WIMBLEDON, England: Andrey Rublev ran to his right, sized up the distance to the ball and then did the incredible.
Diving through the air while hoping beyond hope, Rublev pulled off the shot of the Wimbledon tournament Sunday by somehow swiping the ball back over the net for a forehand winner from behind the baseline — a winner that set up match point and a spot in the quarterfinals.
“Probably it was the most lucky shot ever. It just was luck,” Rublev said on court after reaching the second week at the All England Club for the first time. “I don’t think I can do it one more time.”
Rublev ended up beating Alexander Bublik 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4, taking the fifth set after failing to convert two match points earlier in the match.
The seventh-seeded Russian became the ninth active male player to reach the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slams. But he has never gone further at any of them.
To reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, Rublev may have to face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to play Hubert Hurkacz later Sunday on Centre Court.
This year is only the second time play is officially scheduled for the middle Sunday at Wimbledon. Four times in the past, in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016, organizers used the day to deal with a backlog of matches.
Eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner and unseeded Roman Safiullin also reached the quarterfinals on Day 7 of the grass-court tournament. Sinner defeated Daniel Elahi Galan 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3 and Safiullin beat 26th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
Earlier, 21st-seeded Grigor Dimitrov became the last man to reach the fourth round. He beat Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that started on Saturday and will next face sixth-seeded Holger Rune.
Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva, playing at Wimbledon for the first time, earned the final spot in the fourth round of the women’s draw.
The Russian qualifier is the latest teen sensation in tennis, and she isn’t disappointing at the All England Club. Andreeva is the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to reach the women’s fourth round at Wimbledon. She reached the third round at this year’s French Open in her first major tournament.
Despite trailing 4-1 in the second set, Andreeva beat 22nd-seeded Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5 on No. 3 Court.
“I came back from 1-4, so of course I feel great,” Andreeva said on court before explaining how she keeps her cool. “Today, honestly, even if I wanted to show some emotions, I honestly, I couldn’t because I was out of breath almost every point. I really couldn’t show any emotions.”
They came out after, though, when Andreeva sat in her chair and pulled her purple Wimbledon towel up over her face for a few seconds to regain her composure.
Andreeva will next face No. 25 Madison Keys for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The third-round victory came 21 minutes after Marketa Vondrousova became the first player to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Vondrousova defeated 32nd-seeded Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula also reached the quarterfinals. The 29-year-old American beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-3 and will next face Vondrousova.
Later Sunday, top-seeded Iga Swiatek was playing Belinda Bencic on Centre Court.
