that she's spending a lot more time taking pictures when she's at tournaments. 'I'm juggling it like every mom does,' Bencic said. 'So, props to the moms.' Bencic will play the winner between seventh-seeded Mirra Andreeva and No. 10 Emma Navarro, who were playing on Centre Court later. Navarro beat defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round, ensuring there will be a first-time winner of the women's tournament this year. Also later, No. 8 Iga Swiatek was playing Clara Tauson and No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova faced Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. ___ AP tennis:
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
How Wimbledon Dictates Grass Court Speed
A member of the groundstaff mows the grass on a court on the first day of the 2025 Wimbledon ... More Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on June 30, 2025. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) The 9,709 square feet of Wimbledon's Centre Court grass—not to mention the other 17 championship courts and 20 grass practice courts—take on a singular focus during the two-week The Championships, but it's a year-round effort to care for the world's most famous sward (a fancy term for an area of short grass). Every court gets a renovation in September—the All England Lawn Tennis Club uses over nine tons of grass seed annually—with a focus on creating durability during the two-week event. And while there's only so much that the group of 15 permanent ground staff at the club—an additional 13 temporary staff are added for the tournament—can do with the amount of use the ryegrass courts receive, the focus is all about durability and consistency. Determining the speed of the court, which gets tested daily, comes down more to the soil than the actual grass, which is cut to eight millimeters daily. The general compacting of the soil over time, as well as the weather leading into the tournament and each day, are the major factors in how the ball responds. Grass and roots are seen ahead of The Championships - Wimbledon 2023 at All England Lawn Tennis and ... More Croquet Club in London, England. (Photo by) 'The amount a ball bounces is largely determined by the soil, not the grass,' Wimbledon reports. 'The soil must be hard and dry to allow 13 days of play without damage to the court sub-surface. To achieve the required surface of even consistency and hardness, the courts are rolled and covered to keep them dry and firm.' MORE: The Details And History Of Wimbledon's Strawberries And Cream All courts get re-lined with a mix of titanium dioxide via a transfer wheel marker, rolled and mowed daily during The Championships. While the September rebuild really starts the process for the next summer's The Championships, preparations begins with a skimming of the top roughly 12 millimeters. Think of this as a severe balding. 'This removes all weak and weed grasses from the sward, and it reestablishes the levels where play has worn the surface,' says Will Brierley, Wimbledon senior groundsman. Crews till a seedbed to lay new seed and fertilizer. It takes about one ton of seed each year. Covering the courts with a semi-permeable translucent growth cover for up to a week regulates heat and moisture. A program of mowing in the fall helps firm the surface and levels the grass before receiving a top-dressing of fine soil — about six tons total — and dragging to ensure the perfect leveling of the soil. In 2001, the All England Club switched from a mixture of 70 percent ryegrass and 30 percent red fescue to a 100 percent ryegrass for increased durability, as suggested by the Sports Turf Research Institute in Yorkshire, UK. The ryegrass contains up to three different cultivars to make for a dense sward with improved bounce. An aerial view of Wimbledon's Centre and Number one courts. The tournament has 18 championship ... More courts and 20 practice courts. (Photograph By) This famed ryegrass sits above a 'seedbed' of drainage pebbles, drainpipes, small stones and course soil. Prepping for The Championships, Wimbledon intensifies in spring. A post-winter roll removes frost, and a spraying program starts in April to help with plant growth, durability, color and root development. 'The date of this is worked back from the tournament start date to enable us to maximize the application,' Brierley says. MORE: On Site At Wimbledon 2025 Ahead Of Famed The Hill's Makeover Since March, the sward height drops about one millimeter every two weeks. Millimeter by millimeter, weather dependent, of course, the overall height of cut for The Championships slices from a hefty winter growth of 13 millimeters down to the playing elevation of eight millimeters, the height of the sward for play since 1995. At the playing height in time for Members' Day in May, the ryegrass can adjust to the stress of its height before the stress of trampling begins. The marking of the courts begins in early May and during the playing season the grass is cut every other day. In June, crews start to restrict the amount of water put on the courts to help the soil firm up, ensuring hard and dry soil for The Championships. During the two-week tournament, daily care of the courts includes measuring wear and hardness. The grounds crew tests soil moisture content, court hardness wear and plant chlorophyll levels to dictate evening watering amounts. A view of worn grass on Centre Court in 2023 two days before the conclusion of the tournament at All ... More England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. (Photo by) 'The tests will determine,' Brierley says, 'how much irrigation is needed at the end of play to keep the grass alive and keep the court firmness at a playable reading.' Early every morning, Wimbledon courts receive a mow from a Toro cylinder mower and marks from a wheeled machine that lays titanium dioxide 50 millimeters wide for the lines — 100 millimeters for the baseline. It takes 500 gallons each year to mark all the lines. And Rufus, a trained Harris Hawk, patrols the grounds to ensure pigeons stay off the lawns. MORE: What's With Wimbledon's White Rule, And How Do Brands Approach Designing For Tennis Players? The practice courts get their care in the evening, allowing players to get on the courts early each day. All championship and practice courts receive the same level of care to give equal playability 'as close to humanly possible' across the site. The only special need includes a machinery lift to get equipment onto No.2 Court. About a week in, the grounds crew uses a machine dubbed the Billy Goat to essentially vacuum and clear off any kicked up debris from a week of play. Unlike the clay courts at Roland-Garros, the Wimbledon courts don't receive any care during play, except to cover from rain as needed. Whether Centre Court or a practice court, the bounce of the ball at Wimbledon is a carefully crafted effort to manage a living plant. MORE: The Last 8 Club At Wimbledon Has History And Keeps Growing
