Roger Federer vs Grigor Dimitrov in Wimbledon fourth round
- by Arlene Howard
- in Global Media
- — Jul 10, 2017
When a super-fit, 37-year-old Ken Rosewall hoisted the Australian Open trophy in 1972, chances are he did not spend too much time dwelling on how long he would stay as the oldest men's grand slam champion. For this year's Championships curtain-raiser, we had the dubious privilege of watching 30-year-old Andy Murray dismantle 20-year-old Sasha Bublik, who hit 12 double faults and looked half the player that Murray did at 20, despite being considered a hot prospect by the ATP.
"I will be out for a while but I will get through this". That wasn't ever a goal of mine. I thought Karen Khachanov would push him and at the end he did. But I didn't feel like it was unsafe. But it doesn't really mean anything.
After the win, the 18-time Major victor and seven-time Wimbledon champion was quoted to be saying, "I thought it was a fun match to play against a serve-and-volley player".
Speaking on Saturday, Federer said that he had already slipped on the court but that he "didn't feel like it was unsafe". "I learned to work hard, I learned about discipline and I did my schooling here as well". For Wimbledon and its fans, an occasional Centre Court retirement is a small price to pay for maintaining the status of a tournament that claims pride of place on almost every tennis star's calendar.
For now, it turns out the 23-time grand slam victor is happy to stay in close contact with her Danish friend.
Stubley went on to say the following, regarding complaints that certain courts were more unsafe than others: "Well, obviously we listen to players, because their feedback is important".
Since the triumph of Lleyton Hewitt 15 years ago, no person other than Federer (seven titles), Djokovic (three), Nadal (two) or Murray (two) has won the title in men's singles at Wimbledon.
Djokovic has marched into the last 16 on London's lush lawns for the 10th time, for the loss of just 19 games.
And the grit that defines Murray's on-court style is something he believes separates the greats of sport from the rest.
Querrey said: "It's really the most anti-climactic way to finish a match". A special ability in that sport. All of them appear unbeatable right now. "They have time to figure out how they're going to prep them for Monday".
This season has had its ups and downs. In May, Zverev stunned Djokovic in the Italian Open final.
Djokovic will go up against Adrian Mannarino on the middle Monday, while Federer is set for a meeting with Grigor Dimitrov. Murray, who usually struggles on the clay, said the tournament was a "turning point" following a period of indifferent form.
For 18-year-old Clarke, this is his first appearance at Wimbledon. The oldest man in the top 100 - 38-year-old Ivo Karlovic, the ur-Raonic - is now world number 23. And Murray, the defending champion, is the only member of the quartet to have lost a round since the beginning of the fortnight: against Fabio Fognini in the third round.
Halep is yet to drop a set at SW19 this year but that record will come under threat against the two-time major victor from Belarus.
Mischa and Sascha Zverev are the first pair of brothers to reach the third round at the same Wimbledon in 33 years, and the way the draw was panning out, there was even the possibility that the brothers could play one another for the very first time, and in the quarter-finals no less.
- Tomas Berdych on the magic of stepping out on Centre Court.
When seven-time champion Roger Federer is one of the players who finds issues with the surface, it is time to take it seriously.
Of the 16 survivors in the men's draw, Muller is most likely to be seen following his serve into the net.
