Federer is bumped from top billing

WITH a few swipes of his mighty forehand, Juan Martin Del Potro not only beat Gilles Simon, he cleared aside Roger Federer too. Federer is being forced to relocate to No 1 Court for the first time since 2015, with Centre instead playing home to Del Potro versus Rafael Nadal. Novak Djokovic against Kei Nishikori is the other quarterfinal hosted in Wimbledon’s prestige arena today, meaning a rare demotion for Federer, who faces Kevin Anderson. Not for 20 matches has the eight-time champion had to play second fiddle. But the scheduling is sound. Djokovic against Nishikori looks an intriguing contest, while Nadal’s duel with Del Potro should be one of the matches of the tournament. This is the third time in four Grand Slams the pair will meet and though Nadal won in France and America, he has shown vulnerabilities on grass that Del Potro could exploit. Del Potro also bludgeoned Nadal into submission at the Rio Olympics in a thriller. Nadal has been able to enjoy an extra day’s rest due to Del Potro needing to come back yesterday to finish the job against Simon. Bad light brought an end to their match on Monday, so they returned to Court 2 yesterday with Del Potro two sets to one up and in a hurry. The Argentine eventually came through 7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6. ‘I will be in good condition, my body feels OK,’ said Del Potro. ‘Everybody knows the favourites are Roger and Rafa. But the other six players are fighting for that big goal as well.’