Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Andrey Rublev to Advance to Wimbledon Quarterfinals

Carlos Alcaraz continues his Wimbledon winning streak.

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star’s latest up-and-down Wimbledon performance began with a dropped set. Later Sunday, he was in danger of getting broken to fall further behind in the third.

Carlos Alcaraz,  But then, as he so often does, Alcaraz seized the moment, produced some magic and moved closer to a third consecutive title at the All England Club.

Alcaraz stretched his winning streak in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament to 18 matches — and his unbeaten run across all events to 22 — by coming back to defeat No. 14 seed Andrey Rublev 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Centre Court and return to the quarterfinals.

Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, earned his 75th major match win in 87 opportunities — equaling Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe as the fastest men in the Open era to 75 victories at majors.

In this fortnight’s first matchup between two men ranked in the top 20, Alcaraz brought out his best while down 3-2 in the third set. First, he needed to fend off a break chance for Rublev, doing so with a forehand passing winner.

After eventually holding to 3-all, Alcaraz earned his own break opportunity and didn’t let Rublev escape. On an eight-stroke exchange, Alcaraz sprinted from one corner of the court to the other and, with a stomp of his right foot and a bit of a slide, flicked a crosscourt forehand winner.

Alcaraz spread his arms wide, pointed to his right ear and basked in the crowd’s loud adulation, the noise bouncing off the underside of the stadium’s closed roof.

Rublev sat in his sideline chair, looked up at his guest box and made an “OK” hand signal. Just 10 minutes later, that set belonged to Alcaraz, who will face 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie — the last British player in singles — on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals.

“I always said that it’s just about belief in yourself,” Alcaraz said. “It doesn’t matter that you are one-set-to-love down. Tennis is a sport that can change in just one point. One point can change the match completely, turn around everything.”

At 22, Alcaraz already owns five Grand Slam trophies and will be making his 12th major quarterfinal appearance, matching the second most by any man before his 23rd birthday and trailing only Boris Becker’s 13.

Alcaraz hasn’t lost a match anywhere since April 20 against Holger Rune in the final at Barcelona.

Roberto Bautista Agut Defeats Holger Rune to Advance to Queen’s Club Semifinals

Roberto Bautista Agut has pulled off an major upset…

The 37-year-old Spanish professional tennis player claimed a two-sets-to-one victory (7-6 [5], 6-7 [4], 6-2) over Denmark’s Holger Rune, the No. 4 seed, on Friday evening to reach the semifinals of the Queen’s Club tournament in London.

Roberto Bautista AgutIt marks his first appearance in an ATP semifinal since October 2024, when he won the title in Antwerp, and his first on grass since the Halle tournament in 2023.

Grass has historically been a successful surface for Bautista Agut: he won his first career title on it in 2014 at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and achieved his best Grand Slam result on it — a semifinal at Wimbledon in 2019.

This Friday against Rune, he once again showed why he’s such an effective player on grass. Bautista Agut took advantage of his opponent’s numerous unforced errors — 63 in total — to clinch the win. After controlling the first set well, he had the chance to close it out in straight sets, but a double fault at 4-5 in the second-set tiebreak forced him into a deciding third set.

After breaking Rune at the very start of the final set, he maintained his lead all the way through, even managing a second break to seal the match early in the evening on the British grass.

“I think I had control of the match today, especially from the baseline. I managed to stay calm on court, and I’m really happy about that. I felt good out there, and I’ll need to play the same kind of match against Carlos tomorrow,” said Bautista Agut after his victory.

Bautista Agut, currently ranked No. 51 in the ATP rankings, will face fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, in the semifinals at the West Kensington tournament.

It will be their third meeting on the ATP Tour, with Alcaraz leading 2–0 and yet to drop a set against his compatriot.

In the previous rounds of the Queen’s tournament, Bautista Agut edged out Portuguese Nuno Borges (6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4) and No 8 seed Jakub Mensik (3-6, 6-3, 7-5).

Alcaraz beat Arthur Rinderknech (LL): 7-5, 6-4

Carlos Alcaraz Rallies to Defeat Jannik Sinner for Second Straight French Open Title

Carlos Alcaraz comes from behind to win French Open title…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) to win his second straight French Open title on Sunday.

Carlos AlcarazIn a thrilling final, Alcaraz trailed 5-3, 0-40 on serve in the fourth set but recovered to win his fifth Grand Slam title after 5 hours, 29 minutes, the longest men’s final at Roland Garros in the Open era and the second-longest men’s Grand Slam final ever.

“The match is not finished until he wins the last point,” Alcaraz said in his post-match news conference. “A lot of times people came back from match point down in final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches. I just wanted to be one of those players who saved match point in the Grand Slam final and ended up winning.

“I just believed all the time. I never doubted myself, even in those match points down. I thought, just one point at a time. Just one point and then after one point, try to save that game and keep believing. That’s what I thought.”

