An aggressive Kevin Anderson roared out to a 2-0 lead on defending champion and world #1 Novak Djokovic, but Djokovic struck back just as hard on Monday in the final match of the day at Wimbledon. The great Serbian champion has battled back, and now the match stands at 2 sets each, with 1 set left to go in the remaining men’s round of 16 match, it will have to be completed tomorrow due to the late start and even later finish with the light of court 1 dying out.
Anderson was relentless on serve and fought hard on return in the first two sets, in the first he created two break point chances, though he failed to convert on the second Djokovic service game, and he saved the break point chance Novak had in his first service game, eventually prevailing in a tiebreak 8-6. In the second both players were broken once, with Anderson breaking first, and Djokovic breaking him for 2-3 right after. It again went to a tiebreak and though Novak fended off two set points at 5-6 serving, he collapsed from 4-0 up the second set tiebreak, and from 5-2 one just one more point out of the next five and again lost it 8-6.
At this point all of the pressure was on Djokovic, who has won more than 20 matches in a row in a slam round of 16, he responded remarkably well though, composing himself and bashing Anderson for a 6-1 third set and then breaking early in the 4th and serving it out 6-4. At this point it was nighttime on court 1, and instead of moving the match to center court, they suspended it and will complete the 5th set tommorow. A debatable decision that probably helps Anderson given he had totally lost the plot after the second set.
Besides the Djokovic-Anderson match, Nick Kyrgios and Richard Gasquet played their own four set thriller early Monday with Gasquet prevailing 7-5 6-1 6-7(7) 7-6(6). A feisty Kyrgios had two set points in the fourth set tiebreak, but couldn’t force a fifth. Back in the second set he tanked a game early in frustration and went off the boil multiple times in long monologues, at one point hugging a ballboy. Kyrgios did better when he calmed down in the third, and Gasquet was in fact the player who lost control, smashing his racquet in frustration after losing the third set. The fiery pair had some great shotmaking, but their antics were more noteworthy, and the veteran this time got the better of the young gun.
Gasquet’s remaining French countryman Gilles Simon also advanced, as he pulled off a surprising victory over the higher ranked Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-3 6-2. Though Simon doesn’t produce a lot of highlights he put together a special performance against the powerful Czech who appeared inadequate in rallies, and was abysmal on return. Berdych generated just one break point the whole match, while Simon converted 5/13 chances and won over 40% of his return points (compared to just 26% for Berdych). Berdych unhappily spewed errors and was headed to the showers not long after the match began, as he again posted a poor slam showing compared to his ranking.
Andy Murray and Roger Federer continued on a path that would see them meet in the semifinals. The home favorite Murray foiled the giant Ivo Karlovic 7-6(7) 6-4 5-7 6-4. It’s never easy to face Karlovic as he serves so well, but Murray lobbed him successfully and seemed pleased with his performance against a tricky and wise opponent. Federer dominated Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-2 6-2 6-3, as an ankle sprain midway through the match dashed any chance RBA had of coming back from a set and a break down. Credit to the Spaniard for fighting through the pain and finishing the match, but Federer was unthreatened today. Murray had a 62/9 W/UE ratio on the day while Federer was 38/12, that should give you an idea of how cleanly the two stars played.
The lone upset of the day was the unseeded Vasek Pospisil’s 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3 6-3 victory over Viktor Troicki. Vasek has now won a pair of five setters on his Wimbledon run, and reached his first Grand Slam quarter in a result that is a gut punch for Troicki with such a favorable draw. The match was fast paced, featuring good serving and aggressive play from both players, and three of the sets took less than 30 minutes to complete. Troicki fired 20 aces, and had a better W/UE ratio but over the final three sets he generated no break point chances, as again Pospisil’s serve was a great weapon for him. Many thought Milos Raonic would be carrying the Canadian mantle this deep into the tournament, but instead it’s Vashy in both singles and doubles.
American Denis Kudla wasn’t as lucky as Pospisil however, as he lost a heartbreaker to Marin Cilic 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-5. Kudla battled hard but was poor on serve, mixing in a lot of double faults, as his wildcard dream run ended early in the second week. Cilic will now await the Djokovic-Anderson winner, as the US Open champion appears to be improving with each match he’s played on grass.
Lastly, Stan Wawrinka blitzed Belgian David Goffin 7-6(3) 7-6(7) 6-4. Goffin was competent on the day and was up a break in the third set, but Wawrinka’s backhand power was a bowling ball, and he served as the pins today. A poor first set tiebreak lso hampered Goffin’s confidence as he pushed Wawrinka at times but couldn’t generate very many chances to break.
With the exception of Djokovic-Anderson concluding, there will be no men’s singles matches tommorow, as the quarterfinals will take place on Wednesday.
Enjoy what you see? Check out our full Wimbledon coverage here.
Main Photo:
