Match reports and reaction
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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet for the 40th time on Friday - and for the fourth time at Wimbledon. They haven’t been since on Centre Court together since the 2008 final, which was won by Nadal. It should be epic. Let’s hope it’s epic. In the other semi-final, meanwhile, Roberto Bautista Agut will hope to upset Novak Djokovic. It will be a tall order for the popular Spaniard. All eyes on Federer and Nadal, though. Not least because Andy Murray and Serena Williams are out of the mixed doubles after their defeat to Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar today. Bah. That’s all from me. Thanks for reading. Bye.
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Rafael Nadal speaks! “I had to work. I am very pleased. It is difficult to imagine to be again in that situation but here we are. Of course I am excited to play against Roger again at Wimbledon after such a long time.”
Rafael Nadal beats Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 6-2!
Nadal seals it with a forehand. Of course. He’s through to face none other than Roger Federer in the last four - for the first time here since the 2008 final!
It’s 7-5, 6-2, 5-1 to Rafael Nadal on Court 1. He’s a game from a semi-final with Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal rumbles on towards the inevitable. He leads Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2, 3-1.
Roger Federer speaks after his 100th singles match win at Wimbledon. “It was difficult. The beginning was brutal. Kei came out smashing return winners and I had to make adjustments. Kei was the better player and it was important for me to compete in the second. I just think in the end I served really good. We have a lot of information on Rafa and so does he on us. You can dive into tactics or you can say it’s good for tennis. I’d love to play him against him again at Wimbledon.”
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Roger Federer beats Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4!
The early crisis is forgotten. The second seed has fought back from a set down to beat the eighth seed and reach a likely semi-final against Rafa Nadal. A good performance from Federer in the end, though he’ll probably need to raise his level against Nadal.
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Rafael Nadal wins the second set to lead Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-2!
The second set was easier.
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Kei Nishikori lifts a forehand long and Roger Federer breaks! The Swiss will serve for the match at 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 5-4.
Kei Nishikori has dug in during the fourth set. He holds for 4-3. Roger Federer is being made to wait.
A break for Rafa Nadal early in the second set on Court 1. He leads Sam Querrey 7-5, 2-1 and it might not be long before he’s being asked about his thoughts on the flowers here.
Novak Djokovic faced some fierce questioning in his press conference.
Q. You’ve been coming to Wimbledon a long time, go deep here. Have you had a chance to notice how many nice flowers there are here?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: They’re beautiful, yeah. I actually like early hours of the day before the public and the crowd comes in. That’s when you can actually move around freely as a player. That’s where you notice how much effort and time people who are working in organisation, management here, you know, how much time and efforts they’re investing into making this club probably the most famous tennis club in the world.
One more set for Federer, two more for Nadal and they meet on Friday. What a delicious thought. At least they’re both having to work a bit today.
Rafael Nadal wins the first set 7-5!
Again Nadal falls into a 0-30 deficit. Doesn’t this Querrey guy knows his place? It seems not. Nadal fights back to 30-all, but then he gives the American a break point with an errant forehand. His response? An ace down the middle, Querrey swiping at thin air. But Nadal’s wobbling a little and faces another break point after knocking a backhand long. He saves it with a forehand off a good serve - but Querrey causes damage with a forehand and earns another chance. Yet Nadal slashes an ace down the middle. Eventually he has set point - and after an almighty brawl he’s mightily grateful to see Querrey spoon a forehand return wide. That took 58 minutes to get done.
Roger Federer wins the third set to lead Kei Nishikori 4-6, 6-1, 6-4!
Federer saves a break point, volleys brilliantly to earn a set point and wastes it with a wild drive volley. Soon he has another chance, though, and he takes this one with the minimum fuss.
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Rafa Nadal roars! He’s broken Sam Querrey to lead 6-5 and will serve for the set again.
To Court 1, where Nadal is serving for the set. Down 0-30, he plays a couple of magnificent points to make it 30-all. He attacks with his forehand and volleys authoritatively for a set point. Yet Querrey saves it with some big hitting, just doing enough with a smash to force deuce. He’s making Nadal work hard. He earns a break point when he goes behind Nadal with a forehand. And he comes up with a stonking backhand return that forces Nadal to hook a forehand wide! Querrey, having saved three set points, breaks for 5-5!
