Milestone hunter Djokovic set for De Minaur test
TOP MEN'S MATCH: ALEX DE MINAUR V NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Djokovic joined Roger Federer and Martina Navratilova in an elite list of players who have won 100 matches at Wimbledon when he eased past Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-0 6-4 in the previous round.
While he can also equal Federer's mark of eight titles at the All England Club, the milestone that is driving Djokovic is a 25th major to take him past Margaret Court.
It is a record that has eluded him since he won the 2023 U.S. Open and he will look to build momentum and achieve the feat at Wimbledon, which he says is his favourite tournament.
But Djokovic faces an opponent who is coming into Monday's match with unfinished business as Australian De Minaur, who had to pull out of their Wimbledon quarter-final last year with a hip injury, is relishing the chance to finally meet the Serbian on grass.
'It's funny how life works ... here we are a year later and I get my opportunity and chance again," De Minaur, 26, told Australia's Stan Sport after Saturday's win. "He's going to be very difficult to beat ... I'm going to have to go after it."
De Minaur, who has won only one of his three meetings with Djokovic, said he was up for the task ahead.
"You want to be beating the best players in the world ... I see it as the ultimate challenge in this sport, and I'm ready," he added.
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: IGA SWIATEK V CLARA TAUSON
Five-times Grand Slam winner Swiatek has yet to replicate her stellar claycourt dominance on grass, but the former world number one said she had found a level of comfort at this year's Wimbledon that she had not felt before.
The 24-year-old barely missed a beat as she brushed aside Danielle Collins 6-2 6-3 in the third round, a rarity for the Pole who has never won a WTA title on grass.
"I was in the zone," Swiatek said after Saturday's victory. "I had practices where the ball was listening to me. Today was a good day and it is a new experience feeling good on this surface."
However, Swiatek's Wimbledon campaigns have often been derailed by rising contenders. In 2023, she lost in the quarter-finals to wildcard Elina Svitolina. Last year, she was upset by unseeded Yulia Putintseva in the third round.
Tauson, who defeated last year's semi-finalist Elena Rybakina in the third round, may fancy her chances of becoming the latest opponent to derail Swiatek's Wimbledon dream as the Danish 22-year-old enjoys her best year on the circuit yet.
"Before the grass season started, I'd never won a match on grass," Tauson said after beating Rybakina. "But I played some of my best tennis."
Seventh seed Mirra Andreeva has enough reasons to feel confident after she dismantled Hailey Baptiste in straight sets to reach the last 16.
"With every match I play I feel my level is rising," Andreeva said after Saturday's win.
The 18-year-old has emerged as a dark horse for the women's title after winning her first two WTA 1000 trophies this year, notably beating Aryna Sabalenka to clinch the Indian Wells Open in March.
Andreeva has yet to drop a set as she faces 10th seed Emma Navarro, who knocked out defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the third round.
However, for Navarro, the win came with an asterisk as Krejcikova was visibly struggling with injury as she lost the match after winning the first set.
"Neither of us played our best tennis," Navarro said.
A win over Andreeva would be the best way for the American, who reached the quarter-finals last year, to announce herself as one of the major contenders for the title.
WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON MONDAY (prefix number denotes seeding)
Centre Court (Play begins at 1230 GMT)
11-Alex de Minaur (Australia) v 6-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
7-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v 10-Emma Navarro (U.S.)
1-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v 19-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Court Number One (Play begins at 1200 GMT)
18-Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) v Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
10-Ben Shelton (U.S.) v Lorenzo Sonego (Italy)
8-Iga Swiatek (Poland) v 23-Clara Tauson (Denmark)
Court Number Two (Play begins at 1000 GMT)
Marin Cilic (Croatia) v 22-Flavio Cobolli (Italy)
19-Liudmila Samsonova (Russia) v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (Spain)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Wallaby Hooper named to face Lions for Brumbies
SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - ACT Brumbies loose forward Tom Hooper has been named to face the British & Irish Lions in Canberra on Wednesday despite coming on as a replacement for the Wallabies against Fiji on Sunday. The 11-test flanker, who is leaving the Brumbies for England at the end of the season, will line up in a team missing several test players but including plenty of the side that made it to the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals this season. The Brumbies are expected to give the Lions their toughest match before the test series, especially given their track record against the tourists. The Lions needed a conversion from Matt Dawson deep into stoppage time to beat the Brumbies 30-28 on their 2001 tour and went down 14-12 the next time they visited Canberra Stadium 12 years later. Hooper is one of three Wallabies in the pack along with lock Cadeyrn Neville and hooker Lachlan Lonergan, while the back three of Andy Muirhead, Corey Toole and Ben O'Donnell have a mixture of guile, blinding pace and experience. Lonergan's brother Ryan captains the team from scrumhalf, while Hooper's sibling Lachie, also a loose forward, has been named on the bench for what could be his Brumbies debut. "It's been amazing to watch the growth of both Tom and Lachie over the past few years, and it's special that they may get the opportunity to play alongside each other in a Brumbies shirt on Wednesday night," said coach Stephen Larkham. "Not only that, but it's against a world-class team in the British & Irish Lions ... they'll be chomping at the bit to contribute positively to the team." Larkham was an assistant coach at the Brumbies in 2013 and Australia's flyhalf in the first two tests against the Lions in the 2001 series, which the Wallabies won 2-1. "The boys have been back in training for a couple of weeks and they are aware of how big an opportunity this is for them to take on the Lions," he added. "We're under no illusions of the challenge that lies ahead." Brumbies team: 15–Andy Muirhead, 14–Ben O'Donnell, 13–Ollie Sapsford, 12–David Feliuai, 11–Corey Toole, 10–Declan Meredith, 9–Ryan Lonergan (captain), 8–Tuaina Taii Tualima, 7–Rory Scott, 6–Tom Hooper, 5–Cadeyrn Neville, 4–Lachie Shaw, 3–Rhys van Nek, 2–Lachlan Lonergan, 1–Lington Ieli. Replacements: 16–Liam Bowron, 17–Cameron Orr, 18–Feao Fotuaika, 19–Lachie Hooper, 20–Luke Reimer, 21–Harrison Goddard, 22–Jack Debreczeni, 23–Hudson Creighton.
