Right so now its time for the men's matches covering days 7 and 8, which saw some rain delays interrupt play on the outer courts, but play carried on as usual on the centre court in among it all. So let's give the matches a look....
So to start off we had Andy Murray, the defending champion on court taking on the big South African fella, Kevin Anderson in what promised to be Andy's first test of the tournament, after breezing through three easy matches in the first week. However for the first half or so of the match it looked to be more of the same as Andy thoroughly outplayed Anderson and he broke the big guy in the first set once to take it and in the 2nd he went up a double break in double quick time! But the roof was then closed due to rain and after that Anderson finally found his game and started playing alot better as he won three games on the trot to get himself back into the 2nd set, but Andy still managed to break the big guy again to take a two set lead. In the 3rd set however Anderson settled down and started to find his range and he gave Andy his first test of the tournament and he made life difficult for the defending champ, as Anderson continually managed to stave off break points. And play went into the tiebreak in which Anderson yet again threatened Andy, but the British No.1 held on impressively to his serve after letting Anderson briefly back into the tiebreak he went on to grab a match point and he sealed it at the first chance and with it his place in his 7th consecutive quarter final at SW19 with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.
This was yet another very impressive performance from Andy who is yet to drop a set in the tournament and that he has managed to reach the quarter finals without losing a set is remarkable in itself, given his penchant for dropping serve! As for Kevin Anderson well he acquitted himself well enough after being dominated in the first half of the match, he pushed Andy hard in the 3rd set and even had a set point to potentially take the match into a 4th set. But in the end it was Andy's class that shone through and his return game was spot on and his serve, despite one blip when after play was resumed when the roof was closed, was quite effective as Andy was wary of Anderson's big serve, but in the end he dealt with really well. And despite Andy's grass court winning streak ending at Queens a couple of weeks ago, he still remains unbeaten at the All England Club as he now stands at 17 matches won in a row, but whether or not he can maintain that run we will have to wait and see.
So now onto other matches as we next had Novak Djokovic take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an intruiging 4th round clash. Their last match together at the French open however was a non-event as Djokovic dominated a desparately lacklustre Tsonga and there was always a danger of a repeat. Howevver Tsonga this time thankfully decided to show up as he took on Djokovic with a bit more vigour and intent than his flat performance at Roland Garros, but Nole was still in imperious mode as he quickly raced into a two set lead, but Tsonga still showed promise. In the 3rd set there was a slight momentum shift as Tsonga started to find his feet, he started firing off some ferocious winners, and at 4-3, he almost broke Djokovic, who used his tenacity to cling on. And play went on as both men played some wonderful points and a 3rd set tiebreak finally saw Djokovic finish off Tsonga with an incredible backhand crosscourt winner, and he roared with delight as he secured his quarter final place with a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 result.
Despite its relative short length at just under two hours, this was still a very entertaining match and it was good to see Tsonga decided to show up at the party as he played some great tennis at times, but in the end he was just a bit too erratic and inconsistent and Djokovic's sublime return game and defence was just too hot for the Frenchman to handle in the end. And this sees Nole continue his highly impressive form into the last eight and he remains on course as one of the top favourites to win the title. But there were still one or two slight concerns as Djokovic at one point still grimaced from his shoulder injury, which suggests that physically he might still not yet be out of the woods fitness wise, but despite that it was still a terrific win for the Serbinator.
And in the last two matches for day 7, Grigor Dimitrov secured his first Wimbledon quarter final place after he defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 and this will set up a much anticipated clash with Andy Murray but more on that soon. And lastly Stan Wawrinka also showed that he has much improve his grass court game by beating Denis Istomin in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Stan though later complained about the scheduling as due to the rain delays it meant he would have to play three days in a row in order to reach the quarter finals, which also affected many other players, which again brings into question Wimbleon's middle sunday rule of no play, but it is a tradition the organisers are unlikely to change.
So now we get onto day 8 which kicked off with Rafael Nadal taking on the very talented newcomer, Nick Kyrgios, who was made a great run into the 4th round so far, but beating Rafa probably might have proved a bridge too far. Well..... as it turned out, not a bit of it, and right from the get go Kyrgios didn't look fazed by the occassion at all and he went on to nab the first set in the tiebreak and he impressed the crowd with his thunderous serves and big hitting. Rafa however in the 2nd set fought back and managed to finally get a break of Krygios's serve which saw him level the match at a set all and that point it looked like Rafa would be certain to find his way into the match. However Nick was not done and he stayed in the zone and served great to push play into another tiebreak which he won yet again much to the disbelief of the audience, as he took a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set the young Aussie did the unthinkable and became the third man in so many years to upset the World No.1 which a break of serve, he clung and without any trace of nerves he served out the biggest win of his life, taking down Rafa in four sets to reach his first grand slam quarter final in 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
Well this was an incredible victory for the young Australian player and very much unexpected as after his strong start you would expect Rafa to weave his way into the match after dropping the opening set for a fourth time in the tournament. But in the end Kyrgios deserves all the credit for pulling off such as terrific win and it shows that the new generation of tennis players has a new star and this may be a signal of things to come as it looks like the big four's stranglehold on the game could finally be loosening a bit, and if Kyrgios continues this level well he will be hard to stop in the future. As for Rafa well to be fair he has done better this year at Wimbledon in making it to the fourth round and the 2nd week, but it also shows that he is still lacking in confidence on the grass, so it remains debatable whether or not he will be able to do anything on it in the future to improve his results and maybe even win it again. However what is certain is that Rafa will be fully motivated to do well at the US Open, where he is the defending champion and no doubt he will be back to his best once he is fully rested and rejuvenated.
So next up we had Roger Federer who faced the Spaniard Tommy Robredo who defeated Rog in a surprise victory last year at the US Open in the same stage of the fourth round. But this time round, Roger had his revenge and he put in another hugely impressive display with a double break in the first set and a break in the 2nd and 3rd sets, Roger made his first Wimbledon quarter final in two years with a convincing 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory. So far it has to be said that Roger is probably looking the best player in the tournament although he is yet to be tested properly he certainly will soon as he will next face his good friend and compatriot, Stan Wawrinka for a place in the semis, as Stan beat grass court specalist, Feliciano Lopez in 7-6, 7-6, 6-3. But so far Roger is looking great and his match will Stan should be a tough test but he will come through it I think in maybe four sets.
So this sets up day 9's matches for Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic who will face off Grigor Dimitrov and Marin Cilic respectively. Djokovic's match up is an intruiging one but he is sure to win it as he has never been defeated by the big Croat, however Cilic has improved his game with his new coach Goran Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon champ and he pushed Nole quite hard at the French open this year. But regardless of all that I still think that Djokovic will win this one in four sets as he will have a bit too much for the big guy in the end and that Nole will make his fifth consecutive Wimbledon semi final.
As for Andy Murray's clash with Grigor Dimitrov well there is no doubt this promises to be a very exciting and thrilling encounter as both men are playing very well just now in the tournament. So what's my prediction???? Well I have to go with Andy because if for no better reason because he is much more experienced in playing big matches like this, also he is very comfortable on centre court and he will have the crowd right behind him. Dimitrov however is not to be underestimated and he will certainly give Andy a game and he does have a shot at beating the defending champion given that he is very comfortable on grass and under his coach, Robert Rasheed, he has become a much stronger player mentally and his game has a few flaws in it, so there is no doubt this will be a very tough encounter. So my prediction for this one will be Andy coming through in four very tight sets, but we will just have to wait and see, whatever happens it should be a nailbiter!
Right so that's me up to date with Wimbledon for now and I'll be back soon with more results.
So bye for now!
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