Alcaraz is the eighth man in the Open era to successfully defend the Roland Garros title and is the first man to save match points and win a Grand Slam final since Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2019.

It’s the first time in nine attempts that Alcaraz has come from two sets down to win a match.

He’s now 5-0 in Slam finals and extended his head-to-head advantage over Sinner to 8-4.

An Alcaraz comeback looked unlikely as Sinner, chasing his first French Open title and fourth Grand Slam title overall, took the first two sets and broke early in the third.

Alcaraz, roared on by a crowd inside Court Philippe Chatrier that included actor Dustin Hoffman, film director Spike Lee and a host of sporting heroes, hit back to take the third, but the match again looked over when Sinner had three match points at 0-40 on the Alcaraz serve in the ninth game of the fourth.

However, the Spaniard dug himself out of a hole to take the set on the tiebreak and then, after letting an early lead slip in the fifth, rebounded for victory, taking his tally in deciding-set tiebreaks to 12-2.

“When the situations are against you, you have to fight, keep fighting,” Alcaraz said. “It is a Grand Slam final. It’s no time to be tired. It’s no time to give up. It’s time to keep fighting, try to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it.

“I think the real champions are made in [those] situations when you deal with that pressure in the best way possible. That’s what the real champions have done in their whole careers. I’m just trying to feel comfortable in the situations with the pressure, and I’m not being afraid of it.”

Alcaraz is exactly the same age — 22 years, 1 month, 3 days old — as his countryman Rafael Nadal was when he won his fifth Grand Slam title. Nadal was among the first people to congratulate Alcaraz on social media, joined by Billie Jean King and the Real Madrid football team.

“Honestly, the coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam in the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’m going to say that’s destiny, I guess,” Alcaraz said, smiling. “It is a stat that I’m going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth Grand Slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It’s a huge honor honestly. Hopefully it’s not going to stop like this.”

Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, told a news conference that the comeback was even more remarkable than when Alcaraz saved a match point in his quarterfinal win over Sinner at the 2022 US Open, when he won his first major.

“I’m not going to say that I was believing that he was able to recover from that 5-3, love-40,” he said. “But one more time with Carlos, everything is possible, and he did it again. Amazing achieve[ment].”

Sinner looked shell-shocked at the end of the match. “I don’t think I will sleep very well tonight,” he said at the trophy presentation.

“Happy about the tournament still,” he said later at a news conference. “But obviously this one hurts.

“It’s a very high-level match, that’s for sure. Happy to be part of this. But yeah, the final result hurts.

“Today I had chances. I was break up in the third. Was break up in the fourth. Was three match points. Serving for the match. Came back. 6-5, I had chances also in the fifth. So many chances I couldn’t use. Sometimes you have these days. You can’t really do anything now.”

Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos Claim First Grand Slam Title as a Pairing with French Open Men’s Doubles Win

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have claimed their first Grand Slam title as a team…

And 39-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and the 40-year-old Argentine professional tennis player won the French Open doubles final on Saturday for their first major title together at the combined age of 79.

Marcel Granollers & Horacio ZeballosGranollers and Zeballos played in their fourth Grand Slam final as a pairing, but first at the clay-court major. They defeated British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-0, 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Granollers and Zeballos, who were seeded fifth in Paris, were runners-up at the U.S. Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023.

Salisbury and Skupski were the first all-British team to reach a Grand Slam men’s doubles final in the Open era (1968) and the first British men’s doubles finalists at Roland Garros since 1936.

Granollers and Zeballos were dominant early, blanking their eighth-seeded opponents in the opening set before being dragged into a dogfight in the next.

Salisbury and Skupski, who won the only previous tour-level encounter between the two teams in the Rome quarterfinals last month, won the second set tiebreak and were close to building a 4-3 lead in the decider before a moment of magic.

Zeballos hit the shot of the match to level at deuce in the next game, chasing down a dipping ball and squeezing it around the post at ground level to draw loud cheers from a small crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Salisbury and Skupski refused to fade away, fighting on before running out of gas in the 12th game.

Granollers and Zeballos broke to love to secure victory and fell to the ground in celebration.

Lamine Yamal Wins Laureus World Sports Award for World Breakthrough Player Award

Lamine Yamal is officially among this year’s greatest athletes around the world…

The 17-year-old Spanish professional footballer, who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team, has claimed the world breakthrough player award at the Laureus world sports awards.

Lamine YamalWidely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the world, Yamal has represented Spain internationally at various youth levels.

He made his debut for the senior team in 2023, becoming the youngest player to represent and score for the country at age 16. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2024, playing an important role in helping Spain win their fourth title, while also winning the tournament’s Young Player Award.

Rafael Nadal received the sporting icon award.

