Tennis News

A tantalizing quarter-final that few saw coming is set to take place on Tuesday afternoon at the All England Club, as Agnieszka Radwanska and Madison Keys complete to determine who will advance to the final four at Wimbledon. This will mark the fourth time that the two comeptitors will cross paths on the professional tour and the second time at the Championships. Radwanska holds a 3-0 head-to-head record against Keys and will look to maintain that undefeated streak en route to the semi-final round.

After a terrible start to her season, Agnieszka Radwanska has started to look like her old self again. Following solid weeks in Nottingham and Eastbourne, Radwanska now has an opportunity to reach the final four at Wimbledon following her straight sets victory against Jelena Jankovic, who was playing fantastic tennis in her own regard. She eventually beat the Serb 7-5, 6-4.

“I think I was a little bit nervous at the beginning,” Keys said. “She was playing really well and I wasn’t playing as smart as I wanted. “But I sat down and gave myself a talking to, I started playing my shots and kind of got myself back in control.”

Radwanska’s quarter-final meeting will come against Keys, who reached that stage of the tournament after rallying from a set down to beat Olga Govortsova in three sets. After a slow start, Keys picked up the pace and managed to secure the 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win.

This will mark the fourth time that the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour and the second time at the Championships. Radwanska holds a 3-0 head-to-head record against Keys and will look to maintain that undefeated streak en route to the semi-final round.

“I think she’s an incredible fighter. She is a great mover, and her hands are unbelievable,” Keys added. “You know, I feel like she’s always there. She makes you play four extra balls. You know, she’s a really tough opponent.”

Following a pair of tight two-setters, the first quarter-final of the 2015 edition of the Wimbledon Championships has been set, as 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and CoCo Vandeweghe will face off to determine who will advance to the semi-finals of the tournament. This will serve as the first ever career meeting between the two competitors and will certainly be an interesting, pressure-filled match, as one of these two will reach the semi-final round of the prestigious Grand Slam.

All looked well for Maria Sharapova as she stormed to a significant lead early in the match against Kazahkstan’s Zarina Diyas. Up 5-2 in the opener, Diyas showed some life and broke back before allowing the Russian to eventually close out the set. However, Diyas took an early lead in the second set but Sharapova eventually showed her trademark resiliency and reeled off four of the next five games to close out the match 6-4, 6-4.

Sharapova’s next opponent will be Coco Vandeweghe, who produced the shocker of the afternoon when she ousted the tournament’s sixth seed Lucie Safarova in straight sets. Vandeweghe won the match 7-6(1), 7-6(4) to add to her remarkable week that also included straight sets wins over No.11 seed Karolina Pliskova and No.22 seed Samantha Stosur.

“I think it’s been a tremendous effort for her to get to this stage,” Sharapova said. “Her game really revolves around that serve, and she’s been using it quite effectively in her previous four matches. “It’s always tricky playing against a really good server on grass, because a few points here and there can ultimately tell the difference in the winner and the loser. But I’m looking forward to that match-up.”

This is set to be the first time that Sharapova and Vadeweghe will cross paths on the professional tour. While the American is more than capable of pulling off the upset, particularly given that Sharapova has not historically done too well in the latter stages of the Championships, it may be a tough ask for her to complete yet another upset win. Sharapova shows trademark resliliency and will certainly make CoCo work for her win.

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For the first time since 2012, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson will meet on the professional tour to determine who will advance to the quarter-final stage of the Wimbledon Championships. This is their sixth overall meeting on the pro circuit, as Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 4-1 and has not lost to the South African since 2008. He also holds a win against him at Wimbledon from his winning season in 2011.

As though he had never skipped a beat, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round of the Championships following a straight sets win against Bernard Tomic. He defeated the Australian 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 with very little fuss overall, as he struck 38 winners in a total of one hour and 34 minutes to close out the affair.

