Wimbledon day 8: Three matches to watch

If Carlos Alcaraz is going to reach the Wimbledon final, he will have to do it the hard way

London (AFP) – Carlos Alcaraz could face a reality check when he takes on former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini for a place in the quarter-finals as Petra Kvitova plots her route to a third title at the All England Club.

Teenage Russian Mirra Andreeva has caught the eye with her charge into the fourth round, where she will face Madison Keys. AFP Sport picks out three standout last-16 matches on the eighth day of the 2023 tournament in London (x denotes seeded player):

Carlos Alcaraz (ESP x1) v Matteo Berrettini (ITA)

If Carlos Alcaraz is going to reach the Wimbledon final, he will have to do it the hard way.

The Spanish top seed takes on the dangerous unseeded Matteo Berrettini as he bids to reach the last eight at the All England Club for the first time in his short career.

Other players lurking on his side of the draw are third seed Daniil Medvedev, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and sixth seed Holger Rune. But first he must get past the 38th-ranked Italian, who was the beaten finalist in 2021.

Berrettini was forced to miss last year's Wimbledon after testing positive for Covid and has subsequently struggled with an abdominal injury. He is desperate to make up for lost time and said he was relishing the opportunity to take on Alcaraz, who won the Queen's tournament on grass last month.

"In a way it's what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world. Playing against Carlos, it's always been like a pleasure, a fight, a great fight."

Ons Jabeur (TUN x6) v Petra Kvitova (CZE x9)

Petra Kvitova is showing signs of her best form on grass, nine years after she won the second of her Wimbledon crowns.

The Czech former world number two has not dropped a set in her past two matches, though she faces a tough task next up against last year's beaten finalist, Ons Jabeur.

Ninth-seed Kvitova, 33, does not consider herself among the favourites.

"I don't see myself as this," she said. "I think all the big names are still going through and playing deep in the tournament.

"I don't really care about the favourites anymore. I'm happy to be in the second week.... this is already a big achievement for me."

Tunisian star Jabeur is out to avenge her defeat against Kvitova in the first round in 2019.

"I definitely want to go for my revenge," said the sixth seed. "I know the next match I need to be focused, I need to be calm, I need to believe more in myself that I can beat someone like Petra."

Madison Keys (USA x25) v Mirra Andreeva

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who faces US 25th seed Madison Keys, is enjoying a life-changing few weeks. First she reached the third round at the French Open after entering the tournament as a qualifier.

Now she has gone one better at Wimbledon, and will face Keys for a place in the quarter-finals. The Russian said she had "quite a long talk with myself" after Roland Garros.

"I just talked. I don't know, just in my head I realised some things," she said. "I took some decisions that I think are now important for me. I think I did a good job because now everything is working so far." But Keys will be a tough proposition -- she has not lost a set so far this year.