Sixteenth seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic are the first team to reach the doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon, doing so with an emphatic 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win on Tuesday over Marcin Matkowski and Max Mirnyi. Marach’s only other Grand Slam semi-final came at the 2009 Australian Open (w/Kubot), while Pavic has never reached the last four at a major. They’ll take on Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski or Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor in the next round. That quarter-final was suspended due to rain on Tuesday, with Podlipnik-Castillo/Vasilevski serving at 7-6(8), 4-6, 1-1. [ALSO LIKE] Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers also had their quarter-final suspended against tenth seeds and Roland Garros champions Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus. Kontinen/Peers...
Novak Djokovic remains a work in progress, tinkering with his game, but the flashes of brilliance that hark back to his peak-performance days shine bright. The Serbian occasionally doubted himself on serve and in his movement on Tuesday at The Championships, but when it came to the crunch against France’s Adrian Mannarino there were only roars of approval to the watching Andre Agassi and Mario Ancic, both brought in to help Djokovic rediscover his taste for Grand Slam championship glory. For the first hour, the three-time former Wimbledon champion was faultless in his focus and execution, but in controlled conditions under the Centre Court roof, it was the firepower of his French opponent that temporarily put him on the back...
If there was a medal for perseverance, Tomas Berdych would be a recipient. The Czech, at his strongest Grand Slam championship, continues to roll back the clock to evoke memories of his peak-performance days en route to the 2010 Wimbledon final. Berdych, the 31-year-old No. 11 seed, recorded his second Top 10 match win of the year (Raonic, Lyon) to knock out eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 53 minutes on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals at The Championships. "I think I showed pretty good tennis," said Berdych. "I was serving very well throughout the whole match. I was making a lot of chances also in the sets that I lost....
The question was posed again this fortnight, as it has been in the past: Is this the time Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, whose one-handed backhand and flair can resemble Roger Federer's game, will challenge the Swiss great? But Federer answered the question again on Monday with a firm, “Not yet.” The seven-time champion extended his dominance against the Bulgarian and in Wimbledon fourth-round matches, beating Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to move into his 15th Wimbledon quarter-final. Federer now stands alone atop the Open Era list for most Wimbledon quarter-final appearances. Most Wimbledon quarter-final appearances (Open Era) Roger Federer 15 Jimmy Connors 14 Boris Becker 11 Andy Murray 10 Novak Djokovic 9? John McEnroe 9 Pete Sampras 9 The 35 year old...
Andy Murray can be called a lot of things at The Championships. Home favourite. Top seed. Two-time champion. Perhaps “Mr. Consistent” should be added to the list. The Scot reached his 10th consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday, beating Frenchman Benoit Paire 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court. Murray becomes only the third man in the Open Era to advance to 10 straight quarter-finals at the same Grand Slam. 10 or more consecutive quarterfinal appearances at a Grand Slam (Open Era) Jimmy Connors 13 – US Open (1973-1985); 11 – Wimbledon (1972-1982) Roger Federer 11 – Australian Open (2004-2014); 10 – Wimbledon (2003-2012) Andy Murray 10 – Wimbledon (2008-2017) The top seed has now reached at least the quarter-finals at 24 of...
