Djokovic and Federer in Wimbledon landmarks as title showdown nears
LONDON: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer can inch closer to a Wimbledon title showdown on Wednesday when they make landmark appearances in the quarter-finals.
World number one Djokovic, chasing a sixth title at the All England Club and record-equalling 20th Grand slam, plays his 50 th quarter-final at the majors.
The Serb tackles Marton Fucsovics, the first Hungarian man to get this far since 1948.
Federer, just five weeks shy of his 40th birthday, is in his 18th Wimbledon quarter-final and 58th at the majors.
He faces 18th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz, only the fourth Polish man to make the last-eight ater knocking out world number two Daniil Medvedev.
Having already become just the third man to win all four Slams more than once by liting his second French Open last month, Djokovic now has another record in his sights.
He is halfway to a rare calendar Grand Slam, a feat only achieved by two other men -- Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969.
As a result, the 34-year-old is already being hailed as the greatest player of all time, surpassing even Federer and the absent Rafael Nadal.
“I feel privileged and honoured of course and very happy to be in this position to make history in the sport,” said Djokovic.
“At the same time I need to go about my everyday routines and everyday life on the tour prety much the same way that I feel it has reaped a lot of success for me.”
Djokovic enjoys a 2-0 head-to-head record over 29-year-old Fucsovics who has made the last-eight of a Slam for the first time.
Fucsovics knocked out fith seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round in five sets ater the Russian had swept their previous four matches in a ninemonth spell.
Worryingly for the Hungarian, Djokovic has only faced nine break points through four rounds at the tournament.
Federer, chasing a ninth Wimbledon title, won his only meeting against Hurkacz, in straight sets in the Indian Wells quarter-finals in 2019.
“We’ll see how much more I have got let in the tank,” said 39-year-old Federer, the oldest man to make the quarter-finals in the Open Era.
He struggled in his opener against Adrian Mannarino who had to retire injured at two sets each.
“I felt like now I’ve had some good progress. I’m taking the ball earlier. Obviously I’ve goten used to the conditions, goten used to the balls, the court speed,” said Federer whose comfortable last-16 win against Lorenzo Sonego was the 105th of his Wimbledon career.
Should Federer reach the semi-finals, he will face either Italian seventh seed Mateo Berretini or Felix Auger-aliassime, the 16th-seeded Canadian.
Berretini, the Queen’s Club winner, has emerged as a champion-in-waiting should Djokovic or Federer falter. He has fired a tournament-leading 67 aces and dropped serve just twice.