Wimbledon: Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic held every service game Monday and reached his 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating No. 17th seed, Cristian Garín at Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Novak Djokovic earned his 12th quarterfinal berth at Wimbledon, which ties him with Arthur Gore for third place on the men’s all-time list, behind Roger Federer’s 18 and Jimmy Connors’ 14.
Three men became first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalists Monday. Among them were No. 25 Karen Khachanov of Russia, who won a bizarre fifth set to beat American Sebastian Korda on his 21st birthday, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8. With both players battling fatigue and nerves, there were 13 service breaks in the final set.
Khachanov will next face No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, who hit 15 aces and beat No. 8 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.
Khachanov and Shapovalov joined Wimbledon’s final eight for the first time, as did No. 7 Matteo Berrettini, who became the first Italian man in 23 years to reach the quarterfinals by ousting Ilya Ivashka 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
Top-ranked Ash Barty also became a first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist when she beat French Open champion Barbora Krejcíková 7-5, 6-3. Barty was troubled again by a shaky serve but saved eight of 10 breakpoints and did manage an ace on match point to end Krejcíková’s 15-match win streak.
Barty is yet to play her best in the tournament but is the favourite to claim her second Grand Slam title. The Australian won the 2019 French Open and was the Wimbledon Girl’s singles champion in 2011. “I love coming out here and test myself against the best in the world,” Barty told the crowd. “And there’s certainly no place I’d rather be at the moment,” the Australian added.
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia became the first Arab woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals by rallying past 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Jabeur, seeded 21st, converted all seven-breakpoint chances. No. 2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by defeating Elena Rybakina 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. No. 8 Karolína Plíšková hit 10 aces and eliminated Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-3.
