Women's Semis Are Set
The women's quarterfinals were all completed yesterday, with the results—for the most part—holding to the seedings. Fourth seeded Maria Sharapova overcame a stiff challenge from unseeded Coco Vandeweghe in three tough sets and thirteenth seeded Aga Radwanska also needed three sets to oust twenty-first seeded Madison Keys. Top seeded Serena Williams was the sole American to come through the quarters, though things looked dicey after Vika Azarenka took the first set. The sole upset of the day came when Spain's Garbine Muguruza staged a minor upset over French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets. In the semis, Serena Williams will play Maria Sharapova while Aga Radwanska will face Garbine Muguruza.
Speaking of Garbine Muguruza (again)…
Muguruza is now the first Spanish woman into the Wimbledon semifinals since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario reached the semis in 1997.
Meanwhile, in the Men's Draw
Novak Djokovic was forced to take the courts on a scheduled day off for the men after the fifth set of his quarterfinal match with Kevin Anderson was put on hold due to darkness. Anderson played perhaps one of the best matches of his career, pushing Djokovic to 5-5 in the fifth set before dishing out two double faults to hand Djokovic the decisive break. After that, the world number one served it out to escape his biggest scare of the tournament. His reward is a short rest before a quarterfinal with another big-serving, big-hitting fella in Marin Cilic.
Bryan Brothers Fall
The Bryan brothers are a dynamic duo, but they were unable to come through against Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea. The Bryan brothers are currently riding a decade-long streak with at least one Slam a year, though after their loss yesterday, they'll be looking to their home Slam to salvage their streak. If you're keeping track of titles, the Bryan brothers have grabbed just one Slam title in their last eight tries. It's still a solid haul, but not quite up to the standard set by some of the brothers' best years.
Still More Kyrgios
Though he departed the tournament with a lackluster fourth round loss to Richard Gasquet, Nick Kyrgios is like the gift that keeps on giving, whether you love him or hate him. Yesterday we were treated to some highlights from a contentious post-match press conference with reporters asking him about his alleged "tanking" during the second set.
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