“I managed to get a lot of returns back in play,” said Djokovic. “I think I executed tactically everything I intended before the match to move him around the court, mix up the pace, not really give him the same look. I think overall I played a really, really good match.”

Seeded 14th at this year’s event, Kevin Anderson defeated Leonardo Mayer on Saturday to advance to the fourth round of Wimbledon. He struck 51 winners, including 22 aces to close out the match 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-3 in two hours and 15 minutes.

“I think he is probably playing the tennis of his life,” said the Serb. “He’s reached the highest [Emirates ATP Ranking] now in his career. He keeps on going forward. I think he improved his movement and his game from the baseline. He always had a very good serve.”

This is their sixth overall meeting on the pro circuit, as Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 4-1 and has not lost to the South African since 2008. He also holds a win against him at Wimbledon from his winning season in 2011.

Following an impressive week of tennis at the All England Club, Roger Federer stands tall as s the second seed en route to the second week of the Wimbledon Championships. With his opening three matches firmly behind him, Federer will next contest a fourth round encounter against Roberto Bautista Agut, whom he has previously crossed paths with twice on the professional tour. Federer leads the head-to-head series 2-0.

The world No. 2 and second seed at the Championships dropped his first set of the tournament on Saturday afternoon at SW 19, as he needed a total of four sets to work his way past Australia’s Sam Groth. The seven-time champion at this event beat Groth 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 on Centre Court in two hours and 16 minutes. The Swiss star had to withstand 21 aces from the youngster but only lost seven first service points, which emphasized his on-serve dominance during the encounter.

“The only thing I really have to change is my returning. The rest, the service games, I can control them myself. Once the return is played, then it’s about reaction, especially when he’s serve‑volleying… I think that’s the biggest effort for me anyway, when I play a big server, [is] understanding those patterns.”

Federer will next encounter Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets to reach the fourth round. The No. 20 seed won the match 7-6(4), 6-0, 6-1 in one hour and 35 minutes. Although the first set was close, the Spaniard stormed through the remainder of the match.

This will mark just the third time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Federer leading the series 2-0 following relatively smooth victories at last year’s United States Open and Shanghai Masters. Although this is set to be their first ever meeting on grass, it should still be Federer’s domain comfortably.

Following a pair of relatively tiresome third round encounters, Tomas Berdych and Gilles Simon will cross paths for the eleventh time on the ATP World Tour when they meet in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships. Simon leads the head-to-head series 6-4. Berdych won their most recent encounter, which took place earlier this year in Rotterdam and ended 6-2, 6-1 for the Czech native as he advanced to the final of the tournament.

After dropping the opening set against Pablo Andujar, Tomas Berdych found himself rallying from that early deficit to defeat the Spaniard in four set and secure his place in the fourth round at the All England Club. It was a tough contest for the sixth seed yet he was eventually able to get a grip on the match and converted seven break point opportunities and struck 58 winners to close out the match 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-6(3) in two hours and 39 minutes. The former runner-up will now go on o the second week of the tournament.

France’s Gilles Simon was faced with the task of downing talented countryman Gael Monfils to advance to the fourth round of the tournament. He eventually did so in five sets but it was no easy matter. Simon needed three hours and 11 minutes to rally back and defeat Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-2 on Saturday.

“It was great,” said Monfils. “I’ve known Gilles for a long time so it is always nice to play with him. First time we play in Wimbledon, so it was good. We always have fun.”

This marks the eleventh time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Simon leading the series 6-4. The Frenchman is more than capable of a strong win here against his Czech adversary but has already played several grueling matches and simply may not have enough in the gas tank to complete the process this time around. Given that the two competitors have never stepped across the net on grass, that should add a layer of intrigue to this contest.

The 20-year-old Australian tennis star’s matches have become must-see sporting events at Wimbledon — and the world’s media is absolutely lapping it up. Debate rages as to whether Kyrgios is a troublesome tennis brat or a breath of fresh air for the sport but most agree he’s injecting a new wave of colour into the sometimes-beige world of men’s tennis.