The 38-year-old Spanish tennis star, a former World No. 1, retired from the sport after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in November 2024.

During his stories career, Nadal won 92 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam titles (including a record 14 French Open titles), as well as 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal.

Nadal is one of three men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles.

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade won the world comeback of the year award after winning three medals at the 2024 Paris Games — including gold in the floor exercise — after recovering from anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Other winners include American surfer Kelly Slater, who received the lifetime achievement award; Simone Biles and Mondo Duplantis, named sportswoman and sportsman of the year.

Real Madrid, the Champions League and La Liga winner last season, was the world team of the year, while the world action sportsperson award went to Tom Pidcock, the British mountain biker who overcame a puncture to become only the second man to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the cyclo-cross discipline.

Yuyan Jiang was the world sportsperson of the year with a disability.

Alejandro Tabilo Upsets Novak Djokovic in Second Round of Monte Carlo Masters

Alejandro Tabilo has pulled off a major upset…

The 27-year-old Chilean professional tennis player beat former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Alejandro Tabilo,Tabilo had previously handed the 24-time Grand Slam champion a surprising loss at the Italian Open last year.

Back on clay for the first time since winning the Olympic gold in Paris last August, Djokovic said he didn’t have high expectations going into the match.

“I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance. Not like this, it was horrible,” said Djokovic, who made 29 unforced errors. “I did not have high expectations. I knew I’m going to have a tough opponent, and I knew I’m going to probably play pretty bad. But this bad, I didn’t expect.

“I was hoping it was not going to happen, but it was quite a high probability I’m going to play this way. … A horrible feeling to play this way. Just sorry for all the people that have to witness this.”

Tabilo clinched victory on his second match point when Djokovic hit a service return too long. Djokovic had saved one match point in the ninth game when he was trailing 5-3 and 30-40 on his serve, producing a neat drop shot over the net, which his Chilean opponent couldn’t reach.

Tabilo has yet to drop a set against Djokovic. He joined Marat Safin and Jiri Vesely as the only players to have faced Djokovic more than once and not lost; all three hold a 2-0 record over Djokovic.

“It has been a tough year, so a little bit of the nerves were there,” Tabilo said in an on-court interview. “I remembered last time what I did well, and thankfully I served well today and it helped me a lot. It was an unreal match.”

A Monte Carlo title would have made Djokovic the only player to win each Masters event at least three times.

Djokovic, who recently lost the Miami Open final to Jakub Mensik, turns 38 next month — shortly before the French Open starts on May 25.

The Monte Carlo Masters is the first big clay-court tournament of the year on the ATP Tour.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Jack Draper at Australian Open to Set Up Quarterfinal Clash Against Novak Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz is set to face former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the first time at the Australian Open.

In the eighth installment of the riveting, intergenerational rivalry between the 21-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and his 37-year-old Serbian nemesis, the meeting will not only be the first at Melbourne Park, it will also be the first in the quarterfinals of a tournament,

Carlos AlcarazEach of Alcaraz and Djokovic’s other meetings came in either a semifinal or final.

“Well, this is not the right player to play in a quarterfinal, I guess,” a grinning Alcaraz said, looking ahead to Tuesday’s encounter. “But facing Novak, for me, it’s not going to change anything if I’m playing him [in a] quarterfinal or semifinal. Probably change a little bit if it is a final, obviously. Being in a quarterfinal, I’m going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see.”

Alcaraz reached his 10th career Grand Slam quarterfinal, tied for the most by a man before his 22nd birthday, by advancing when 15th-seeded Jack Draper stopped playing because of a hip injury after dropping the first two sets Sunday afternoon.

Djokovic, who is being coached in Melbourne by old rival Andy Murray, did his part at night in Rod Laver Arena, needing to work a little longer but getting through just the same with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 24 Jiri Lehecka.

There is plenty at stake at this tournament for both No. 3 seed Alcaraz and No. 7 seed Djokovic.

Alcaraz seeks to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with at least one trophy from all four of the most prestigious events in tennis. His four so far came elsewhere: two at Wimbledon by virtue of wins over Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals, and one apiece at the US Open in 2022 and the French Open last year.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is trying to claim an 11th title in Melbourne to become the first player in tennis history with 25 major singles championships. He leads the overall head-to-head against Alcaraz 4-3, including a victory in the final at the Paris Olympics last August to claim a gold medal for Serbia.

At the majors, though, Alcaraz leads 2-1.

“If I think about everything he has done in tennis, I couldn’t play. I mean, 24 Grand Slams, the most weeks at No. 1 — everything. He almost broke every record in tennis. I’m trying not to think about that when I’m in the match. I’m just trying … to beat him,” Alcaraz said. “I know my weapons. I know that [if] I’m able to play good tennis against him, I’m able to beat him.”

