By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday July 6, 2021
Hubert Hurkacz’s surprise victory over Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday at Wimbledon has set the men’s quarterfinals for Wednesday.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and No.6-seeded Roger Federer are the highest seeds remaining, and the Grand Slam juggernauts are anchoring the top and lower half of the draw, respectively.
By the Numbers
6 - Six of the eight quarterfinalists are contesting their first Wimbledon quarterfinals – an Open Era record.
18 – Djokovic has won 18 straight at the Slams, and 18 straight at Wimbledon
62 – Percent of second-serve points won by Federer, best among the eight remaining players.
48 – the ranking of Marton Fucsovics, the only unseeded and lowest-ranked player remaining.
2 – Number of Canadian men into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, a first for Canada at any Slam.
Here’s how all four matchups shake up...
[1] Novak Djokovic v Marton Fucsovics
Head to head: Djokovic leads 2-0
Key stat: Fucsovics leads all remaining men with 36 percent of return games won.
Key stat #2: Djokovic has won 57 of his 60 service games.
Novak Djokovic will continue his quest for the Golden Slam and the Calendar Slam on Wednesday as he bids for his 19th consecutive Grand Slam (and Wimbledon) win against Marton Fucsovics.
The World No.1 owns a 2-0 edge over Fucsovics, with wins over the Hungarian at the 2018 US Open in four sets and Doha in 2019 in three sets. It’s promising that Fucsovics, 29 and playing in his fourth Wimbledon, has taken sets from Djokovic each time he has played him.
But the Centre Court experience, where Djokovic has become such a dominant force over the last decade (he is now 76-10 lifetime at Wimbledon) could prove too difficult for Fucsovics.
Djokovic, who is bidding for his 100th career win on grass, is well rested, in good spirits, and does not seem to be affected by the pressure of the calendar Slam chase.
[6] Roger Federer v [14] Hubert Hurkacz
Head to head: Federer leads 1-0
Key stat: At 39, Federer is the oldest men's singles Wimbledon quarterfinalist in history.
Roger Federer is finding his way at Wimbledon, just like he said he would. The Swiss targeted a breakout performance at Wimbledon the minute he took the court for the first time in over a year at Doha this year, and he has always put that goal front and center. Now his plan, which included a controversial pullout at Roland Garros after three rounds, appears to have put him in a perfect position to push for one last Wimbledon title.
He’ll face Pole Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday and look to keep the 24-year-old in awe as he ramps up his aggressive grass game for the final push. Hurkacz snuck past Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday, as he completed his two-day victory on Centre Court in five sets, and he’s a talented player on any surface when he gets his game flowing.
Just this spring in Miami, Hurkacz claimed his first Masters 1000 title, but the Pole may be in a bit over his head against Federer. In truth it’s hard to predict what Hurkacz will do. He lost his first match at the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year, and also lost in the opening round at grass court events at Stuttgart and Halle.
His chances rest with Federer’s execution. If the Swiss hits another level on Wednesday he may run away with it. If he drops a level – or even two – the Pole will have his chances to win.
[10] Denis Shapovalov v [25] