This past week was a busy and eventful one at Wimbledon with lots going on across the gentlemen’s and ladies’ singles evens. Below are some thoughts I have about some of the action that has transpired. Over at CardinalSportsReport.com, where I cover Stanford for On3 Rivals, I did a piece on Stanford alum Arthur Fery, who is the last Brit standing. Click here to check that out. Ok, let’s dive in!
The first thing that has popped out at me is No. 14 Naomi Osaka knocking off No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 in the 4th round to reach the quarterfinals. Osaka reached a career-best 4th round at the French Open earlier this year and now her run to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon is a career-best for her as well. It’s taken Osaka a bit of time to get back to form, but she’s finally getting back to the level of tennis we all know she can play at. It’s been pretty exciting to watch.
Secondly, No. 1 Jannik Sinner is finding his groove after a 1st round scare against Miomir Kecmanovic in which he narrowly won 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3. Since that match, Sinner hasn’t dropped a set as he now marches into the quarterfinals. That can happen sometimes at Wimbledon. Those early matches can be tricky due to the new grass and all. Now that the grass is wearing down and he’s finding his footing (both literally and figuratively), Sinner is going to be really tough to stop this coming week.
Third, No. 7 Coco Gauff reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time of her career is a big deal. She has reached the 4th round at Wimbledon three times before in 2019, 2021, and 2024. She has historically hit a wall in the 4th round, but this year she broke through by defeating No. 11 Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It’s all uncharted territory at this point for Gauff. I get the sense she’s one who the crowd would love to see go the distance. That support should certainly help her.
Finally, the quarterfinal match between No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 7 Novak Djokovic should be interesting. Auger-Aliassime didn’t drop a set in his first three matches before getting taken to a 5th set against No. 2 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the 4th round, winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1. As for Djokovic, he hasn’t been taken to a 5th set in this tournament, but in three of his four match wins, he dropped a set. The only straight set victory he’s had is his 2nd round 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Auger-Aliassime I think has the slight edge here, but he’s never gotten past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before while Djokovic is a seven time Wimbledon champion. I’m very curious to see how this one goes.
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