Alcaraz-Rublev, a dizzying forehand duel in the Wimbledon round of 16

Carlos Alcaraz isn't afraid of his opponents. On the contrary, it's them, says the Murcian, who are under pressure to play against him thanks to his winning streak of 21 matches now. He wants his 22nd match and to get a little closer to the Wimbledon Triple Crown. And he has a good case to make. Against Fabio Fognini, he felt the nerves of a tricky debut; against Oliver Travet, he mastered his skills and emotion; against Jan-Lennard Struff, he showed patience and control. So he's all set to face Andrey Rublev (27 years old, world number 14, and 17 titles) in the Wimbledon Round of 16.

His confidence is sky-high, with five titles (Rotterdam, Monte Carlo, Rome, Roland Garros, and Queen's) and 21 unstoppable joys. "Not all of the wins were at the highest level, but I think staying calm during the tough moments in those 21 matches was the best thing. I think I played good tennis, and I'm very confident now. I approach matches very well, and I'm happy about that. And I'm also happy about having saved difficult points in many of those matches," he explained about this immaculate path.

Furthermore, this is thirteen consecutive victories on grass, and a record of 32 with only three defeats, bettering the records of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. The Murcia native has achieved this thirty-plus wins before any of the three. Nadal managed to reach them with seven defeats in between; Federer and Djokovic, with 11. Thus, Alcaraz leads the list, followed by renowned rackets such as John McEnroe and Boris Becker (30-5); Andy Roddick (30-6), and Lleyton Hewitt and Nadal (30-7).

What motivates him to continue in this direction: "When you're playing well in every match, and you're winning good matches against very good people, when they see the confidence I have, that I'm feeling more and more comfortable and playing great tennis... that pressure is always on my opponents. It's something you work on too; they have that extra pressure, which is always appreciated."

But he also respects the man opposite him, a Rublev whom he has beaten in two of their previous three duels, but who knows there's plenty he can do to put him in trouble: "He's a very powerful player. He plays very well on grass because he likes to play aggressively. When he finds his forehand, he likes to move his opponent from side to side. And on grass, he makes it dangerous because it's difficult to move that way. We're similar with that forehand game, whether it's down the line or inside out. And he also has a great serve." He also has good records on grass, with 29 wins and 16 losses.

In the previous matches, Alcaraz won on the hard court of the 2022 ATP World Tour Finals by 7-5 and 6-2, but the Russian won on Madrid in 2024, where he ended up lifting the trophy, by 4-6, 6-3 and 6-2. It was in that match that Alcaraz suffered the most damage to his forearm and had to withdraw from playing in Rome to improve and be able to face Roland Garros. In the last meeting, at the 2024 ATP World Tour Finals, the Spaniard won the match by 6-3 and 7-6 (8).

The match between Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev is scheduled for this Sunday, July 6, in the third round of Wimbledon on Centre Court. The match begins at 2:30 p.m. in Spain, with Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will then appear for her match against Elise Mertens. The third round will be between Alcaraz and Rublev, with the match expected to begin around 5:00 p.m.

The match between Alcaraz and Rublev will be broadcast on Movistar+, the platform that holds the rights to the London Grand Slam.

And you can follow the minute-by-minute news and all the tournament information on ABC.es