Andy Murray gave his thousands of British fans some late night drama on Monday by outlasting Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in fourth round Wimbledon action 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3.
With the new roof over Centre Court, the Murray–Wawrinka match did not have to be stopped due to darkness. The match, which started in sunlight, continued through the evening and finished at 10:38 p.m., marking the latest finish of a match in Wimbledon history.
The roof was actually used for the first time in the tournament earlier in the day during a match between Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo after rain interrupted play.
“At the end, that was probably the noisiest crowd I played in front of,” said Murray in his post-match press conference.
“Support is great. If it’s loud, then it’s better. It means the people are more behind you.”
Up next for the No. 3 seed Murray in Wednesday’s quarterfinal is Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, who upended the No. 8 seed Gilles Simon of France 7–6, 6–3, 6–2.
Murray draws ever closer to a battle with another Andy—Roddick. The No. 6 seed Roddick was too good for the 20th seed Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic. Roddick beat Berdych 7–6, 6–4, 6–3.
Roddick’s next opponent is 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt came back from a two-set deficit to beat Radek Stepanek 4–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2.
Roddick and Murray could meet in the semifinals if they both win their quarterfinal matches.
Federer prevailed 6–4, 7–6, 7–6. The 14-time grand slam champion actually only won six more points than Soderling (103–97) in the entire match, but that was good enough for a straight-sets win.
Federer now owns an 11–0 record against Soderling. He will face Croatia’s tower of power Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals.
Karlovic, whose serve has not been broken yet in the tournament, hammered down 35 aces to beat the No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6. Federer owns an 8–1 record against Karlovic and is wary of the 6 ft. 10 serving machine.
“He’s become an excellent player. Not only just his serve, he’s got to have something more otherwise he wouldn’t be ranked where he is and he wouldn’t be beating all those good players.
“He’s not to be underestimated.”
Other men’s winners on Monday were Tommy Haas and Novak Djokovic. They will face off on Wednesday, with the winner to play the winner of the Federer–Karlovic match.
With the new roof over Centre Court, the Murray–Wawrinka match did not have to be stopped due to darkness. The match, which started in sunlight, continued through the evening and finished at 10:38 p.m., marking the latest finish of a match in Wimbledon history.
The roof was actually used for the first time in the tournament earlier in the day during a match between Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo after rain interrupted play.
“At the end, that was probably the noisiest crowd I played in front of,” said Murray in his post-match press conference.
“Support is great. If it’s loud, then it’s better. It means the people are more behind you.”
Up next for the No. 3 seed Murray in Wednesday’s quarterfinal is Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, who upended the No. 8 seed Gilles Simon of France 7–6, 6–3, 6–2.
Murray draws ever closer to a battle with another Andy—Roddick. The No. 6 seed Roddick was too good for the 20th seed Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic. Roddick beat Berdych 7–6, 6–4, 6–3.
Roddick’s next opponent is 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt came back from a two-set deficit to beat Radek Stepanek 4–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2.
Roddick and Murray could meet in the semifinals if they both win their quarterfinal matches.
Eleven Times in a Row
First up on Centre Court on Monday was a rematch of the French Open final between Roger Federer and Sweden’s Robin Soderling. This fourth-round encounter was a lot closer than the French Open final.Federer prevailed 6–4, 7–6, 7–6. The 14-time grand slam champion actually only won six more points than Soderling (103–97) in the entire match, but that was good enough for a straight-sets win.
Federer now owns an 11–0 record against Soderling. He will face Croatia’s tower of power Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals.
Karlovic, whose serve has not been broken yet in the tournament, hammered down 35 aces to beat the No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6. Federer owns an 8–1 record against Karlovic and is wary of the 6 ft. 10 serving machine.
“He’s become an excellent player. Not only just his serve, he’s got to have something more otherwise he wouldn’t be ranked where he is and he wouldn’t be beating all those good players.
“He’s not to be underestimated.”
Other men’s winners on Monday were Tommy Haas and Novak Djokovic. They will face off on Wednesday, with the winner to play the winner of the Federer–Karlovic match.
Women’s Action
The women’s quarterfinal matches were set on Monday. They will all be played Tuesday on Centre Court and Court 1.
Top-seeded Dinara Safina, still searching for her first major title, will face German teenager Sabine Lisicki first on Centre Court. Following this match will be No. 2 seed Serena Williams vs. Bulgaria’s Victoria Azarenka.
First on Court 1, No. 3 seed Venus Williams will face Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska. Following that match, No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva will play Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.
