WIMBLEDON – The first week at the All England Club is officially in the books, and what week it was. Saturday was no exception – offering more upheaval, more heat and more hilarious moments.
You missed the action or need a refresh? We are covered before your day of rest on the middle Sunday.
Simona Halep, seeded, was surprised by Hsieh Su-wei in a three-set thriller on Court 1, resulting in even more chaos. Halep, world champion Roland Garros, was one of only two of the top 10 remaining teams in the table on Saturday, and now Karolína Plisková, the No. 7 seed, is the last to enter the championship .
If you're not already surprised by this, take a look at his chart that shows exactly why he was Upset City at Wimbledon this week:
While virtually all the best seeds are now on the tournament, Serena Williams remains and is easily now one of the favorites to win the title.
And while the seven-time Wimbledon champion is surely excited to play again in Round 4 in her fourth maternity leave return tournament, she also had a moment of sadness on Saturday morning.
She posted on Twitter that her 10-month-old daughter, Alexis, had taken her first steps, and she had missed it because she was training.
first steps … I was training and I missed it. I cried.
In the afternoon, l & # 39; Serena's mood was considerably improved as she appeared, on another tweet, watching England beat Sweden, 2-0, in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
I've spent a lot of summer weekends in London in my life but something seems different to me! ???
In perhaps the least surprising news of all time, Serena was not alone in her excitement during the match. Almost everyone in the country – even those from Wimbledon – seemed to watch the game. The last moments were shown on the giant screen of Henman Hill – and the crowd seemed thrilled with the result.
The Englishman Kyle Edmund was playing Novak Djokovic on the Central Court at the end of the match – and he could not do for a better environment for the local favorite. He took the first set and seemed about to give his country another major victory.
Djokovic later described the atmosphere as "Davis Cup" but also as "slightly unfair to me". After being called for a time violation and feeling angry fans, the triple Wimbledon champion began sending them sarcastic kisses.
"Of course, I do not like when I throw a gust or a shout, but I have to accept that I am a human being like everyone else, that I can feel pressure like everyone else," he said. "My interaction with the crowd, I thought I had good things and not great things, I just reacted as I thought it was right, the way they reacted to me. "
But in the end, Djokovic was able to channel his frustrations to come together and convincingly win the next three rounds, and his immediate reaction after sealing the victory says just about anything:
Although the the male side of the draw has been considerably more stable, it also has its share of disturbances. And Saturday was no different with Ernests Gulbis, the 138th ranked player in the world, sending the No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in five sets. The former world number 10, who played mainly at the Challenger this year and who has won only one game of the season, became the first men's qualifier to advance to the second week of Wimbledon in six years.
When asked where victory was ranked in his Roller Coaster of a career, he simply said, "Like an up.Top Definitely an upside."
No. Rafael Nadal, two seeded, refused to be the victim of a surprise. He beat Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 for a game against Jiri Vesely. However, while Nadal himself is probably focusing on this match, everyone seems more interested in the potential clash against Roger Federer.
A journalist could not resist asking the Grand Slam champion 17 times for this possibility. Saturday, Nadal's answer was absolutely perfect
Question: The draw, you and Roger, is scheduled to meet in the final if you pbad.
Nadal: "If I'm in the final, I prefer to face an opponent easier, I'm not stupid."
I must love this honesty. If you are still looking for more Rafa, please throw your eyes below and watch this amazing tweener shot of Saturday's win.
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Rafael Nadal pursues a ball and hits an incredible shot between his legs with his back turned to get a point from Alex de Minaur.
The mixed dream team doubles Sloane Stephens and Jack Sock advanced to the quarterfinals after winning their second match in as many days Saturday. The American duo has surpbaded their opponents, and seems to have had a good time together in the process.
While the moment below is actually Friday's win over Sam Stosur and Dominic Inglot, he sums up this duo perfectly. . In the clip, Inglot serves, Stephens makes it awesome for the point and Sock reacts perfectly.
There were a number of famous athletes in the Royal Box on Saturday. Like so many others that I will not even be able to name them all here. But in my humble opinion, here are some of these stars.
Sir Bobby Charlton, legendary of English football (who led the team to his last World Cup title in 1966), was in the crowd before Saturday's quarter-finals. win over Sweden. He left after Nadal's victory to watch the game.
The golfer Sergio Garcia just could not stay out and came back for the second day in a row. And this time he brought friends – colleagues Matt Kuchar and Tommy Fleetwood.
And, with an apology to the Queen, Billie Jean King and Rod Laver l & # True Royal members at Wimbledon were the first to receive the warmest receptions from Center Court fans. This is apparently what happens when you combine 27 titles at Wimbledon and about 4,000 others through tennis.
