 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Wimbledon PHOTOS: Djokovic shoulder survives Tsonga test
Novak Djokovic's left shoulder was in perfect working order on Monday as the top seed cranked up the power to blast past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5) and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the sixth year running.
Three days after falling heavily on his shoulder, the 2011 champion showed that there were no lingering effects from that painful tumble as he scorched Tsonga with a series of double-fisted backhands under the roof of a floodlit Centre Court.
His serving was also on fire as he chased an 11th successive win against the French 14th seed.
Djokovic dominated the opening two sets before Tsonga finally came alive in the third and threatened to take the upper hand in the set when he held two break points in the eighth game. The Serb snuffed out those chances with some powerful serving and a blazing crosscourt winner left him roaring in triumph a few minutes later.
The six-times Grand Slam champion will face Croatia's Marin Cilic for a place in the semi-finals.
- Please click NEXT to read more...
Champion Murray in a hurry on Centre Court
Young gun Grigor Dimitrov stands between Andy Murray and the Wimbledon semi-finals and the champion is clearly wary of the Bulgarian he describes as "coming into his prime".
The Briton, who beat big-serving South African Kevin Anderson on Monday, has enjoyed a smooth run into the second week, playing within himself to reach the quarter-finals without dropping a set.
But the 23-year-old Dimitrov, on a nine-match grasscourt winning streak, provides an extra challenge for the twice Grand Slam champion.
"It's a step up...the guys in the quarter-finals are going to be playing top tennis. He obviously won at Queen's Club a couple of weeks ago. He likes grass courts," Murray told reporters.
"He's starting to come into his prime. He's won a lot of matches this year. It'll be a hard match for me."
Murray neutralised Anderson to win 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in a match that started in the open and ended under the Centre Court roof.
- Please click NEXT to read more...
'I started off a bit tentative when we came back out'
The 27-year-old Scot returned sharply and drew the 2.03-metre (6-foot-8) Anderson into rallies to impose his game on the Wimbledon grass where he is on a run of 17 successive victories.
Anderson, a career-high 18th in the world, broke serve only once, after rain forced a roof-closing pause with Murray 3-0 up in the second set.
He upped his game in the third set to force a tense tiebreak and even had a set point before the Scot won three points in a row to reach his seventh successive Wimbledon quarter-finals.
"I started off a bit tentative when we came back out," said Murray. "When it was outdoors I played very well and was in a good position but when we came indoors he was striking the ball better.
"There's a big difference between playing indoors and outdoors. It changes the way the court plays...but I still did well. I still created loads of chances, a lot of opportunities," Murray said.
- Please click NEXT to read more...
Bouchard scorches into quarter-finals
Eugenie Bouchard became the first Canadian to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Monday with a 7-6(5), 7-5 win over Serena Williams's conqueror Alize Cornet.
Over the years, fellow Canadians Carling Bassett-Seguso, Patricia Hy-Boulais and Daniel Nestor all made the second week of the grasscourt major but none of them managed to go as far as Bouchard.
The 13th seed looked like she would be stretched into a third set when she trailed 4-2 in the second, but the woman tipped as a future Grand Slam champion displayed her battling instincts as she fought back to level at 5-5.
A backhand long on match point sealed the 20-year-old a quarter-final date with either French Open winner Maria Sharapova or German ninth seed Angelique Kerber.
"I am really excited and proud of the way I performed," Bouchard told the BBC. "It wasn't easy, Alize is a great player and got so many balls back, so I had to work really hard.
"I am very excited about reaching the quarter-finals, but I need to stay focused and not get distracted."
- Please click NEXT to read more...
Lisicki holds nerve to sweep past Ivanovic
Big serving from last year's runner-up Sabine Lisicki propelled the German into Wimbledon's fourth round, claiming a stop-go 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over 11th seed Ana Ivanovic.
Lisicki, seeded 19, had the first set in the bag when the match was called off after much discussion between players and officals about the gathering gloom on Saturday evening.
Former world No.1 Ivanovic came out fighting as the match resumed on a chilly Monday morning, producing some telling returns on the Lisicki serve. But the duo were again forced off court for more than an hour by a shower, with Ivanovic leading 5-2 and deuce in the second.
The Serb kept her concentration to wrap up the set, but the ever-smiling Lisicki calmed her nerves and found range and power on her returns to break Ivanovic's serve twice and win the match with a seventh booming ace.
Lisicki meets Yaroslava Shvedova of Kasakhastan in the fourth round.
- Please click NEXT to read more...
Wimbledon PHOTOS: Wozniacki shocked by Czech Strycova
Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki became the third Wimbledon seed to fall at the hands of the Czech Republic's Barbora Zahlova Strycova, dumped out of the fourth round 6-2, 7-5 on Monday.
The 16th-seeded Dane has yet to reach the quarter-finals at the All England Club and the 23-year-old must wait at least another year after world No.43 Zahlova Strycova claimed another notable scalp, having sent second seed Li Na packing in the previous round.
After a quick surrender of the opening set, Wozniacki dug deeper in the second, saving five match points before Zahlova Strycova booked her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Zahlova Strycova next meets either fellow Czech Petra Kvitova, the sixth seed, or China's Peng Shuai for a place in the last four.
- Please click NEXT for more...
Wawrinka eases into fourth round, faces punishing schedule
Fifth seed Stanislas Wawrinka needed only 87 minutes to breeze through his delayed third round match against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin on Monday, but faces a punishing upcoming schedule.
The Swiss fifth seed won 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, conserving energy for a possible three matches in three days or five in seven should he reach his first Wimbledon final.
The match was originally scheduled for Saturday but sustained rain meant organisers cancelled it.
Wawrinka dominated the rallies with his superior groundstrokes, particularly his elegant one-handed backhand which looked in fine fettle.
The Australian Open Champion blazed away with 33 winners and converted four of the five break points as he reached the fourth round for the first time since 2009.
He will play either American John Isner or Feliciano Lopez of Spain for a place in the quarter-finals.
- Please click NEXT for more...
Safarova sails past rookie compatriot to move into quarters
Lucie Safarova became the first player to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals when she walloped 175th ranked qualifier Tereza Smitkova 6-0, 6-2 in an all-Czech showdown.
For the first time in the professional era, four women from the CzechRepublic reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam and Safarova could be joined in the last eight by compatriots Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and 2011 champion Petra Kvitova, who are in fourth round action later on Monday.
Safarova, seeded 23rd, needed just 48 minutes to end Smitkova's bid to become the lowest-ranked woman to reach the quarter-finals.
She will next meet either Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska or Ekaterina Makarova of Russia for a place in the semi-finals.
- Please click NEXT for more...
American Keys forced out with thigh injury
Madison Keys, the last American woman in the Wimbledon singles draw, was forced to withdraw from her third round encounter against Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova through injury on Monday.
The 19-year-old winner of the Eastbourne warm-up tournament injured her left thigh shortly before play was suspended because of bad light late on Saturday, with Shvedova leading 7-6 6-6.
The American's withdrawal sends 26-year-old Shvedova, ranked 65, into the last 16, where she will face either 11th-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic or German 19th seed Sabine Lisicki.
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.