this is what you need to know
WIMBLEDON, England (FloridaToday.news) — Carlos Alcaraz needs to defeat old pal Holger Roon to stay on track for a potential Wimbledon showdown with Novak Djokovic.
No. 1 Alcaraz and No. 6 Rune will face off on Wednesday at Center Court for a spot in the semi-finals.
They go way back—okay, not that far, they’re both only 20 after all. Rune is six days older than the Spaniard. For the first time since 2004, more than one under-21 player has reached the quarter-finals of the All England Club.
Rune of Denmark lost in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon debut. He was a two-time French Open quarter-finalist.
They are 1-1 face to face. Roon admitted he was looking ahead to this match when the draw was announced. He recalled how, as a child, he played in tandem with Alcaraz.
“It’s funny…because obviously we’re two single players, I would call us,” Rune said. “When a singles player plays doubles, he wants to cover the court himself. We both try and do it a little and it’s fun. Again, that was good because he’s amazing.
“Hopefully we can do it again, but now we’ll be fighting each other.”
No. 3 Daniil Medvedev says he enjoys playing on court No. 1 and that’s where he will face Chris Eubanks, the big-server American who made his Wimbledon debut at age 27, in the other men’s quarter-finals.
First on center court will be defending champion Elena Rybakina, and in the quarter-finals, Ons Zhaber is number 6. This is a rematch of last year’s final, which Rybakina won in three sets for her first and so far only Grand Slam title.
In the other women’s quarterfinal of the day, Arina Sobolenko will play No. 25 Madison Keys.
First on Center Court will be Rybakin-Gill at 1:30 pm local time, which is 8:30 am EST. The next Alcaraz-Rune match will take place at the main stadium and could start around 3:30 pm local time or 10:30 am EST. On Court 1, the Sabalenko-Keys match is the first and starts at 1:00 PM local time or 8:00 AM EDT. He is followed by Medvedev-Eubanks.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic reached his 46th Grand Slam semi-final, setting a Roger Federer men’s record by beating Andrei Rublev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Eighth seed Yannick Sinner beat Roman Safiullin 6:4, 3:6, 6:2, 6:2 in the quarterfinals. Elina Svitolina, who took the wild card, advanced to the semi-finals by beating world No. 1 Iga Swiatek 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–2. Marketa Vondrousova defeated fourth seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
– In the USA: ESPN, Tennis Channel.
– Other countries listed here.
Now that Swiatek is out of the tournament, Rybakina is listed in the plus-300s as a favorite to win the women’s championship, according to bookmaker FanDuel. Naturally, Rybakina (minus-176) has an advantage over Zhaber (plus-146) in the quarterfinals, while Sobolenko (minus-210) beats Keys (plus-172). Alcaraz is down 490 against Rune (+365) and Medvedev (down 580) is an even bigger favorite against Eubanks (+420). The payoff offered for a five-set win by Eubanks (plus -900) is much higher than for Medvedev’s straight set win (plus-135).
What you need to know about Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tennis tournament this year:
– Apparently, tennis is heading to Saudi Arabia. Is it about sports laundry, women’s rights, or both?
The All England Club is trying to balance tradition and evolution.
Novak Djokovic is more into history and his belief in himself is a big part of his success.
— Iga Swiatek succeeds everywhere. Can she win Wimbledon?
– Players from Russia and Belarus returned to the All England Club after a year of suspension
Arina Sobolenko no longer wants to talk about the war in Ukraine
Women’s tennis is aiming for equal pay in more tournaments.
– Francis Tiafoe is the first African-American in the top 10 in almost 15 years.
– Facts and figures about Wimbledon, including a look at 2022.
Try your hand at AP’s Wimbledon Quiz.
4 is the number of Grand Slam winners that Elina Svitolina beat on her way to the semi-finals. The Ukrainian beat Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.
“I keep putting myself in good positions, but I don’t think it’s enough.” – Jessica Pegula after losing to Marketa Vondrousova lowered her record to 0-6 in the Grand Slam quarter-finals.
– Wednesday: 1/4 finals (women and men)
– Thursday: semi-finals, women.
– Friday: semi-finals, men
– Saturday: women’s final
– Sunday: men’s final
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
