It was Roger Federer who said after his third-round win here on Friday that shocks can be infectious. “I didn’t feel the effect this time [but] in the past it has made me nervous when I’ve seen bigger guys go out,” he said. “I feel like, OK it’s me next time. It’s logic.”
The fact that there have been so many shocks in week one this year means that the big guns will be on red alert on Manic Monday, the day when all 16 remaining matches are played across the men’s and women’s singles. Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal will go back to back on Centre Court, while Novak Djokovic headlines the No 1 Court action. None of them will take anything for granted.
The defending champion Federer plays French left-hander Adrian Mannarino, the No 22 seed. Federer has won all five of their encounters but remembers the trouble he had in their last meeting. “I was close to losing against him the last time we played in my home town of Basel,” Federer said. “He likes a grass court. He’s had a good run so far. I hope I can stop it.”
Last year Nadal looked hugely impressive in his first three matches only to come up short against the big‑serving Gilles Müller, going down 15-13 in the final set. After his nephew’s 11th French Open title last month, his former coach Toni Nadal said he felt that Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, was ready to win Wimbledon for the third time.
First he will have to get past the Czech, Jiri Vesely, a left-hander ranked 93 with a win against Djokovic under his belt. Crucially Nadal seems healthy, and ready. “Three matches, every match has been more and more positive,” he said. “I am playing well. Good start. Second match I played so well – [third round] again, I played a good match. Very happy for that and looking forward to keep playing well.”
Djokovic, who saw off Britain’s Kyle Edmund in round three, faces the rising Russian Karen Khachanov, who has gone one round better than last year. It is their first meeting but after injury and loss of confidence, there have been signs that Djokovic is getting back towards his best.
The same could be said for Serena Williams, the seven-times champion. Back after missing last year as she prepared for the birth of her first child, the 36-year-old has stepped things up from Paris, where she pulled out before her fourth-round match because of a pectoral injury. Her opponent today, another mother in the world No 120 Evgeniya Rodina, beat the 10th seed Madison Keys in the previous round.
In the past, Serena’s aura has often been enough to put her opponent away before the match has begun. Now, things may be changing. “These women are proud,” she said. “They don’t go out there and say, ‘I’m going to lose because I’m playing Serena.’ They go out there and say, ‘I’m going to play hard because I’m playing Serena.’ They think, ‘I have a chance.’”
