Wimbledon continues today as eight men and eight women compete for limited places in the All England Club quarter-finals. Rafael Nadal and Americans Taylor Fritz and Brandon Nakashima are notable players on the men’s side. At the same time, Paula Badosa, Simona Halep and Amanda Anisimova will continue to compete on the women’s side.
Day 7 brought some surprises: Novak Djokovic took a tighter-than-expected victory over Tim van Rijthoven and Ons Jabeur advanced to the women’s semifinals, but Carlos Alcaraz and two American competitors lost. Click here for a full summary of the day†
Nadal through to eighth quarter final Wimbledon
It took a tiebreak in the third set, but Rafael Nadal of Spain is through to a new quarterfinal after a victory over Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-4 6-2 7-6(6). Nadal, the number 2 seed, endured a few bumps in the first before dominating the second set against the number 21 seed of the Zandschulp. But in an iconic third set, the two players battled for control before Nadal won the tiebreak after a mistake by van de Zandschulp.
Halep sails back to quarter-finals
Simona Halep is back. The sixteenth-seeded Romanian easily defeated fourth-seeded Spain’s Paula Badosa in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour. This is a particularly special moment for Halep, who never had the chance to defend her 2019 Wimbledon title after missing out on the past two tournaments – first due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and then due to injury.
Anisimova to quarterfinals
Anisimova joined Fritz as the lone Americans left at Wimbledon with a straight sets victory over Frenchwoman Harmony Tan 6-2, 6-3. 20th-seeded Anisimova won four break points to reach the quarterfinals in a match with Simon Halep.
Kyrgios overcomes injury to Nakashima . defeat
Nick Kyrgios returns to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 after a back and forth battle with Brandon Nakashima. The Australian defeated the American 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2. Kyrgios suffered an obvious shoulder injury that required medical attention early in the match, but finished strong after Nakashima forced a crucial fifth set.
Fritz only American man left after victory
Taylor Fritz did what Nakashima couldn’t and advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over Jason Kubler in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. The eleventh seed is the only American man left in the competition.
Garín makes De Minaur. upset
Our first surprise of the day came from Chilean Cristian Garín, who defeated Australia’s 19th seeded Alex De Minaur 2-6 5-7 7-6(3) 6-4 7-6(6). After losing the first two sets, Garín rallied to win the last three, including two tiebreakers in the third and final sets. The win propelled Garín to the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career. Garín is also the first player in the league to recover from a two-set deficit and win.
Other Notable Results
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Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan easily defeated Petra Martić from Croatia in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. 17th-seeded Rybakina reached the first Wimbledon quarterfinal of her career, becoming the second Kazakh to have made it this far since 2016.
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Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović recovered from a loss in the first set, beating France’s Alizé Cornet 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Tomljanović is the first Australian woman to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon consecutively since Jelena Dokic from 1999-2000.