Wimbledon: Alcaraz and Djokovic still on collision course

LONDON — Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz remained on collision course at Wimbledon with fourth-round victories on Monday while Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur set up a repeat of last year’s final.

Defending champion Mr. Djokovic conceded his first set of the tournament as he was briefly thrown off balance by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz on the resumption of their contest.

The 36-year-old, who led by two sets when Wimbledon’s curfew halted his progress on Sunday, quickly recovered to claim a 7-6(6) 7-6(6) 5-7 6-4 victory in his 100th match at the tournament.

World number one and top seed Mr. Alcaraz also dropped a set but hit back in sensational fashion to beat Italian former runner-up Matteo Berrettini 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3.

Mr. Alcaraz will face fellow 20-year-old Holger Rune on Wednesday in what will be the youngest Wimbledon men’s quarterfinal in the professional era while seven-time champion Mr. Djokovic is back in action on Tuesday in his 56th Grand Slam quarterfinal, against Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev.

Mr. Djokovic, bidding for a fifth successive title, took his winning streak at Wimbledon to 32 matches and is now unbeaten on Centre Court for a decade.

But the Serb said he had not enjoyed facing Mr. Hurkacz whose thunderous serves left the world’s best returner powerless at times, at one point even knocking him to the floor.

Mr. Alcaraz came through a significant test against 2021 runner-up Mr. Berrettini with flying colours. Italian Mr. Berrettini’s serve and sledgehammer forehand briefly stopped the Spaniard in his tracks but Mr. Alcaraz took charge.

Sixth seed Mr. Rune is rivalling Alcaraz in the popularity stakes and he gained more fans as he battled back to eclipse 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov, the Bulgarian who was once regarded as a future Grand Slam champion.

Flair player Mr. Rune won 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) 6-3 to become the first Dane in 65 years to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev maintained his steady progress, reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time after ailing Czech Jiri Lehecka pulled up with a right foot injury while trailing 6-4 6-2.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’s hopes of becoming the first Greek man to reach the quarterfinals were wrecked by American outsider Christopher Eubanks who continued his fairytale debut at the grasscourt slam with a 3-6 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4 6-4 win.

Tunisian sixth seed Jabeur crushed out-of-sorts former champion Petra Kvitova 6-0 6-3 in a Centre Court demolition job.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus continued her march towards a second Grand Slam title of 2023, as the Australian Open champion beat Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4 6-0. — Reuters