In Australian Open Debut, João Fonseca Upsets No. 9 Seed Andrey Rublev in First Round

João Fonseca has pulled off a major upset… 

The 18-year-old Brazilian tennis player definitively introduced himself to the world as the latest teen sensation in men’s tennis on Tuesday night, upsetting No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Australian Open.

João FonsecaIt was quite a debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for Fonseca, who is ranked 112th and made it into the bracket at Melbourne Park by winning three matches in qualifying rounds last week.

The victory over 10-time major quarterfinalist Rublev, who is 27, lasted just under 2 1/2 hours and stretched Fonseca’s current unbeaten run to 14 matches. That includes taking the title last month in Saudi Arabia at the Next Gen ATP Finals for top players who are under 21, and another trophy this month at a lower-tier Challenger tournament in Canberra.

Those within tennis have been keeping tabs on 2023 US Open junior boys’ champion Fonseca for a bit, intrigued by his big serve, booming groundstrokes and cool demeanor. All of those qualities, and more, were on display against Rublev in Margaret Court Arena, the second-biggest stage in Melbourne.

Fonseca got to match point with a backhand winner that he celebrated by raising his right index finger in a No. 1 gesture and nodding his head. Then he ended it with a down-the-line forehand, spreading his arms wide and tossing his head back.

“I mean, not bad,” were Fonseca’s first words during his on-court interview afterward.

That drew a smile from him and supportive laughter from the stands, where there were plenty of fans sporting his home country’s flag.

“I just enjoyed every moment in this court, this amazing court,” he continued. “My first time playing in a huuuuge stadium.”

Hitting serves at up to 133 mph, Fonseca delivered 14 aces and had just one double fault while saving five of the six break points he faced.

He accumulated 51 total winners, 18 more than Rublev, a quarterfinalist in Melbourne three of the past four years and Fonseca’s first opponent ranked higher than No. 20.

“I was just focusing [on] my game, trying to put no pressure on myself, playing [against] a top-10 guy,” Fonseca said. “I was just playing my game and, well, now we’re in the second round.”

He’ll next face 55th-ranked Lorenzo Sonego, who got past three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in four sets earlier Tuesday.

Asked the key to his strong play in the tiebreakers against the far-more-experienced Rublev, Fonseca said he tries to employ “all the intensity in the important points,” “go for the shots” and show “courage.”

He also cited 20-time major champion Roger Federer as an inspiration.

“Like Roger says: ‘Talent is not enough.’ … So I put [in] a lot of hard work,” Fonseca said. “Just me and my team knows that.”

Rafael Nadal Named to Spain’s Davis Cup Finals Roster Alongside Carlos Alcaraz

Rafael Nadal is preparing to represent Spain once again…

The 38-year-old Spanish tennis star, who represented Spain at the 2024 Paris Games, has been named to Spain’s roster for the Davis Cup finals alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

Rafael NadalThe announcement raises the possibility of a renewal of Nadal and Alcaraz’s “Nadalcaraz” doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t competed anywhere since the Olympics, where he lost in the second round of singles to longtime rival Novak Djokovic and paired with Alcaraz to get to the quarterfinals of men’s doubles before exiting against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

Nadal then withdrew from the US Open and the Laver Cup while still dealing with health issues that’ve limited him to competing only sparingly over the past two seasons.

Alcaraz earned the men’s singles titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career Slam total to four at the age of 21.

Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinal round of the Davis Cup finals, an eight-team event November 19-24 in Malaga, Spain.

The other opening matchups are: defending champion Italy vs. Argentina; the United States vs. Australia; and Germany vs. Canada.

Carlos Alcaraz Wins Twice on Sunday to Lead Team Europe to Laver Cup Title

Carlos Alcaraz has helped lead Team Europe to victory at the Laver Cup.

The 21-year-old Spanish tennis star, a four-time Grand Slam champion defeated Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5 as Team Europe rallied to beat Team World 13-11 on Sunday and claim the Laver Cup title.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz broke Fritz, the US Open runner-up, in the 11th game and then closed out the victory on serve, sparking celebrations as the Europe team rejoiced with captain Björn Borg.

Team World was favored to win the Laver Cup for a third straight time after leading 8-4 on points heading into the last of the three days.

Europe began the comeback Sunday when Alcaraz and Casper Ruud won the doubles 6-2, 7-6 (6) against Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. But Shelton then downed Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-7 to move the World team into pole position.

Tiafoe, who reached the US Open semifinals, could’ve sealed it but he lost to French Open finalist Alexander Zverev 6-7 (5), 7-5, 10-5, setting up the decider between Alcaraz and Fritz.

The Laver Cup is formatted like golf’s Ryder Cup, with the first team to 13 points winning the contest. Each of the four matches Sunday was worth three points.

Europe’s only win in Saturday’s four matches came from Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year.

On Sunday, Alcaraz showed his big-match temperament once again.