LONDON: World number one Ashleigh Barty reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time on Monday beating French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3.
The 25-year-old Australian will play the winner of the match between unseeded compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic and British teenager Emma Raducanu on Tuesday for a place in the semifinals.
Defeat brought an end to Krejcikova’s 15-match winning streak and she will have to wait another year to see if she can emulate her late coach and mentor Jana Novotna in winning the title.
Barty may have won in straight sets but that did not really tell the full tale of a hard fought 95-minute encounter against an opponent who had yet to win a main draw singles grass match prior to Wimbledon.
Barty’s serve was once again her Achilles heel being broken early in the first set and then again in the second when she served for the match.
“It was an incredibly tough match,” said Barty.
“Barbora has had an unbelievable year and am happy to come through in the end. I found some good stuff when it was important.
“This is a bit down to the work myself and my team do in practice but this is the fun part to come out and enjoy myself.
“It can be frustrating at times but it tastes sweeter when you win.”
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian wildcard Liudmila Samsonova.
Czech eighth-seed Pliskova, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament, will face either Madison Keys of the United States or Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic for a place in the semifinals.
DJOKOVIC POWERS ON
Novak Djokovic reached his 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal with a straight-set victory over Chile’s Cristian Garin.
World number one Djokovic eased into the last-eight at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win and will face either Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics or Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the semifinals.
“Confidence levels are very high after winning the French Open,” said Djokovic.
“It was one of my biggest wins in the circumstances -- two five-setters, two four-setters in the second week.
“They took a lot out of me but they also gave me wings.
“The further I go in the tournament, the more comfortable I feel and I look forward to the next challenge.”
Djokovic, the six-time Wimbledon champion and chasing a record-equalling 20th major title, is halfway to a calendar Grand Slam.
Later, Denis Shapovalov’s impressive run at Wimbledon saw him reach the quarterfinals after he dismissed Spain’s 2019 semifinalist and eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.
The 22-year-old Canadian 10th seed — who beat Britain’s two-time champion Andy Murray in the previous round — will next face 25th seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia for a place in the last four.
Khachanov triumphed over American Sebastian Korda 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 and will face Canadian 10th seed Denis Shapovalov for a place in the last four.
Jabeur makes history
Ons Jabeur’s historic Wimbledon campaign saw her reach the women’s quarterfinals, beating Poland’s 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in their fourth round match.
The 26-year-old is the first Tunisian woman to reach the last eight at Wimbledon and will face Belarus second seed Aryna Sabalenka who defeated Elena Rybakina 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Sabalenka will be playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Jabeur showed great poise to stay in the match after she let slip a 5-4 lead and serving for the first set only for the Pole to reel off three games on the bounce.
“It was a great match and I had to stay calm rather than get angry when I failed to close out the first set as getting angry would not have helped my cause,” said Jabeur.
“Today I decided to change my game a bit as everyone knows I am doing drop shots and being aggressive was key today.”
— AFP
Men (fourth round)Matteo Berrettini (ITA x7) bt Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 6-4, 6-3, 6-1)
Women (fourth round) Ashleigh Barty (AUS x1) bt Barbora Krejcikova (CZE x14) 7-5, 6-3; Karolina Pliskova (CZE x8) bt Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 6-2, 6-3; Ons Jabeur (TUN x21) bt Iga Swiatek (POL x7) 5-7, 6-1, 6-1; Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x2) bt Elena Rybakina (KAZ x18) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Wimbledon results
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