Great returning from Federer brings up two break points in the seventh game of the third set on Centre Court. A 19-shot rally ends with Federer knocking a forehand long. Then Nishikori cracks an ace out wide to force deuce. But then he nets a backhand. Another break point for Federer. But Nishikori serves well again to save it. It’s deuce for while - until Federer sprays a backhand down the line for a fourth chance. And this time Federer finds the line with a deep, killing forehand. He breaks to lead 4-6, 6-1, 4-3.
Great returning from Federer brings up two break points in the seventh game of the third set on Centre Court. A 19-shot rally ends with Federer knocking a forehand long. Then Nishikori cracks an ace out wide to force deuce.
A wonderful volley from Sam Querrey a break point on Court 1. But Nadal saves it, serving wide enough to force Querrey to knock a backhand long. They stay at deuce for a while, but Nadal holds to lead 5-3.
Kei Nishikori has steadied the ship at the start of the third set, holding to lead 2-1. Meanwhile Rafael Nadal remains a break up against Sam Querrey in the first set on Court 1. The Spaniard’s serving has been outstanding.
A whipcrack forehand from left to right is enough for Rafael Nadal to earn a swift break against Sam Querrey. The American pays for an approach to the net. He was asking to be passed and Nadal obliged. Nadal leads 2-1 already.
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Roger Federer wins the second set 6-1 to level the match!
You can hear the crowd’s relief on Centre Court. I don’t think they want Kei Nishikori to win this match!
A vicious backhand return from Federer forces Nishikori to hook a backhand wide and drop his serve again. It’s taken 19 minutes for Federer to lead 5-1 in the second set. The Swiss will serve to level the match after breaking again.
The Federer serve has clicked into gear in the second set. He holds easily. Kei Nishikori leads 6-4, 1-4.
Rafael Nadal and Sam Querrey arrive on Court 1. Can Big Sam’s big serve get the job done against the third seed? Probably not! But he has done it against Djokovic and Murray here. It could be awkward for Nadal.
Might the tide be turning on Centre Court? Roger Federer wallops a forehand down the line, breaks to love and leads 2-0 in the second set against Kei Nishikori.
Kei Nishikori wins the first set 6-4!
Serving for the set, Nishikori begins by running around a forehand and slamming it down the line. Federer’s reply goes long. Then Nishikori serves and volleys for 30-0. He lets it go to 30-all but a delightful touch at the net earns him a set point. And a big, deep forehand into the left corner gives the eighth seed the set! They aren’t very happy on Centre Court.
Over to Centre Court, where Kei Nishikori continues to make the most of that early break, holding to lead 5-3 against Roger Federer. Nishikori’s using a lot of serve-volley.
Roberto Bautista Agut beats Guido Pella 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3!
Pella sends a backhand long and Bautista Agut is into his first grand slam semi-final! He’s absolutely delighted! He plays Djokovic on Friday and has only dropped one set so far.
Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar beat Andy Murray and Serena Williams 6-3, 4-6, 6-2!
Party: pooped. The top seeds were too good. It’s all over when Murray slaps a forehand return into the net off a Melichar serve. Team SerAndy are out. They don’t look too downhearted, though. Now let us never speak of mixed doubles again!
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Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar hold to lead SerAndy 6-3, 4-6, 5-1 on Court 2. The fun is all but over.
Roberto Bautista Agut is closing in on victory against Guido Pella. The Spaniard has broken in the fourth set and leads 7-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-1.
Roger Federer’s being given the runaround by Kei Nishikori! A poor forehand from th Swiss hands Nishikori three break points and a chance for a double break. Federer comes up with an answer, though, winning three straight points for deuce. He holds with an ace to trail 1-2. He appears to have woken up.
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Now Serena Williams has been broken. Oh dear. It’s all going wrong for SerAndy. A sharp volley from Bruno Soares is enough for the top seeds to lead 6-3, 4-6, 3-0.
Andy Murray’s broken in the first game of the third set on Court 2. Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar lead 1-0 in the decider. And get this - on Centre Court Kei Nishikori has pounced at the net and broken to 15 to lead 1-0 at the start of his quarter-final against Roger Federer!
Tok! Tok! Tok! Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori are knocking up on Centre Court.
Andy Murray and Serena Williams win the second set 6-4 to level their mixed doubles match!
