LONDON, July 4, 2016
The fourth round of the All England Championships concluded on Monday in Wimbledon when local hero Andy Murray sealed his win over Nick Kyrgios with his eighth ace. There was no drama on Centre Court whatsoever, as the second seed was in total control of the match, hitting 36 winners and breaking the Australian’s youngster serve four times. Murray won 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 42 minutes becoming the hot favourite to win Wimbledon now in the absence of his regular nemesis Novak Djokovic.
“Ruthless”
A standing ovation for @andy_murray as he serves out another #Wimbledon victory https://t.co/WJv5t1TW4D
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 4. Juli 2016
“The first set was very tight. I managed to get the break at 6-5 but it was very tight up to that point. The second set was very comfortable. He lost his focus a bit in the middle part of it. Third set he served a high percentage, but when I was able to get the ball back in play I was able to dictate a lot of the rallies,” Murray was pleased with his performance. The world number two will next take on 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“He’s a tough grass court player and I’ll have to think closely about that match,” Murray added.
Tsonga’s opponent Richard Gasquet was forced to retire, trailing 4-2.
“I have a back problem. I felt it yesterday playing against Ramos at the end of the match. This morning I tried to warm up, it was OK. Then during my match, I felt something wrong and I couldn’t move after that. I’m sad I couldn’t finish the match,” Gasquet explained.
Roger Federer defeats Nottingham champion Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the stage of the final eight at Wimbledon for the 14th time, tying Jimmy Connors for most quarterfinals in the Open Era. The third seed won 75% of his first service points and converted five of his 10 break point chances to secure victory in one hour and 36 minutes, hitting his sixth ace.
Federer, who made it into the quarterfinal without dropping a set, has played every match these Championships on Centre Court, and may play a whole lot more there too. “I love it. More, please. I wish I could play every match of the season here on Centre Court at Wimbledon. You have to be lucky with the draw sometimes. I was lucky in the first week to play two Brits in round two and three, which I’m sure also kept me on Centre Court. Now that Novak lost, it’s going to give me help to get back on Centre in the second week, sharing Centre with Murray the second week. No.1 Court isn’t bad either. I’m cool playing there too. If I have a preference, of course I’ll always take Centre Court.”
Federer will next take on Marin Cilic. The ninth seed from Croatia benefited from the retirement of Kei Nishikori, leading 6-1, 5-1 after 44 minutes. The tournament’s number five from Japan suffered from an injured back.
Sam Querrey defeated Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6, 6-4. It’s a result that confirms his win against Novak Djokovic was not just about the top player in the world not being at his very best. The US-American is now further than he has been before in a major. Querrey will next take on Milos Raonic. The 25-year-old Canadian rallied from a two set deficit for the first time in his career, winning 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 over David Goffin. Raonic bombed down 22 aces and hit 53 winners to Goffin’s 44 to prevail in three hours and two minutes.
Lucas Pouille backs a pretty lucky semi-final at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome earlier this season by reaching his first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam. The 32nd seed from France, who arrived at Wimbledon without a single match win on grass, battled past Bernard Tomic 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. Pouille withstood 29 aces, hitting 27 of his own and broke his opponent’s serve five times to advance in two hours and 55 minutes.
“Before the tournament, the goal was to win one match on grass. Now of course, I’m very happy, very emotional with the win today. I try to recover as good as possible for Wednesday. It will be my first day off tomorrow, so it will be good,” told Pouille. He will next play the winner of the all-Czech-affair between Tomas Berdych and Jiri Vesely. The final match of the day was suspended before the start of the fifth set due to darkness.