Nick Kyrgios’ 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win over 7th seed Milos Raonic had just about everything. Along with brilliant tennis and his trademark interactions with the crowd there was, of course, plenty of drama. He was told to turn an official Wimbledon headband inside out, because it violated the club’s all-white policy, and also he received a code violation when he tossed a racquet that bounced off the court and into the crowd.

​In the previous round, Next Gen Nick Kyrgios won his match against former Top 10 Juan Monaco of Argentina winning the match 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 . The fiery Aussie was brilliant with his shot-making but as routine as the scoreline seems, the match did bring back some illustrious memories.

DEJA VU! John McEnroe – John McEnroe’s 1981 tantrum at Wimbledon gave rise to the classic phrase “You cannot be serious!” which he repeated at later matches and which even inspired the title of his autobiography. Turn the clock to 34 years later and Tennis might just be on the verge of producing its next version of “J-MAC”. Nick came up with his own version of tantrums as he got into an argument with the chair umpire after the umpire asked him a question during the change-over.

This is what Kyrgios had to say to chair umpire Ali Nili.: “Is that a threat? Does it feel good to be up there in the chair? Do you feel strong up there in the chair? You’re a real champion. Did you get your point across?” This exchange sounded threatening and intimidating as what McEnroe said almost 3 decades earlier. Also this comes after the Aussie No.2 had another piece of the chair umpire in his 1R match when he yelled “Dirty Scum” after another heated chat with the umpire Mohamed Lahyani. He later said he was referring to himself. Fair Enough!!

Kyrgios has already created enough controversy in the sport. He is full of arrogance – a behaviour which is hard to defend. In a sport where men play the game more professionally and formally as there ever was, Nick brings a breath of fresh, raw and wicked air to the atmosphere.

At this point of time, the sport needs another John McEnroe. It needs an antagonist, a brat who can attract millions of fans and can instil both love and hatred in them. The Big 4 is arguably the most sought out group in the world of sports. Though their tennis does all the talking, but on-court they all like to keep it clean and neat which is a little dreary at times.

The 20-year old knows how to make it to the headlines. At the start of Wimbledon 2015, the Aussie-Greek, brazen mohawked, tattooed super-star in the making who fired his coach just before Wimbledon and (thankfully) has little of the on-court sophistication that makes his sport’s top player so gentlemanly, has something to say: “I don’t really like tennis.” He expressed his love for basketball but was pushed by his parents to take up the sport. His tendency is to use decidedly non-tennis language or demeanour on the tennis court, but Kyrgios stands out.

Next up for the mercurial Aussie is a date with France’s Richard Gasquet (Both Players have knocked out last year’s SF; Gasquet dispatched Dimitrov in straight sets). It is a repeat of last year’s 2R match where Kyrgios defeated 13th seed Gasquet in a five set thriller in which he had to come back from two sets to love down, and save nine match points over the fourth and fifth sets.

Kyrgios fits the position as a top-rated warrior and could possibly go onto the take the mantle from the Big 4. As we all know McEnroe’s most famous tantrum in 1981 was followed by one of Wimbledon’s biggest moments as the American went to defeat unflappable Ice Man Swedish Legend Bjorn Borg (5-time defending champion) in the final.

History might just repeat itself.

DÉJÀ VU! John McEnroe’s 1981 Wimbledon: During a first-round match against fellow American Tom Gullikson, McEnroe disagreed with umpire Edward James over a call, arguing he had hit the ball inside the court. “You can’t be serious man, you cannot be serious!” he bellowed, rising to a spectacular crescendo that elicited an audible gasp from the audience. “That ball was on the line. Chalk flew up! How can you possibly call that out?!” He later called James the “absolute pits of the world,” The umpire responded by awarding a point against the 23-year-old. The audience applauded. McEnroe then swore at the tournament referee, prompting another point penalty. McEnroe went on to defeat his Swedish arch-rival Bjorn Borg in the final, earning his 1st Wimbledon title and angrily smashing a racket in the process.

