LONDON >> Carlos Alcaraz’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. And 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 current unbeaten run across all events to 22 — by coming back to beat No. 14 seed Andrey Rublev 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Centre Court to return to the quarterfinals.

In this fortnight’s first matchup between two men ranked in the top 20, No. 2 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, he flicked a cross-court forehand winner.

Oh, did he relish that one. 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 a sarcastic “OK” hand signal. Just 10 minutes later, that set belong to Alcaraz, who will face 2022 semifinalist Cam Norrie — the last British player in singles — on Tuesday for a berth in the final four.

MLB

Nationals clean house >> Manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo were fired by the Washington Nationals on Sunday amid their sixth consecutive losing season since winning the 2019 World Series.

The move came after the Nationals were swept by the Boston Red Sox. They are 37-53, and the only other National League club with a worse record is the Colorado Rockies.

Owner Mark Lerner announced the change, saying senior VP and assistant GM Mike DeBartolo would take over on an interim basis.

“Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington,” Lerner said. “While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”

Mets’ Senga could return before all-star break >> Mets ace Kodai Senga could rejoin the rotation next weekend in the final series before the All-Star break, a little over a month after straining his right hamstring.

Senga allowed four runs — three earned — and six hits in 3 2/3 innings during Saturday’s minor league injury rehabilitation start for Double-A Binghamton at Hartford. Senga struck out four, walked two and threw 44 of 68 pitches for strikes.

Senga was injured covering first base on a grounder by CJ Abrams when he made a leaping catch on Pete Alonso’s throw June 12 against Washington.

NFL

Cowboys All-Pro arrested >> All-Pro return man KaVontae Turpin of the Cowboys was arrested in a Dallas suburb on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and unlawful carrying of a weapon, authorities said Sunday.

Turpin was arrested by police in Allen on Saturday. The 28-year-old is out of jail on bond. There is no record of an attorney for Turpin. The team declined to comment.

The former TCU standout is going into his fourth season with the Cowboys and recently signed an $18 million, three-year contract.

Turpin’s TCU career ended in 2018 when he was kicked off the team after the school found out about a second domestic violence case against him. The case from New Mexico was discovered following an alleged incident with his girlfriend at an off-campus apartment in Fort Worth. Both cases involved the same woman.

Golf

Campbell wins playoff >> Brian Campbell won for the second time this year on the PGA Tour, both in a playoff, when he closed with a 4-under 67 and beat Emiliano Grillo with a par on the first extra hole in the John Deere Classic.

It extended the win-or-bust season for Campbell, who won the Mexico Open in a playoff in late February. He has finished out of the top 30 every tournament except for his two victories.

This one might be enough to get him into the British Open, depending on how high up he moves in the world ranking published Monday, traditionally used as the alternate list.

Brown wins BMW International Open >> English golfer Daniel Brown captured his second European tour title by winning the BMW International Open by two strokes after shooting a bogey-free 6-under 66 in the final round.

The No. 170-ranked Brown started the day with a one-shot lead over countryman Jordan Smith, birdied four of his first six holes, and picked up two more birdies coming in.

The last was on the par-5 18th when Brown reached the green in two and two-putted to finish on 22-under par for the week. He was in tears as he walked off the green.

Amateur wins Irish Open >> English golfer Lottie Woad became the first amateur in three years to win a Ladies European Tour title after a six-shot victory at the Women’s Irish Open.

Woad, the world No. 1 amateur, had entered the final round with a seven-stroke lead and shot a 4-under 69.

The 21-year-old Woad ended at 21-under par for the tournament, six strokes ahead of second-placed Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden.

Racing

Van Gisbergen Wins NASCAR Chicago >> Shane van Gisbergen completed a sweep on the Chicago Street Course, winning the NASCAR Cup Series race on the tricky downtown circuit.

It was van Gisbergen’s second victory of the season and his third career Cup win. The Trackhouse Racing driver also won in Chicago in 2023, becoming the first driver to take his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.

Ty Gibbs was second, and Tyler Reddick finished third. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.

Norris wins British GP >> Lando Norris survived an incident-packed race in the rain to win Formula 1’s British Grand Prix and cut the gap to his teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri.

Norris won his home race for the first time after Piastri had to serve a 10-second penalty for sharp braking behind the safety car while in the lead.

In a race with plenty of crashes and spins, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was third from 19th on the grid for his first podium finish in his 239th race of an F1 career that began in 2010.

Van Der Poel wins Tour De France Stage 2 >> Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel won the hilly second stage of the Tour de France after holding off defending champion Tadej Pogacar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard in a sprint to the line.

Van der Poel took the race leader’s yellow jersey from his Alpecin–Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen in a second career stage victory on the Tour.