London: Chris Eubanks , a 27-year-old American making his Wimbledon debut, reached the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time by stunning two-time major runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a little over three hours on Monday.
The 43rd-ranked Eubanks, who is from Atlanta and played college tennis at Georgia Tech, is on quite a roll right now on grass courts, a surface he complained about hating just a month ago. But he won his first career ATP title at a tune-up event in Mallorca, Spain, the week before Wimbledon and now added his upset of the No 5-seeded Tsitsipas to an earlier victory over No 12 Cam Norrie at the All England Club.
Eubanks will carry a nine-match winning streak into his contest against No. 3 Daniil Medvedev for a berth in the semifinals.
This is just the ninth major tournament for Eubanks, who never previously had been past the second round at one of the sport's most prestigious events.
Tsitsipas, who got past two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in five sets in the second round last week, made it to the finals at the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open before losing to Novak Djokovic each time.
Djokovic cruises on
Djokovic breached the previously impregnable defences of Hubert Hurkacz to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 14th time on Monday.
Defending champion Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling eighth title and 24th Grand Slam, won 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 6-4.
In the fourth set, Djokovic broke for a crucial 4-3 lead, ending Hurkacz's perfect run of 67 service games at the tournament this year.
Victory in his 100th match at the tournament gave Djokovic a 90th win.
He is also on a 32-match win streak at the All England Club, while his 56th Grand Slam quarter-final spot is second only to the 58 of Roger Federer.
"Big credit for Hubert for playing an amazing match, he put up a great performance," said 36-year-old Djokovic.
"Honestly I don't recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games. He has one of the best serves in the world and it's difficult to read it on one of the quickest surfaces in the sport. It was not enjoyable for me."
Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals.
That match will take place on Centre Court, where Djokovic has not lost since 2013.
"I feel a great connection with this court. Every match that I win, every time I step on the court I feel more confident to play the match and hopefully the love affair continues for a long time," he said.
Djokovic had been two sets up overnight when the match was suspended due to a local curfew.
He had squandered five break points in those sets and Hurkacz eventually made him pay by breaking in the 12th game of the third set on Monday.
But Djokovic hit back to break for 4-3 in the fourth and from then on there was no way back for the 17th-seeded Pole despite his 33 aces and 64 winners.
Djokovic will take a 3-1 career lead over seventh-ranked Rublev into their quarter-final on Tuesday.
Djokovic came out on top in straight sets at the same stage of this year's Australian Open.
"He's a different player to Hurkacz for sure," said the Serb.
"Very powerful, very quick ground strokes, loves to dictate. I'm not going to talk to much about tactics - I will to keep that to myself."
Medvedev in quarters
Third seed Daniil Medvedev reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time on Monday when his fourth-round opponent Jiri Lehecka retired injured after losing the first two sets 6-4 6-2.
Medvedev, a former US Open champion, has played four Grand Slam finals but has always struggled at Wimbledon.
“I knew that Wimbledon was so far my worst Grand Slam in terms of going far so I’m really happy to be in the quarters here,” the Russian said, adding that he had, however, always enjoyed success on Court One.
Lehecka, 21, who had played a four-hour five-set match against Tommy Paul in the last round, took a timeout after the first set while a trainer treated blisters on his right foot.
The Czech, who produced 33 unforced errors in the match, struggled on through the second set but Medvedev broke his serve twice and was untroubled on his own.
“I feel sorry for Jiri because fourth round at Wimbledon, to get hurt it’s not easy,” Medvedev, 27, said. “Hopefully he can recover fast and he has a lot more Grand Slams ahead of him.” The former world number one did not play at Wimbledon last year because of the ban on Russian competitors following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a ‘special military operation’.
“It’s my fifth Wimbledon and I was not very successful but I’ve never lost on Court One so I feel sorry that I probably for the quarters am going to play on Centre Court,” the genial Medvedev said.
“I’m like, can I just continue here? I love it. I never lost so far here. I’m really happy and looking forward to my next match. Hopefully I can give 100 per cent.”
Sabalenka glides past Alexandrova
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her march towards a second Grand Slam title this year with a comfortable 6-4 6-0 victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday to power into the quarter-finals.
The normally aggressive Australian Open champion, who could potentially replace Iga Swiatek at the top of the world rankings by lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish, bagged the first set with a late break playing some delightfully delicate shots at the net.
