July 11, 2017 by admin

Muller brings mighty Rafa to his knees

LONDON, July 11
French Open champion Rafael Nadal’s challenge for a third Wimbledon title was ended by Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller as the Spaniard succumbed 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 in a heart-pounding fourth-round classic on Monday.
The 31-year-old Nadal fought back from two sets down and saved four match points in a 135-minute minute fifth set in which he successfully served to stay alive nine times.
At the 10th time of asking, however, and with thousands of transfixed fans watching the drama unfold on the screen on the hill and on the edge of their seats on Court One, Nadal buckled under the relentless pressure exerted by an inspired Muller.
A miss-hit forehand gave Muller two more match points and this time he finished the job as a weary Nadal went long.
Sixteenth seed Muller, who served 30 aces and hit 95 winners, will play Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals.
Muguruza knocks Kerber off her perch
Top seed Angelique Kerber was knocked out of the last-16 by Garbine Muguruza, ensuring she will lose her world No. 1 ranking.
Muguruza’s 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory marked the ninth consecutive time Kerber has failed to beat a top-20 opponent. She last achieved that feat in 2016 and she has now been beaten by Muguruza in five straight matches.
Romanian Simona Halep could now take the world No. 1 crown if she reaches the semifinals at Wimbledon. Halep beat Victoria Azarenka on Monday to move into the quarters, where she will face Johanna Konta.
Should Halep fail to advance to the semis, then Czech Karolina Pliskova will take over at number one when next week’s rankings are announced.
But there was a bitter irony for Kerber who, despite being somewhat hampered by her left knee, produced her best display in months and yet bids farewell to Wimbledon and her status as the world’s best. Monday’s match was always destined to be close, pitting 2016 runner-up Kerber against her 2015 equivalent and there was little to choose between the pair in what was a high quality contest on Court 2.
Halep dashes new mum’s comeback dreams
Halep sent new mum Azarenka packing 7-6(3) 6-2 in the fourth round as a litany of second-set errors put paid to the Belarussian’s dreams of a fairytale Wimbledon comeback.
Azarenka, playing in her second tournament after the birth of her son Leo in December, out-hit and out-thought the second-seeded Romanian for much of a pulsating first set, mixing deep groundstrokes with frequent dropshots and forays to the net.
But the two-time semifinalist at the All England Club began to flag in the first-set tiebreak, losing it 7-3 before conceding the next five games.
A mini fightback pegged the second-set deficit back to 5-2 before another Azarenka backhand groundstroke error saw Halep home in just under 90 minutes, keeping alive the Romanian’s hopes of a maiden Grand Slam victory and an ascent to the world No. 1 ranking.
Federer reaches 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal
Roger Federer reached his 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal today with a 6-4 6-2 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Federer, 35, is also the second oldest man to make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon behind Ken Rosewall who was 39 when he reached the last-eight in 1971.
Canada’s Milos Raonic survived a marathon fourth round workout against rising German star Alexander Zverev on Monday, knocking out some pundits’ outside bet for this year’s title 4-6 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-1.
Former finalist Tomas Berdych reached the last eight after coming through a brutal five set tussle with Austrian Dominic Thiem.
Berdych, who lost to Nadal in the 2010 final, came through 6-3 6-7(1) 6-3 3-6 6-3 in a two-hour-and-52 minute encounter on Court Three against the world No. 8.
Murray reaches quarters for 10th straight year
Defending champion Andy Murray eased into the quarterfinals for the 10th successive year with a 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4 victory over Benoit Paire.
Murray was not at his best against Paire and his faltering serve was frequently exploited by the 46th-ranked Frenchman, who caused the Briton trouble without being able to inflict any lasting damage.
He broke Murray twice in a row in the first set, which ended up going to a tiebreak that the top seed won comfortably. Murray, who came into the championships with a niggling hip injury, still seems occasionally uncomfortable and lacking his usual zip around court. He had too much guile for Paire, however, and wrapped up his 26th successive win against French opposition in two hours and 21 minutes.