By Ricky Dimon
The pressure may have ratcheted up on Andy Murray to triumph at Wimbledon for the second time and on Roger Federer to capture an elusive 18th Grand Slam title when world No. 1 Novak Djokovic lost to Sam Querrey in the third round. But neither Murray nor Federer showed any sign of it during fourth-round action on Monday.
Despite having to go up against former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Nick Kyrgios, Murray continued his flawless trek through the draw by picking up another straight-set victory, 7-5, 6-4, 6-1. The second-ranked Scot fired eight aces without double-faulting and never faced a break point to advance in one hour and 42 minutes.
“It was a good first set; the rest of the match was pretty pathetic,” Kyrgios lamented. “[Murray] played pretty well, as well. I don’t think he missed too many balls, either.”
Like Murray, Federer has also refused to drop even a single set so far this fortnight. Following routine wins over Guido Pella, Marcus Willis, and Daniel Evans, the 34-year-old Swiss made similarly quick work of Steve Johnson on Monday. A 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory required only one hour and 36 minutes to be completed.
Johnson briefly showed signs of making the contest at least somewhat interesting when he broke Federer early in the third set. The recent Nottingham champion, however, gave it right back in the following game and never recovered. Federer broke again at 5-5 and eventually closed out the match with his sixth ace.
Next up for the seven-time Wimbledon champion is Marin Cilic, who got a retirement from Kei Nishikori while leading 6-1, 5-1. A rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final was derailed by Nishikori’s lingering rib issue.
Now a rematch of a 2014 U.S. Open semifinal is in the cards. Cilic famously upset Federer en route to the title but the Croat is still just 1-5 lifetime in the head-to-head series.
“I practiced with him when I arrived here at Wimbledon,” Federer said of Cilic. “He was playing great; 1‑2, 1‑2, 1‑2, serving, boom, forehand, serving, boom, backhand. He’s very aggressive. He blew me off the court at the U.S. Open. I know what I’m getting into. He’s really tough to play…. I’ve never seen him serve that consistently well (as he did in New York). He can clearly do it here at Wimbledon, too.”
Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Sports, Stevie Johnson, Tennis News, The Championships, Wimbledon 2016