Part of what makes Carlos Alcaraz so difficult to defeat at the French Open or Wimbledon, besides the fact his game transposes well on clay or grass, is that he knows the chances of anyone stealing three sets from him are going to be nearly impossible. Two? Sure? Three? No.
Andrey Rublev did not play poorly against the Spaniard in the fourth round at Wimbledon. The Russian is known for losing his composure quite easily, but he mostly kept himself together, though it did little good. Rublev can hit the ball with a bombast, but he lacks great touch to be elite.
Alcaraz on the other hand has every tool needed to win Wimbledon 2025, which would be his third-straight victory at the major, but to compete for 20 major titles or more. There is little to stop him other than Jannik Sinner. Even that is a reach.
Carlos Alcaraz moves into Wimbledon quarterfinals by defeating Andrey Rublev
Rublev played well as Alcaraz took the match 6-7(5_ 6-3 6-4 6-4. The truth is that the Russian's best is not equal to the Spaniard at 80 percent. Alcaraz simply does everything better than Rublev, including hitting his forehand with pace and placement. Rublev is always going in fifth gear, but the Spaniard can change as needed.
The Russian has never made it past the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam, though he clearly has the raw power to do so, even if he isn't winning the major. At Wimbledon 2025, he failed to even reach the quarters because he ran into a player who is much more skilled than he is.
Keeping his pose might have been the real victory.
While lacking confidence is not the mark of any professional athlete's makeup, perhaps Rublev does know that Alcaraz is the better player, especially on a grass court. That he hung in well enough to make the match tight is a victory, but the Spaniard will take the real win.
Next up for Carlos Alcaraz on his likely path to another Wimbledon final is Cameron Norrie. The home crowd might be firmly behind Norrie, but like Rublev, probably know the Spaniard is going to ultimately win. Alcaraz's next big test could come in the semifinals against Taylor Fritz.
Fritz will play big-serving Karen Khachanov in his quarterfinal. A semifinal would be Fritz's best showing at Wimbledon, though he has had some success on the grass courts of the Eastbourne Open before.