The 28-year-old Alexandrova had eased past her Belarusian opponent in their previous two meetings but a repeat was never on the cards under bright sunshine on Court One as Sabalenka pounced early in the second set for a 4-0 lead.
Serving with power and precision, the 2021 semi-finalist tightened her grip on the match with a solid hold and closed out the contest when fast-fading 21st seed Alexandrova sent a shot long at the baseline. Sabalenka, 25, who has dropped only one set in the tournament so far, will face American 25th seed Madison Keys in the last eight.
Easy ride for Rybakina
Holder Elena Rybakina was given an easy ride into the quarter-finals after Brazilian opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia retired midway through the first set with a back injury.
Rybakina had just broken for a 3-1 lead in the first set when the Brazilian 13th seed winced in pain and clutched her back after netting a backhand.
Haddad Maia called on the physio and kept grimacing as her back was being manipulated courtside. After leaving Centre Court to receive further treatment, she limped back in an attempt to resume the match following a 10 minute interval.
However, the way she stiffly avoided bending over to pick up her racket from her chair to resume the contest signalled that all was not well and that the match might soon be over.
The 27-year-old Brazilian tearfully went through the motions for one more game, grabbing her back after every point as she struggled to move around or make contact with the ball.
Less than a minute later, a distraught Haddad Maia clutched her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears rolling down her face.
After a quick exchange with her team in the players’ box, the 27-year-old shook her head to confirm she could no longer continue and gingerly walked up to Rybakina to share an embrace.
“It’s never easy to finish a match like this and I hope it’s nothing really serious,” said 24-year-old Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina, who will next face either two-time champion Petra Kvitova or last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur.
“It was really unlucky for Beatriz and I hope she gets better,” added the third seed.
The abrupt ending denied Roland Garros semi-finalist Haddad Maia of a chance to notch up a hat-trick of wins over Rybakina and also ended her hopes of becoming the first Brazilian woman in 55 years to reach the last eight of the grasscourt major.
Madison Keys ends Mirra Andreeva’s fairytale run
American Madison Keys recovered from a set and a break down to end Mirra Andreeva’s fairytale Wimbledon debut as the 16-year-old Russian was beaten 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2 in the fourth round on Monday.
World No 102 Andreeva, who was looking to become the youngest player to reach the last eight of the grasscourt Grand Slam since Anna Kournikova in 1997, fought valiantly against Keys but was ultimately overwhelmed by the seasoned 25th seed.
The teenager’s lack of experience showed towards the end of the match, as she was handed a point penalty for throwing her racket at 5-2 in the decider, which handed match point to Keys.
An emotional Andreeva then argued with the umpire, before refusing to shake hands at the end of the match.
Prior to her defeat against Keys, Andreeva had showcased great maturity in her wins over former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova and compatriot Anastasia Potapova.
Asked if she had felt any pressure facing the breakout star, Keys said: “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.
“Coming out here, you don’t want to be the person who loses to her, for her to get to her first quarter-finals. I knew that if I tried to just stay in the match, my many, many, many more years on Tour would kick in.” The 28-year-old Keys began the match in typically aggressive fashion, firing off powerful returns and groundstrokes to break serve and go 2-0 ahead.
However, Andreeva broke back immediately courtesy of a lucky net cord before showing great variation to upset Keys’ rhythm, making her opponent uncomfortable with slices and drop shots as she broke twice more in quick succession to take the opener.
Keys continued to commit a stream of unforced errors as Andreeva raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set.
But with her back to the wall and staring at a 5-1 deficit, the American upped her game, putting the match back on serve with a delicate left-handed winner and forcing a tiebreak, which she won.
“I don’t know how I turned it around. I knew she is a phenomenal player who has no pressure and is really going for everything,” Keys said.
“I knew I had to stay in the match and get an opportunity to break back. Once I was able to, I tried to keep the momentum and keep going and here we are.” The tiebreak seemed to take the wind out of Andreeva’s sails. Keys stormed into an early 2-0 lead in the third set after the Russian double faulted in her opening service game, before finishing off her opponent in a shade over two hours.
Keys’ win ensures her return to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2015, after which she has twice been knocked out in the fourth round.
“My quarter-final run all those years ago was amazing, but I’ve fallen short a few times,” Keys added. “It’s so great to be back in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.” In her second quarter-final at Wimbledon, Keys will face either second-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka or another Russian in Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed.
