Live
Audio Only
Wimbledon's Manic Monday produced high-quality entertainment on-court and some off-court drama too, in both the men's and women's draw.
RELATED:
Wimbledon: Day 1 Highlights
Added to recent complaints about the quality of the surface of the courts, are accusations of sexism because the women's matches are not getting adequate big-court play time.
In the first seven days of the tournament, 14 men's singles matches were scheduled for Centre Court, but only eight for the women's.
All England Club chief executive Richard Lewis dismissed the accusations saying Wimbledon's Manic Monday format – which is unique among all four Grand Slams – meant big-name players would not always get on the main courts.
"You've got four of the all-time great male players: Rafa (Nadal), Roger (Federer), Novak (Djokovic) and Andy (Murray). You're left with some difficult choices," he told reporters. "I wouldn't say it's favoritism; it's taking the marquee matches. It's about which matches are the ones the public and the broadcasters, most of all, would like to see."
Lewis also added that the format gave fans with cheaper outside court tickets the chance to see bigger-name players.
In defence of the prestigious tournament, he pointed out that Wimbledon had dedicated ladies' quarter-finals and semi-finals day – which is unique among the majors. "We're very proud of that," he expressed.
Rafa out
Fifteen-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal put up an epic fight in his round-of-16 encounter, but still suffered a 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-15 defeat at the hands of Gilles Muller – who previously ousted the reigning French Open champion in the second round of the tournament over a dozen years ago.
From the start of the match, Nadal struggled to adjust to Muller's serve and volley tactic and quickly fell behind by two sets, but somehow found his rhythm to push the encounter to a decider.
“I didn’t feel like I was playing bad in the third and fourth sets,” Muller said. “I just told myself to keep it up.
It took five match points for the man from Luxembourg to close out the match for his maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance.
“He played well,” Nadal said of Muller. “I think I didn’t play my best the first two sets. I was all the time against the score and that’s so difficult against a player like him. He played great, especially in the fifth set. It probably was not my best match but at the same time I played against a very uncomfortable opponent.”
The Spaniard has not made it pass the fourth round of Wimbledon since his appearance in the 2011 finals, which he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
The late finish of the epic battle pushed Djokovic’s fourth-round match against Adrian Mannarino to Tuesday.
Tomas Berdych awaits the winner of that encounter.
Women
The number one seed, German Angelique Kerber, was ousted by Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in a three-set two-hour thriller, while five-time All-England champion Venus Williams made light work of Croat Ana Konjuh – 3 and 2 in little over an hour.
Williams, at 37-years-old, is the oldest quarterfinalist since Martina Navratilova 23 years ago.
British hopeful Johanna Konta fought off a scare from Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia to make the last eight for the first time.
Fiery American Coco Vandeweghe got by former world number one and fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
Results roundup
Women - Round of 16 results
Simona Halep def Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-2
Johanna Konta def Caroline Garcia 7-6, 4-6, 6-4
Svetlana Kuznetsova def Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4
Jelena Ostapenko def Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6
Coco Vandeweghe def Caroline Wozniacki 7-6, 6-4
Venus Williams def Ana Konjuh 6-3, 6-2
Garbine Muguruza def Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Magdalena Rybarikova def Petra Martic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Men - Round of 16 results
Roger Federer def Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Gilles Muller def Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13
Andy Murray def Benoit Paire 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Marin Cilic def Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
Milos Raonic def Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Tomas Berdych def Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Sam Querrey def Kevin Anderson 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
Upcoming matches
Men - Round of 16
Novak Djokovic vs Adrian Mannarino
Women's Quarters
Garbine Muguruza vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Magdalena Rybarikova vs Coco Vandeweghe
Venus Williams vs Jelena Ostapenko
Johanna Konta vs Simona Halep
Men's Quarters
Gilles Muller vs Marin Cilic
Andy Murray vs Sam Querrey
Milos Raonic vs Roger Federer
Tomas Berdych vs Novak Djokovic/A Mannarino
Newsletter