Glasgow Times
18 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Aryna Sabalenka's impressive grand slam streak goes on at Wimbledon
The world number one is yet to drop a set but has been pushed in all of her matches so far, with her latest scrap seeing her overcome former doubles partner Mertens 6-4 7-6 (4). There was not the same sense of jeopardy as there had been in Sabalenka's late-night duel with Emma Raducanu in the third round, with the top seed never behind but unable to shake off Mertens until the second-set tie-break. 'Roland Garros was also quite challenging,' said Sabalenka, who has now made at least the quarter-finals on her last 11 appearances at grand slams. 'I love these challenges. I think every time you go through these tough matches, you kind of bring your game to the next level, and it helps to improve your game as well. 'I feel like, with every match I'm playing here, I'm getting better and better mentally and also physically. So I love these tough challenges. I only hope to get better and better in each round.' The victory was her 46th of the season – way ahead of any other player, with only four women managing more wins in the whole of 2024. Aryna Sabalenka hits a backhand (Adam Davy/PA) Sabalenka is extending her lead at the top of the rankings with every success having missed Wimbledon last year through injury, but she is desperate to add a fourth grand slam title to her CV after heartbreaking losses in the finals of the Australian Open and French Open this year. She is yet to reach a Wimbledon final but it would be a huge shock if she falls before then this year, with numerous upsets on her side of the draw meaning she finds the unlikely figure of Laura Siegemund awaiting her next. The 37-year-old German had won only two singles matches here in her career prior to this year but made it through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra. Siegemund has an unusual game based on heavy slice and attacking the net, and she insisted she will not be fazed by facing Sabalenka. Laura Siegemund is a surprise quarter-finalist (John Walton/PA) She said: 'Of course I am surprised. If you would have told me I play quarter-finals here, I would have never believed it. 'On the other hand, it's a very simple math always in tennis. You have an opponent, either you find good solutions and you execute well, you go forward, or you don't, and you don't go forward. 'As I said after big wins before, I have this game and this maybe boldness to take out big names. I've always had that, just maybe because I don't care who is on the other side. In a positive, respectful way, I don't care.' It is proving to be a good tournament for the veterans, with 34-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ending a nine-year wait to make a second quarter-final by seeing off Britain's Sonay Kartal 7-6 (3) 6-4. In the last eight, Pavlyuchenkova will take on 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who reached this stage of Wimbledon for the second time with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory over young Czech Linda Noskova.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
See the shocking moment a man and woman get into a physical clash at AFL match - even though they support the same team
Two Carlton fans have been recorded getting into a physical confrontation during their team's horror loss to Collingwood on Friday night, with footage showing the man and woman shoving each other before security was able to step in. The supporters lashed out at each other as their side's dismal season got even worse with a 115-59 defeat at the hands of the Magpies at the MCG. In the video, the woman lashes out at the man as she appears to be leaving the stadium behind a group of Collingwood fans who are being escorted out by security guards. The woman shoves her fellow Blues fan and a drink goes flying before he stands up and tries to shove her back as another man intervenes. Just as the situation appears to calm down while other bystanders try to break up the clash, the woman doubles back and appears to try to strike the man in the face. A security guard then positions himself between the two fans as they shout and gesticulate at one another. Pictured: Carlton fans let their players know what they think of their performance after their heavy defeat to Collingwood View this post on Instagram A post shared by @dandoesfooty Former AFL star turned popular footy social media influencer Daniel Gorringe posted the footage on Instagram and TikTok, and said it shows the team's horrible form is making Carlton fans 'eat each other alive'. That loss - which left the Blues 12th on the ladder - is their third defeat in a row, with the losing streak beginning with a shocking capitulation to North Melbourne in round 15. The Blues finished eighth last year after coming fifth in 2023, when they came within a whisker of beating Brisbane to make the grand final. Their fall from contention to be one of the league's most disappointing outfits has seen other fans lash out at coach Michael Voss and his squad, sometimes with headline-grabbing results. On June 27, a Carlton fan vandalised the club's headquarters at Melbourne's IKON Park in an incident that saw police called. The blunt message spray-painted on the building in large, black letters read: 'Sack the board, sack (Nick) Austin and (Brad) Lloyd. Keep (Michael) Voss. TDK (Tom de Koning) yes or no?' Austin is the club's list manager and Lloyd is the football manager, while de Koning is the young-gun ruckman whose future with the team is up in the air. After the loss to Collingwood, Magpies coach Craig McRae said he felt for his old Brisbane Lions teammate Voss. 'For all our excitement there's a level of, 'I hope my mate's OK',' McRae said. 'As much as we want to beat our arch-rival, that's done now and I just go into love and care and support for a guy that I've got enormous love and support for. 'So I hope he's going OK. It's a tough industry, we know. 'We sit in this chair - it's a hot seat - and when things don't work out we know what the job sometimes puts across your desk.'
