Djokovic cruises at Wimbledon, Zverev crashes

LONDON:

Novak Djokovic faces a stiff challenge in his quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam on Monday after Taylor Fritz powered back from two sets down to end Alexander Zverev’s Wimbledon campaign.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina wore a black ribbon and broke down in tears as she made the Wimbledon quarter-finals, hours after a Russian missile barrage killed dozens and ripped open a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

Seven-time champion Djokovic comes up against Danish 15th seed Holger Rune, who has beaten him twice, in the fourth round.

Djokovic, seeking to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s titles, had surgery last month after suffering a knee injury during the French Open.

The 37-year-old, aiming to pull clear of Margaret Court’s mark of 24 majors, has dropped a couple of sets but has largely looked untroubled so far.

Rune, by contrast, was forced to dig deep in his third-round match against Quentin Halys after trailing by two sets to love.

“He looks to me a player that is ready for big things. He’s a spectacular player, no doubt,” said Djokovic. “He’s a very tricky opponent.

“When it comes to competing, obviously we both have that fire. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of fireworks on the court.”

Fritz comeback

Fritz mounted a stirring comeback to dump fourth seed Zverev out of the tournament, winning their last-16 match 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Confronted with Zverev’s relentless serve, American 13th seed Fritz looked to be heading home but engineered a crucial break in the third set.

It was the first time the German former world number two had been broken in the entire tournament.

Fritz, who won the Eastbourne International on grass last month, edged the fourth set on a tie-break and broke again in the fifth set as he raised his level.

“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court, two sets down in front of this crowd. It’s a dream,” he said.

“The thing was I still felt I was playing really well for being down two sets. I was just thinking it sucked to be playing this well and to lose in straights.

“So let’s take the third, I took it one at a time. I had that belief. It was just a couple of points here and there.”

The American, who hit a total of 69 winners against 23 unforced errors, will face Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals.

Defeat for Zverev means the big-serving German, runner-up at Roland Garros last month, has still never reached the last eight at Wimbledon.

Tearful Svitolina

Svitolina wept on court after reaching the last eight at Wimbledon for a third time with a 6-2, 6-1 win against China’s Wang Xinyu in just 55 minutes.

The 21st seed, wearing a black ribbon on her white shirt, was in action after Russia struck cities across Ukraine in missile attacks, which heavily damaged a Kyiv children’s hospital.

“It’s a very difficult day today for all Ukraine people,” said the 29-year-old Svitolina.

As she attempted to compose herself, she received a lengthy round of applause from spectators on Court Two.

“It was not easy to focus on the match. Since this morning it has been very difficult to read the news and go on court.”

Svitolina will next play Russian-born Kazakh Rybakina, who defeated an injury-hit Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 3-0. Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, said she did not feel pressure even though she is the highest-ranking player left in the women’s draw.

Svitolina, in line with all Ukraine players, refuses to shake hands with Russian opponents but insisted she would offer her hand to Rybakina when they clash.

“She changed her nationality, so it means she doesn’t want to represent her original country,” said Svitolina.

Australian ninth seed Alex de Minaur, who won the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grass-court tournament last month, prevailed in four sets against France’s Arthur Fils to set up a quarter-final against Djokovic or Rune.

Musetti ruined big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s 21st birthday by coming from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Iga Swiatek’s conqueror Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3. AFP