Friday 18 / October / 2024
London: Former champion Roger Federer and World No. 1 Serena Williams had an easy outing at the Wimbledon on yet another rainy day on Monday.
Roger Federer felled high-flying Steve Johnson, knocking the wind out of the powerhouse with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win in the fourth round, while Serena Williams kept her bid for a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title on track, overpowering Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in a 7-5, 6-0 in the fourth-round.
Earlier, despite considerable pre-match hype about Johnson, fresh from victory at the Nottingham grasscourt event, there was to be no Independence Day party for the burly American, as Federer showed more than enough to suggest he remains on track for a record eighth Wimbledon men's singles crown.
While Andy Murray-supporting Brits have been rubbing their hands with glee over Novak Djokovic's shock third-round defeat, the biggest beneficiary of the Serb's removal may yet prove to be third seed Federer, who on Monday drew level with Martina Navratilova on a record 306 grand slam singles match wins.
In the quarterfinals, Federer will play Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic who advanced after his opponent, Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori, retired injured while trailing 6-1 5-1.
Kuznetsova, a double grand slam winner and three-times Wimbledon quarterfinalist, beat Williams on a hardcourt at the Miami Open in March.
But on this occasion the six-times Wimbledon champion was too hot to handle, beginning the match as if late for an Independence Day appointment, serving a succession of aces and then hitting a brace of groundstroke winners, one off each wing, to break the Russian in the fourth game.
Kuznetsova battled her way back, varying her pace by mixing in slices and drop shots on a surface on which both players at times struggled to keep their footing.
Williams -- bidding to equal Steffi Graf's professional-era record of 22 grand slam singles titles -- eventually shaded a first set that featured five breaks of serve and a break for drizzle when the Centre Court roof was closed.
She ran though her opponent without losing another game after play resumed at 5-5 in the first set.
In the other women's singles matches, Elena Vesnina (Russia) beat Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 5-7, 6-1, 9-7 and Venus Williams (US) beat 12-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 7-6(3), 6-4.
Ruthless Halep
Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep recovered to beat an emotional and hobbling Madison Keys 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second time in her career on Monday.
The 24-year-old was heading out when she fell a break behind in the second set, having squandered four set points to surrender the opener, but she battled back and then took ruthless advantage as Keys appeared to suffer a leg injury.
She will play Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the last eight.
The first eight games were full of high-quality clean hitting, before a strange sequence of games saw both players go off the boil in equal measure.
Querrey on prowl
Sam Querrey suffered no hangover from his famous victory over top seed Novak Djokovic as he beat Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4 at Wimbledon on Monday to become the first American man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal for five years.
Querrey, 28, reproduced the quality of tennis that dispatched world number one Djokovic at the weekend in one of the biggest-ever shocks at the All England Club.
The 28th seed was rarely troubled as he simply overpowered Frenchman Mahut with his huge serve, backed up by booming groundstrokes.
The fourth-round victory over the world number 51 propelled Querrey to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. On US. Independence Day, he also became the first American man to reach the quarterfinal at Wimbledon — or any other slam — since 2011.
Shvedova advances
Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazahkstan swept past Lucie Safarova and into her first Wimbledon quarterfinal, beating the Russian 28th seed 6-2, 6-4 on Monday.
Ranked 96th but holding a 3-0 head-to-head record against her higher-ranked opponent, the big-serving Shvedova — making her 10th appearance at Wimbledon — powered down seven aces and hit the mark with three quarters of her first serves.
Another serve proved decisive on the final point when Safarova hit her return long.
Radwanska lose
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova bundled third seed Agnieszka Radwanska out of the fourth round, saving match point on the way, less than two weeks after beating her in the Eastbourne warm-up tournament.
In an energy-sapping contest between power and touch, Cibulkova used a thunderous serve and thumping forehand to wear down Radwanska 6-3, 5-7, 9-7.
It was the 13th contest between the pair, both 27, and by now they were shrieking with effort as they ran the lines.
Cibulkova, ranked 18 in the world, survived a monumental 11th game in the set, saving match point with a forehand winner.
It was another thumping forehand that brought her victory on the second match point of the final game for her sixth win against the Pole, a finalist here in 2012.
Nishikori quits
Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic reached the quarterfinals for the third year running after an out-of-sorts Kei Nishikori quit midway through their fourth round showdown.
Nishikori was trailing 6-1, 5-1 when he decided to follow the advice of his coach Michael Chang, who could be heard saying "Don't push it, it's not worth it."
The Japanese fifth seed, who had been given a pill by the trainer at the previous change of ends, then indicated he could no longer continue and shook hands with Cilic.
"It was too much pain I could not really compete today. Every point I played it got worse. I did not want to but I had to retire," Nishikori, who withdrew from last year's tournament with a calf strain, told reporters.
Cilic's serving was on fire during the first set as he blasted down 12 aces, including four in the first game, and dropped only two points on serve.
He won 26 out of 33 points contested as Nishikori surrendered the set in only 16 minutes.
Pavlyuchenkova wins
Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in her career after producing an awesome display of power tennis to defeat a misfiring Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-3 on Monday.
In a match in which both players smashed the ball across the net for a succession of blistering winners, the Russian 21st seed played with far greater control on the big points and made fewer mistakes than her American opponent.
The key match statistic was that Pavlyuchenkova made just seven unforced errors, compared with 27th seed Vandeweghe's 22. - Reuters
