Top women crash out of Wimbledon
Not one top-10 seed has made the women’s quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Serena Williams will be there, though, after she moved a step closer to an eighth title at the All England Club.
Williams reached her 13th Wimbledon quarterfinal by beating Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-2 Monday, and never looked likely to join the parade of favorites who have been eliminated.
No. 7 Karolina Pliskova became the last of the top-10 seeds to be knocked out, losing to Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.
Since seeds were introduced in the 1920s, it’s the first time none of the top 10 women have reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. It’s also a first for any Grand Slam tournament in the 50year professional era.
Williams is seeded 25th after returning from having a baby, but is looking like her usual dominant self on the grass courts. In a matchup of the only two mothers remaining in the draw, she jumped into a 3-0 lead in both sets and wrapped up the win in 62 minutes.
Rodina, who upset 10th-seeded Madison Keys in the previous round, broke back for 3-2 in the second set but was broken to love straight away.
“It was tougher than the scoreline,” Williams said. “I knew we were both moms, and I’m not sure how often that’s happened, if ever. So it’s really cool. You can be a mom, you can still play tennis and you can still be great.”
In the men’s tournament, Roger Federer advanced to a record-extending 16th Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Adrian Mannarino of France.
The eight-time champion lost just five points in a 16minute first set but faced break points for the first time in this tournament, saving all four. Federer has won 32 consecutive sets at Wimbledon to move within one straight-sets victory of breaking his previous longest streak at the All England Club, 34 in a row from the third round in 2005 to the final in 2006.
Federer next faces eighthseeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal after edging Gael Monfils 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-6 (4).
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal is also back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011. The Spaniard beat Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court to return to the last eight for the first time since 2011 when he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic. Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, has yet to drop a set in this tournament.
Nadal and Djokovic are on course for a semifinal meeting after the Serb beat Karen Khachanov and the fading light. — AP