Nick Kyrgios STATSMETER

• Kyrgios became the first 20-year-old to beat Federer (Madrid 2015) since Juan Martin Del Potro did it in the 2009 U.S. Open final.
• When he beat Nadal at Wimbledon 2014 (4R), he was the first teen to upset a No. 1 player since Nadal himself pulled the feat in 2005. He also became the 1^st male main draw debutant to reach the QF since German Florian Mayer achieved that feat in 2004.
• He won the Aussie Boys’ Title in 2013 beating compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final.
• He also reached the QF at the 2015 Aus Open becoming the 1st Teenage  male to reach two Grand Slam quarterfinals since Federer in 2001 and the first Australian male to reach the quarterfinals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005, and the first Australian of any gender since Jelena Dokić in 2009.

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Following an impressive week at the All England Club, Andy Murray is through to the second week at the Wimbledon Championships, where all eyes will be on him to determine how far he can advance this season at the prestigious grass court Slam. He will continue his campaign for a second title at this event when he meets towering Croat Ivo Karlovic for a sixth time on the professional tour. Murray holds an impenetrable 5-0 record in the head-to-head series and will look to maintain that undefeated streak en route to the quarter-final.

World No. 3 Andy Murray needed four sets to get past Andreas Seppi on Saturday but it was not an exceptionally difficult encounter. He called on the trainer to help work on his right shoulder and then resumed play to oust the Italian in a quick fourth set. Murray struck 32 winners, including 10 aces. He will now move on to challenge the big serving Croat in the fourth round.

“He served extremely well this tournament,” said Murray about Karlovic. “A couple matches here where he served over 40 aces. In Halle, as well, he served I think the record for three sets with his match with Berdych. Extremely tough match. I’ll need to be very sharp on my returns and try and find a way to get as many of his serves back in play as possible and see what happens. But it’s obviously a very, very tricky match.”

Karlovic has proven to be a serving sensation on the grass courts of SW 19, as he struck more than 40 aces for a third time this week to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. He won the match 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(9) on Saturday.

“I know every game is different,” said Karlovic. “I always try to begin good and if it’s a lot of aces like this, then of course it is easier. Each point is a new one, so I don’t feel like nobody can beat me. I just always go on to the next one.”

This marks the sixth time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Muray leading the series with an undefeated 5-0 record. This includes a previous win at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, so Murray should still be the heavy favourite to come out victorious in their clash on Monday.

A highly intriguing match-up between Stan Wawrinka and David Goffin is scheduled to take place in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships on Monday. This will serve as the third meeting between the two competitors, as they crossed paths twice previously – both meetings in Chennai, India. Wawrinka leads the head-to-head series 2-0.

As one of the few players remaining in the draw yet to drop a set, Stan Wawrinka stormed into the second week at Wimbledon following a straight sets win against Fernando Verdasco, a player he held a losing record against (1-2). Wawrinka struck 32 winners to close out the match 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 54 minutes.

“I’m playing better and better,” said Wawrinka. “I’ve been serving really well since the beginning of the tournament, being really aggressive. Starting to feel more comfortable for moving and in defence also. Today was a really solid match. I’m really happy with the match today.

“I think since a few years now, I feel really, really good on the grass. I still think I can play my best game. Last year I played a really good, good tournament, being in the quarters. So far it’s been great. I can see that I’m there in the second week playing good, not playing my best tennis, but playing good and still there. Feeling strong on the court. Hopefully I can play some great match on Monday.”

On Saturday, David Goffin ousted former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets to advance to the fourth round at the All England Club. He won the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to set up the encounter with Wawrinka.

“He is really talented player,” said Wawrinka of Goffin. “He loves the grass. Has amazing backhand, returning well. He’s dangerous because he like to stay on the line, playing really fast. We’ll see how I’ll have to play my game to be aggressive, serving well, mix a lot, making him going back a little bit.”