Serving to stay in the set, Bruno Soares surprisingly makes two double-faults to hand SerAndy three set points. Soares smashes to save the first. Then he double-faults again! What a meltdown from the Brazilian! The match goes to a deciding third set.
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SerAndy hold to 15 to lead 5-4 in the second set. Bruno Soares will serve to keep the impressive top seeds in the set.
Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori stride out on to Centre Court. They’ll begin soon.
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Guido Pella wins the third set to trail 7-5, 6-4, 3-6!
The 26th seed came back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic last year and Milos Raonic two days ago - and he’s threatening to do it against Roberto Bautista Agut on Court 1.
On Court 2 Serena Williams comes through a tricky service game in the second set. SerAndy hold for 4-3, but they remain a set down to Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar.
I just spent 20 minutes trying to get the wifi to work on Centre Court well enough for me to stay there for Roger Federer versus Kei Nishikori. And where am I now? Back in the media centre.
Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar win the first set 6-3!
Murray dumps a backhand volley into the net and Team SerAndy are in trouble on Court 2!
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A ripsnorting backhand return from Bruno Soares earns the top seeds the first break on Court 2. Serena Williams is broken. Soares will serve for the first set at 5-3.
The Guido Pella comeback begins here. The Argentinian loves a fightback from two sets down at Wimbledon and he’s broken early in the third set against Roberto Bautista Agut, who leads 7-5, 6-4, 0-3 on Court 1.
Novak Djokovic beats David Goffin 6-4, 6-0, 6-
A mismatch. Serving to stay in the match, sort of, Goffin decides he can’t take any more punishment and sends a final backhand wide to end it once and for all. Djokovic is through to the last four and he’s barely had to break into a set.
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Serena Williams is playing some astonishing tennis over on Court 2. Andy Murray is also there.
Another comfortable hold for Djokovic, who leads Goffin 6-4, 6-0, 5-2. That one’s almost done/
Roberto Bautista Agut wins the second set to lead 7-5, 6-4!
The Spaniard is in command against Guido Pella and he’s motoring towards a semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
Venus Williams is in the crowd on Court 2 and she’s brought a selfie stick with her. “Watching Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, it’s incredible to see the gulf in class between them and almost anyone else, but they also just seem to have a complete mental stranglehold over almost everyone else,” Matt Dony says. “Obviously, they’ve earned their auras through years of consistent brilliance, but it’s got to the point where, in the big tournaments, they often seem to walk on to the court already a set up against their opponents. Watching them play brilliant tennis is great. Watching other players wilt in the face of their brilliant tennis, however, is less entertaining.”
Novak Djokovic does another break and leads 6-4, 6-0, 3-1. Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori can start getting ready. On Court 2, meanwhile, Nicole Melichar is hitting some really good lobs. She holds for 2-1 against SerAndy.
It’s been a good start on Court 2. Sharp play at the net from Serena Williams is enough for Andy Murray to hold for 1-1 in the mixed doubles. Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar are tough opponents.
Djokovic saves a break point and holds to lead 6-4, 6-0, 1-0. On Court 1 Roberto Bautista Agut leads 7-5, 4-2 against Guido Pella, who probably doesn’t want to play Djokovic on Friday.
Andy Murray and Serena Williams - SerAndy, Murrena - are on Court 2. They play Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar soon.
Novak Djokovic wins the second set to lead 6-4, 6-0!
The second set is over in 32 minutes. “What your Super League needs is mascots that represent each player,” Gregory Phillips says. “Federer’s could be a panther or some other kind of jungle cat, all graceful movement and coiled power. Nadal would be a bull. Djokovic I’m less sure of. Maybe an android, engineered to be the perfect tennis machine, yet prone to occasional programming glitches?”
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Goffin balloons a forehand and Djokovic breaks to love and Djokovic leads 6-4, 4-0 and this is a grand slam quarter-final and please tell me what I’m meant to say about this.
Novak Djokovic has broken early in the second set. He leads 6-4, 2-0. My Federer-Nadal-Djokovic Super League idea is becoming more and more attractive.
Roberto Bautista Agut wins the first set 7-5!
The consistent Spaniard is two sets from his first grand slam semi-final!
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Guido Pella nets a backhand and Roberto Bautista Agut breaks for a 6-5 lead on Court 1. The Spaniard will serve for the set.
Novak Djokovic wins the first set 6-4!
