Talking points for today

● Champagne super Novak? Rave reviews followed Novak Djokovic’s fourth-round performance against Karen Khachanov, with the sense the Serbian is back to the form that has brought him 12 grand slam titles. Djokovic has wrestled with injury problems but his statistics this tournament point to a player making rapid strides towards the top again. Maybe similar applies to his quarter-final opponent Kei Nishikori, a former World No 4, who has toppled Nick Kyrgios and Ernests Gulbis over the last two rounds.

● Can Kevin Anderson dethrone the king? Roger Federer dismissed his firstweek opponents in clinical fashion, and then sprinted through the opening set against fourth-round rival Adrian Mannarino in a staggering 16 minutes on Monday. It became more of a contest after that against Mannarino, however, with Federer made to graft for the win. He has still yet to drop serve and remains a wonderful returner, a skill that will be put to the test against the powerful deliveries of South African Anderson.

● Ace-race leaders go head to head: the clash of John Isner and Milos Raonic may not be one for tennis aesthetes, given booming serves are bound to dominate. Both men have banged down more than 100 aces so far in this Wimbledon, and are the only players to have reached three figures.

● First big test for Nadal: Rafael Nadal believes he is playing his best tennis at Wimbledon for a long time, after ending a seven-year wait to get back to this stage of the tournament. He has looked terrific so far but has yet to play an opponent ranked inside the world’s top 75, so the early wins need to be assessed in that context. Juan Martin del Potro presents a major step up in class.