Djokovic and Murray head Wimbledon cast for quarters
LONDON — No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Andy Murray have yet to lose a set, let alone a match, so far at Wimbledon.
The way things have been going at the All England Club this fortnight, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Rafael Nadal, a 12-time Grand Slam champion, was beaten in the first round. Roger Federer, owner of a record 17 major titles, went out in the second, as did four-time major champ Maria Sharapova. Five- time Wimbledon winner Serena Williams’ 34-match winning streak ended in the fourth round.
And on and on it’s gone, with no top-20 player other than Murray left on his side of the draw, and a record-equaling number of withdrawals or midmatch retirements because of health problems.
“Everyone was a bit on edge, a little bit uptight,” reigning U.S. Open champion Murray acknowledged, “because of what was happening with the injuries, withdrawals, upsets and stuff.”
He and Djokovic have made it all look so rou- tine, though, heading into the men’s quarterfinals Wednesday.
On the top half of the bracket, Djokovic — a sixtime Grand Slam titleist and the only remaining past Wimbledon winner — will face No. 7 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, the 2010 runner-up. No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain plays No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, the 2009 U.S. Open champion and the third man who hasn’t dropped a set through four matches.
On the bottom half, it will be Murray against 54th-ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain, and No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz against his Davis Cup teammate and pal, 130th-ranked Lukasz Kubot, in a match between the first two Polish men to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since 1980.
“Magical,” Janowicz said.
In keeping with the unpredictable nature of the tournament, whoever wins the women’s title will be a first-time Grand Slam champion. Thursday’s semifinals are 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland against 23rd-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany (who beat Williams on Monday), and 2007 runner-up Marion Bartoli of France against 20th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Janowicz and Kubot will be playing in the quarterfinals at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for the first time, as will Verdasco and del Potro. Ferrer lost at that stage last year.
The other three have much more solid Wimbledon bona fides: Murray (2012) and Berdych (2010) have been the runner-up, while Djokovic won the title in 2011.
“I feel good about myself in this moment. I think I actually play a better tennis on grass than I played two years ago, when I won this tournament,” said Djokovic, who never before had won every set he played in five previous trips to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. “For now, I’m feeling good. I’m No. 1 of the world.”
He is bidding to reach the semifinals for a 13th consecutive Slam, the second- longest streak in men’s tennis history, behind only Federer’s 23-semifinal run.
Djokovic has played in seven of the last 10 major finals, and he’s combined with Federer and Nadal to win 31 of the past 33 trophies.
Bartoli eliminated the last remaining American singles player, beating Sloane Stephens 6- 4, 7-5 in a match halted with Stephens serving, down 5-4 at deuce. After the delay, Bartoli came out and won two points to secure the first set. Soon after, she was showered with boos because she had asked the umpire to stop the match in the first set when it started sprinkling on Court 1.
“I didn’t really get why the crowd was so against me at that point,” Bartoli said. “Already, the courts were a bit slippery even when it’s dry. When it’s wet, it can get dangerous. I didn’t want to stop the match for no reason. It was a precaution.”
Stephens said it would have been nice to finish the game before the break, which lasted about 2 ½ hours.
“Coming back and serving at deuce, that’s always going to be tough for anyone,” she said.
This is Bartoli’s deepest trip at a Grand Slam since the 2011 French Open and her deepest trip at Wimbledon since 2007, when she lost to Venus Williams in what remains her only Grand Slam final.
Meanwhile, Radwanska moved one win from her second straight Wimbledon final, putting Li away on the eighth match point. Radwanska called for a medical timeout after the second set so a trainer could work on her right thigh. Up 5-2 in the third set, she called for the trainer again for a quick treatment on both legs.
“If it’s the end of a Grand Slam you don’t really think about the pain or anything else,” Radwanska said. “You just fight until the end. That’s what I was doing today.”
With Radwanska advancing, Poland is guaranteed a semifinalist in both the men’s and women’s draws.
On Wednesday, Jerzy Janowicz plays Lukasz Kubot in an all-Polish men’s quarterfinal.
“I kind of started it,” said Radwanska, who last year became the first Polish woman to reach a Grand Slam final since 1939, before falling to Williams.