David Goffin hangs his head after sending a backhand wide at 15-40. Ah well. As expected Djokovic raised his game at the crucial moment and responded well to going down an early break. He won three straight games to take the set.
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Speaking of breaks being wiped out, Guido Pella’s back in it against Roberto Bautista Agut. The Spaniard’s advantage is no more. It’s 4-4 on Court 1.
But Djokovic breaks back immediately, wearing Goffin down for 4-4. Oh men’s tennis!
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Goffin pings one down the line to earn a break point. The applause gathers in intensity. Goffin takes charge of the rally and Djokovic ends up lifting a forehand off target to drop his serve. The underdog breaks for a 4-3 lead! Hooray for men’s tennis!
Goffin holds for 3-3 when Djokovic leaves a high ball and watches in horror as it drops inside the line. Oh Novak!
Goffin gets into another Djokovic service game, but the world No 1 holds to 30. There have been some entertaining rallies. The question is how long Goffin can keep going toe to toe with Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic cracks two vicious forehands to save break points in the third game of the first set. David Goffin, who has very neat hair (I like it - and wonder if he uses a comb), is holding his own during the early stages on Centre Court, but Djokovic holds for 2-1.
David Goffin, slight in build but no slouch around the court, is a talented player. They say the Belgian is a bit like Djokovic. Only problem with that is Djokovic is better. Still, he’s held his first service game. 1-1.
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Roberto Bautista Agut has made a lightning start against Guido Pella, breaking the Argentinian in the first game. But beware! Pella came back from two sets down to beat Milos Raonic on Monday. This is nothing.
And ... play! The first men’s quarter-finals are underway.
Here come the players. The sun’s peaking out from behind the clouds at SW19 and the temperature isn’t too high. It’s a pleasant day to play some tennis! Novak Djokovic and David Goffin are out on Centre Court, Roberto Bautista Agut and Guido Pella are out on Court 1.
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Andy Murray and Serena Williams will also be in action in the mixed doubles later. They’re third on Court 2 and play the top seeds, Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar. Williams was utterly irrepressible last night.
Today I will be giving you my professional tennis opinions.
Good afternoon!
Hello. The state of men’s tennis right now. Stefanos Tsitisipas, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and all the rest need to take a long hard look at themselves. But it’s not just the so-called Next Gen struggling to take a giant leap at the grand slams. It’s also the generation who spent years trying to break the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – your Marins, your Grigors, your Jo-Wilfrieds. With Andy Murray chopped down by that pesky hip, Stan Wawrinka struggling to get over a knee injury and Juan Martin del Potro developing a well-earned reputation as the world’s unluckiest man, it’s been a barren landscape beyond the big three over the past few years and that hasn’t changed over the past fortnight.
The fourth round was a particular lowlight. Manic Monday was just a bit meh, with Djokovic cruising past Ugo Humbert (world No who cares), Nadal devouring Joao Sousa (world No look it up yourself) and Federer taking three seconds to see off Matteo Berrettini (world No it really doesn’t matter). And it might not get much better in today’s quarter-finals. For Djokovic, it’s a match against David Goffin in the opener on Centre Court - he’s won five of his six encounters with the 21st seed. For Nadal, it’s a tussle with big-serving Sam Querrey – the No 3 seed will need to be careful against the big-serving American, who has beaten Murray and Djokovic here in the past, but he leads their head-to-head 4-1. And Federer, gliding along in regal fashion, faces Kei Nishikori – he leads 7-3 in his head-to-head with the eighth seed, who is making a habit of coming unstuck in the last eight of grand slams.
In other news Roberto Bautista Agut, the 23rd seed, faces Guido Pella, the 26th seed. Bautista Agut is 31 and had never reached a grand slam quarter-final until this year’s Australian Open. Pella is 29 and has never made it this far before.
Hmmm. It has the air of predictability about it. On half of the draw Federer and Nadal will expect to secure the wins that will see them meet for the first time here since the 2008 final. On the other it’s difficult to see anyone stopping Djokovic from reaching the final. And at this rate you’re almost left wondering if tennis shouldn’t just replace the grand slams with a Federer-Nadal-Djokovic Super League; just them playing each on a round robin basis for two weeks four times year. I reckon the crowds would lap it up. It’s a good idea. I am willing to be paid a lot of money to make it a reality.
Play begins at: 1pm BST.
