After a week full of shocking losses, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal comfortably fended off their challengers to play on Maniac Monday.
Roger Federer defeated Lucas Pouille in straight sets on Center Court (7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (4) ). It wasn’t the quickest straight sets win, but it was a trademark Federer win, complete with resolve, precision, composure and a few milestones passed along way. Facing break point at 5-5 in the first set, Federer responded with two overhead smashes of the racket to deny Pouille the game, and gained the momentum to win six subsequent game points. According to the ATP, Federer has now reached the Fourth Round for the 65th time in his beyond-stellar 21-year career. The tournament’s twitter posted that Federer is the first player to earn 350 match victories within a Grand Slam tournament. Matteo Berrettini will be Federer’s opponent in the Fourth Round of play on Monday.
It’s hard to stop @rogerfederer in this kind of form…
The Swiss defeats Lucas Pouille 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(4) to notch his 350th match win at Grand Slams – the first player in history to reach the milestone#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/A1sBL0HS5L
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2019
Rafael Nadal coasted into the round of 16 as well, with a straight set win over veteran Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (6-2, 6-3, 6-2). He will face Joao Sousa, who is hoping to get his first victory against Nadal in their third meeting on Monday. While up 5-2 in the second set, Nadal showcased his confidence by flashing his signature forehand passing shot that simply defied the laws of physics.
Americans Still Making A Splash
Tennys Sandgren was victorious over 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini (6-3, 7-6(12), 6-3 ), in a match where Fognini once again caught the ire of the tennis world. While down two sets to Sandgren, the Italian disparaged the English, in his native tongue. Fognini did apologize at a post-match press appearance, but it will be quite interesting if this moment of frustration goes unpunished. Fognini was fined $27,500 at Wimbledon in 2004 for unsportsmanlike outbursts and is currently under probation after insulting a chair umpire at the US Open in 2017.
Fabio Fognini, down two sets to Sandgren, is NOT happy that #Wimbledon put him on Court 14.
"A bomb should explode here." pic.twitter.com/EBnLwGHOPP
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 6, 2019
Sandgren’s victory over Fognini sets up a showdown on Maniac Monday with fellow American Sam Querrey, who notched a straight set win over John Millman (7-6(3), 7-6(8), 6-3). Querrey is slated to play with Monica Puig and the Bryan Brothers in Las Vegas on July 21st, for the newly chartered team in World TeamTennis, the Vegas Rollers.
Match Of The Day
– Longest match of The Championships so far ✅
– Three match points saved ✅Enjoy your Middle Sunday rest, Matteo 😅 pic.twitter.com/Cg1ZDu1hvV
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2019
Fans at the All England Club may have witnessed the most intense match of this fortnight today. 24th-seeded Diego Schwartzmann fought a spirited five-set match against Matteo Berrettini but fell to the Italian in the longest match of the tournament so far (6-7(5), 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3). The match nearly lasted four and a half hours with three sets going to tiebreak, and three match points being denied between both players.
