Roger Federer in action in his fourth round match against Steve Johnson.
Roger Federer felled
high-flying Steve Johnson at Wimbledon on Monday, knocking the wind out
of the powerhouse with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win in the fourth round.
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 quarter-finals, 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.
Cibulkova inflicts another defeat on Radwanska
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova
bundled third seed Agnieszka Radwanska out of the fourth round of
Wimbledon, 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.
Cibulkova broke the Pole, whose all-court game lacked energy and precision at the start, in the fourth game of a lacklustre first set and took the set with a big serve that Radwanska knocked tamely into the net.
The pair exchanged breaks throughout the second set and Radwanska saved a match point in the ninth game, finding some verve and precision to grab the set from the disappointed Slovak.
The two women ramped up the quality in the final set, hitting the lines, producing deft dropshots and fighting through exhausting groundstroke rallies to the delight of the gripped Court Three crowd.
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.
The Slovak will meet either Ekaterina Makarova or Elena Vesnina, both of Russia, in Tuesday's quarter-finals.
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.
Cibulkova broke the Pole, whose all-court game lacked energy and precision at the start, in the fourth game of a lacklustre first set and took the set with a big serve that Radwanska knocked tamely into the net.
The pair exchanged breaks throughout the second set and Radwanska saved a match point in the ninth game, finding some verve and precision to grab the set from the disappointed Slovak.
The two women ramped up the quality in the final set, hitting the lines, producing deft dropshots and fighting through exhausting groundstroke rallies to the delight of the gripped Court Three crowd.
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.
The Slovak will meet either Ekaterina Makarova or Elena Vesnina, both of Russia, in Tuesday's quarter-finals.
Giant-killer Querrey keeps momentum to overpower Mahut
Sam Querrey in action.
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 to become the first
American man to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final 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 quarter-final. On US.Independence Day, he also became the first American man to reach the quarter-final at Wimbledon - or any other slam - since 2011.
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 quarter-final. On US.Independence Day, he also became the first American man to reach the quarter-final at Wimbledon - or any other slam - since 2011.
Cilic through to quarter-finals after Nishikori quits
Kei Nishikori, right, speaks to Marin Cilic.
Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic
reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the third year running after
Kei Nishikori quit with a rib injury midway through their fourth round
match on Monday.
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 swallowed a pill given by the trainer at the previous change of ends, shook his head at the umpire to indicate he could not longer continue before going up to Cilic to shake hands.
"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 told a news conference.
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.
The 2014 US Open champion, who beat his Japanese rival in Flushing Meadows to win his only Grand Slam title, could not keep up the same intensity in the second set as Nishikori broke back to level at 1-1.
But from then on Nishikori failed to win a game and, after dropping serve for the third time in the set, with a double fault, he could not hide his despair.
While Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, indicated with his hands to 'cut it', Nishikori covered his eyes before burying his head under a towel as he slumped into his chair.
When the trainer came on court and handed a pill to Nishikori, it was clear that Asia's number one player was injured and one game later it was all over as muted applause greeted Cilic's passage into the last eight.
Pavlyuchenkova punishes Vandeweghe
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 swallowed a pill given by the trainer at the previous change of ends, shook his head at the umpire to indicate he could not longer continue before going up to Cilic to shake hands.
"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 told a news conference.
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.
The 2014 US Open champion, who beat his Japanese rival in Flushing Meadows to win his only Grand Slam title, could not keep up the same intensity in the second set as Nishikori broke back to level at 1-1.
But from then on Nishikori failed to win a game and, after dropping serve for the third time in the set, with a double fault, he could not hide his despair.
While Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, indicated with his hands to 'cut it', Nishikori covered his eyes before burying his head under a towel as he slumped into his chair.
When the trainer came on court and handed a pill to Nishikori, it was clear that Asia's number one player was injured and one game later it was all over as muted applause greeted Cilic's passage into the last eight.
Pavlyuchenkova punishes Vandeweghe
Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova celebrates winning the first set.
Russia's Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the Wimbledon quarter-finals 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.
So great was the American's frustration at her erratic play that, after she was broken for the second time in the second set, she gave her racket away to a delighted child in the crowd.
Pavlyuchenkova, who turned 25 on Sunday, was one of four Russians to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon - the most since 2009.
Kerber downs pocket rocket Doi to reach quarters
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.
So great was the American's frustration at her erratic play that, after she was broken for the second time in the second set, she gave her racket away to a delighted child in the crowd.
Pavlyuchenkova, who turned 25 on Sunday, was one of four Russians to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon - the most since 2009.
Kerber downs pocket rocket Doi to reach quarters
Angelique Kerber nearly runs into the net during her match against Japan's Misaki Doi.
Superior court craft proved
decisive for Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber on Monday as she
motored past Japanese pocket rocket Misaki Doi 6-3 6-1 in a full-blooded
fourth-round match on Wimbledon's Court Two.
German fourth seed Kerber, who reached the semi-finals at the All England Club in 2012, risked being overpowered early in the first set as her 5-foot-3 (1.59 metre) opponent bludgeoned forehand winners to both sides of the court.
But Kerber, who shocked world number one Serena Williams to win her maiden grand slam title in Melbourne in January, gradually found her range on her groundstrokes while 49th-ranked Doi's radar began to slip.
In a match full of mesmerising rallies, Kerber broke twice in the first set, winning it on her third set point, before cruising through the second as Doi's challenge fizzled out.
German fourth seed Kerber, who reached the semi-finals at the All England Club in 2012, risked being overpowered early in the first set as her 5-foot-3 (1.59 metre) opponent bludgeoned forehand winners to both sides of the court.
But Kerber, who shocked world number one Serena Williams to win her maiden grand slam title in Melbourne in January, gradually found her range on her groundstrokes while 49th-ranked Doi's radar began to slip.
In a match full of mesmerising rallies, Kerber broke twice in the first set, winning it on her third set point, before cruising through the second as Doi's challenge fizzled out.
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