The Malta Independent 26 April 2024, Friday
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(Updated 8) Wimbledon, Day 8: Djokovic wants to be on Wimbledon's Centre Court

Monday, 9 July 2018, 23:30 Last update: about 7 years ago

The Latest from Wimbledon (all times local):

 

10:25 p.m.

Novak Djokovic wants to play on Centre Court, too.

Three-time champion Djokovic squeezed in his last-scheduled match on No. 1 Court on Wimbledon's 'manic Monday' just before darkness stopped play.

Having played just one of his four matches on Centre Court, Djokovic wants his quarterfinal on Wednesday against Kei Nishikori to be given premier status.

As he answered questions in the Serbian portion of his news conference after his victory over Karen Khachanov, Djokovic — via a translator — bemoaned the fact that his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have played all of their matches so far on Centre Court.

Only a near-perfect performance from the 12th-seeded Djokovic wrapped up the victory in just 1 hour and 46 minutes, ensuring the match wasn't carried over to Tuesday.

If Djokovic is put on Centre Court on Wednesday, that would mean one of the top-ranked duo — eight-time champion Federer or two-time champion Nadal — playing on No. 1 Court.

Due to its roof, matches on Centre Court can continue when either darkness or rain interrupt play on all other courts. A roof on No. 1 Court is expected to be completed in time for next year's tournament.

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9:25 p.m.

As she seeks a first Wimbledon title, Timea Babos was handed a boost when it was revealed that she will become the new top-ranked women's doubles player.

When the new rankings are released next Monday, Babos will become the first Hungarian to top them.

Babos and her partner Kristina Mladenovic of France, who were runners-up at the All England Club in 2014, advanced to the quarterfinals on Monday. Babos was also defeated in the 2016 Wimbledon final when partnered with Yaroslava Shvedova.

Playing alongside Mladenovic, Babos claimed her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. That victory came just months after Babos won the WTA Finals with Andrea Sestini Hlavackova.

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9:05 p.m.

Novak Djokovic beat Karen Khachanov and the fading light to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

As play was being suspended on other courts, Djokovic made sure he gets Tuesday off by breaking Khachanov for the seventh time to finish off a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win on No. 1 Court.

Juan Martin del Potro wasn't as efficient. His fourth-round match against Gilles Simon was suspended because of bad light after the fourth-seeded Argentine lost the third set.

Play was halted around 8:45 p.m. with del Potro leading 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5), 5-7.

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8:50 p.m.

Wimbledon's Centre Court roof has closed for the first time in this tournament.

Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Groenefeld won a tiebreaker to force a third set in their mixed doubles match against Jamie Murray and Victoria Azarenka, prompting the roof to be shut at 8:40 p.m. local time.

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6:55 p.m.

Kevin Anderson advanced to his first Wimbledon quarterfinal after edging Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-6 (4).

The eighth-seeded Anderson hit 20 aces on his way to setting up a last-eight meeting with defending champion Roger Federer.

Anderson, who reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2017 U.S. Open, had lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon on three previous occasions.

Both Anderson of South Africa and the 44th-ranked Monfils of France were bidding to reach the quarterfinals for the first time on their 10th appearance at the All England Club.

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6:35 p.m.

Rafael Nadal reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.

The top-ranked Spaniard beat Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court to return to the last eight for the first time since he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2011.

Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, has yet to drop a set in this tournament. He was down a break in the third set but broke right back for 3-3 and then converted his third match point when Vesely missed a backhand.

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4:25 p.m.

Serena Williams is back in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the 13th time after beating Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-2.

In a matchup of the only two mothers remaining in the draw, Williams jumped into a 3-0 lead in both sets and wrapped up the win in 62 minutes.

"It was tougher than the scoreline," Williams said. "I knew we were both moms, and I'm not sure how often that's happened, if ever. So it's really cool. You can be a mom, you can still play tennis and you can still be great."

Rodina, who upset 10th-seeded Madison Keys in the previous round, broke back for 3-2 in the second set but was broken to love straight away.

