LONDON — Aryna Sabalenka overcame a battling Elise Mertens to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Sunday as Carlos Alcaraz geared up for a tricky test against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka marched into the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Sunday as her former doubles partner Elise Mertens fell short of upsetting the US Open champion. Sabalenka has never reached a final at the All England Club but is the player to beat as the only one of the top six seeds in the women’s draw still standing.

By Shrivathsa Sridhar LONDON (Reuters) -Aryna Sabalenka maintained her stranglehold over Belgian Elise Mertens with a hard-fought 6-4 7-6(4) victory on Sunday to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals as she bids for a maiden title at the grasscourt Grand Slam.