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For the first time since the 2009 French Open, Novak Djovokic hasn’t made it to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam – and the rest of the men’s field are looking to take advantage.
After the World Number One suffered a shock four set loss at the hands of American Sam Querrey, the 2016 men’s Wimbledon Championships were in for a major shake up.
The current holder of all four major slams, there was a sense of invariability about the result. Four of the eight quarter finalists had previously lost at least one grand slam final, with only one of the four not losing to Djokovic.
Once the common denominator of Djokovic was removed, the tournament was blown wide open. All eight quarter finalists, bar Querrey and Lucas Pouille, all were either top 10ers or previous slam finalists who would’ve been confident of making it to the final Sunday.
After his 2014 US Open win, Marin Cilic, who beat Rodger Federer in the semi-final, would’ve been confident of getting the job done against the Swiss maestro and going all the way once again.
Having suffered defeat to Djokovic in his last three slam finals, including the 2014 and ’15 Wimbledon, 34-year-old Federer could’ve thought his days of Grand Slam glory were behind him.
Aiming for three straight finals appearances, the Fed Express was slow leaving the station, dropping the first two sets, before steaming home, to claim a memorable five-set victory against the gritty Croatian.
The unlikely conqueror of Djokovic, Querrey’s quarter-final appearance marks his best in a slam. With the confidence of defeating the world No. 1 behind him, he would’ve felt anything was possible in the tournament. Twice having tasted semi-final action, Canadian Milos Raonic is hoping to stamp his authority in the game by winning his maiden Slam title. After winning his quarter-final in a close match, Raonic will need to face the man whom he lost his 2014 Wimbledon semi against, Federer.
Never passing the second round of a slam before, Pouille, ranked 30th in the world, is experiencing a break out tournament in a major way. Facing 2010 finalist Tomas Berdych the task was never going to be easy.
On the “easiest” side of the draw, having to face none of Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin del Potro or Rafael Nadal, Berdych overcame Pouille in three comfortable sets, leaving local favourite Andy Murray as his final hurdle on the road to a second Wimbledon final.
One of the sports most loved characters, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga faced Murray in the quarter final. Having suffered defeat to Djokovic in his only Grand Slam final, the 2008 Australian Open, Tsonga would’ve seen this as his best chance for major glory.
After the marathon in his third round clash, it wasn’t to be, defeated in a other tough five sets. Similar to Federer, Murray has suffered defeat at the hands of Djokovic in his three previous Slam finals and with only two slams to his name, Murray’s desperate to add to his tally.
With his usual stumbling block out of the way, this could be his best chance to win another home Slam.
The seventh of July makes Djokovic’s second consecutive year as world number one and in this time he has lost less than 15 matches. His dominance has and will continue to be amazing to witness, with the potential to surpass Federer as the leading slam holder – a feat nobody saw as realistic only years ago. It is still easy to think the game of tennis has suffered because of such dominance.
The second week of Wimbledon has seen excitement and drama the sport has been missing, and with three gripping matches left before the first new champion in a year is crowned, there is plenty still to come.
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