This will serve as the third meeting between the two competitors, as they crossed paths twice previously – both meetings in Chennai, India. Wawrinak leads the head-to-head series 2-0 and will look to maintain that undefeated streak en route to the quarter-final round.

An intriguing fourth round contest is scheduled to take place between Polish no. 1 Agnieszka Radwanska and Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic at the All England Club on Monday. This marks the eighth time these two competitors will meet on the tour, with Radwanska leading the head-to-head series 5-2. However, Jankovic did win their most recent encounter at last year’s Rome Open on clay. This is the first time they will cross paths on grass.

Following a terrible start to her 2015 season, Radwanska appears to have gotten things under control on grass, as she has been her usual self since moving onto this surface last month. In her most recent match, Radwanska defeated Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon – one of her best performances of the year so far.

“Well, I just feel much better than in the beginning of the year, and also I think the surface makes a huge difference. Everything is just easier for me now that I’m back on the grass,” Radwanska said. “Losing first round at a Grand Slam is always disappointing. I wasn’t happy at all. But I had some days off – well, it was actually a lot of time off. And that’s why I took the wildcard into Nottingham, to play some more matches, and especially since the grass season was a little bit longer this year.

“More matches gives me more confidence. I’ve been feeling good from the beginning of the grass season. That’s why I just kept going in Eastbourne – I had good matches against top players there.”

In a surprising turn of events, No. 28 seed Jelena Jankovic managed to flip the script on Petra Kvitova, as she worked her way back from a set and a break down to oust the defending champion from the tournament. The Serb was down 6-3, 3-1 before she turned things around to close out the match in three sets.

This marks the eighth time these two will meet on the WTA tour, with Radwanska leading the series 5-2. Apart from a loss in their most recent meeting, the Pole won five of their last six consecutive matches dating back to 2011. She is certainly the favourite to win their Monday encounter and reach the quarter-finals at the Wimbledon Championships.

Once a heated rivalry that dated back to their first encounter in 1998, Serena Williams and Venus Williams will meet for just the third time since 2010, yet little has changed about the significance of the two titanic sister’s crossing at the Championships. As two former champions in their own right at the All England Club, the Williams sister will kick off Maniac Monday at Wimbledon as the first match on Centre Court – their 26th overall meeting. Serena leads the head-to-head series 14-11.

While tennis fans will now get to see the latest chapter in one of the great tales of the sport’s history, Serena was just a few points away from suffering a shocking exit in the third round of the tournament. Faced with the task of beating British No. 1 Heather Watson on Centre Court, Williams stood firm in the opening set yet was unable to stop the Brit’s barrage in the second frame to force a decider. There, Williams was within two points of losing the match yet held her nerve and eventually closed out he encounter late in the third set 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. She will next encounter her big sister Venus for a spot in the quarter-final.

“We’re going to do the best that we can. I mean, she’s my sister today. She’s my sister next week. She’s my sister next year. I think that’s a little more important than a match. We’ll leave everything out on the court. When it’s done, you know, we’ll go back to regular life.”

Seeded 16th at this year’s tournament, Venus Williams has looked fantastic through the first three matches on grass at Wimbledon. Her latest win was against Aleksandra Krunic, whom she beat 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 11 minutes.

“I think it will be a really good match,” said Serena of Venus. “Yeah, I don’t know. She’s playing so well. I’m practicing next to her every day and I’m in awe of how she’s doing. It’s a little frustrating because I know I have to play her. I just don’t know how I’m going to do, to be honest. Worst case scenario, I don’t do well. I’ll just try to keep moving ahead. Did better than last year. So I guess it’s a step in the right discussion.”

This is scheduled to be the 26th career meeting between the Williams sisters. Serena leads the head-to-head series 14-11 but has not looked her best this week at the Championships. Given that they are 1-1 over the past five years, this will be an exceptionally intriguing contest to determine the outcome.