Williams is looking for her eighth Wimbledon title and has established herself as the big favorite once again, with the top-10 seeds all eliminated. She is seeded 25th after missing last year's tournament while pregnant.

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2:55 p.m.

Roger Federer advanced to a record-extending 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Adrian Mannarino of France.

The eight-time champion earned his latest win with maximum efficiency on Centre Court, particularly during a 16-minute first set, where the top-seeded Federer lost just five points.

The 22nd-seeded Mannarino became the first man to earn a break point against Federer at the tournament, but was unable to take any of his four opportunities.

Federer has now won 32 consecutive sets at Wimbledon to move within one straight-sets victory of breaking his previous longest streak at the All England Club, when he won 34 in a row between the third round in 2005 and the final in 2006.

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2:00 p.m.

Roger Federer has picked up exactly where he left off at Wimbledon.

After cruising through the first week without dropping a set, the defending champion won the opening set of his fourth-round match against Adrian Mannarino 6-0 in 16 minutes.

Mannarino won only one point on his own serve as Federer hit 11 winners to just one unforced error. The only consolation for the 22nd-seeded Mannarino was that he became the first player to earn a break point on Federer's serve during the tournament.

The top-ranked Federer, seeking a record-extending ninth Wimbledon title, has now won 30 consecutive sets at the All England Club.

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1:35 p.m.

The last of the women's top-10 seeds has been knocked out at Wimbledon.

Kiki Bertens followed up her win over Venus Williams by beating No. 7 Karolina Pliskova to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.

Bertens hit seven aces and saved eight of the 10 break points she faced to win 6-3, 7-6 (2) and complete the latest upset in the women's draw. She beat the ninth-seeded Williams in the third round after coming from a break down in the third set.

Bertens and Pliskova had reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time.

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1:25 p.m.

Jelena Ostapenko advanced to a second consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-6 (4), 6-0 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko lost her first two service games and went 5-2 down in the opening set before rallying to force a tiebreaker against her Belarussian opponent.

The 12th-seeded Ostapenko was aggressive throughout, hitting 28 winners — 13 coming off her backhand.

The Latvian player also reached the quarterfinals last year in her best Wimbledon showing, losing to eventual runner-up Venus Williams.

The 21-year-old Ostapenko, the youngest player remaining in the women's draw, next faces 33rd-ranked Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

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1:05 p.m.

Dominika Cibulkova overcame a delay caused by a controversial decision from the umpire to advance to the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Hsieh Su-Wei.

Leading 5-4 and two points away from taking the first set at 0-30 on Hsieh's serve, Cibulkova struck a backhand onto the baseline that was called out.

Hsieh returned the ball over the net and into the court as Cibulkova immediately challenged. After the review confirmed the ball landed on the line, umpire Juan Zhang of China awarded the point to Cibulkova.

Hsieh protested, leading the match referee to come on to discuss the decision with the umpire as calls of "replay the point" came from a bemused crowd on Court 18.

After seven minutes, the decision was finally changed and the point replayed. The reprieve was only momentary for Hsieh, as Cibulkova regained her composure to break and take the first set 6-4.

Cibulkova went on to advance to a third Wimbledon quarterfinal, following 2011 and 2016.

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11:45 a.m.

The second week of play has started at Wimbledon.

The only remaining top-10 seeded woman, No. 7 Karolina Pliskova, was trying to avoid further upsets as she faced Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. Other early starters included No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia facing Donna Vekic of Croatia and Camila Giorgi of Italy playing Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.

The so-called "Manic Monday" sees every remaining men's and women's singles title challenger play their fourth-round matches, making it one of the busiest days of the championships.

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11:05 a.m.

Wimbledon is set for its annual "Manic Monday" as the fourth round gets underway at the All England Club.

All remaining men's and women's singles title challengers are in action, with a Centre Court lineup that includes Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal.

Federer is taking on 22nd-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino before Williams faces Evgeniya Rodina in a matchup of the only two mothers remaining in the tournament. Nadal then plays Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic.

On No. 1 Court, three-time champion Novak Djokovic faces Karen Khachanov of Russia.

Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, the highest-seeded woman remaining at No. 7, plays Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.

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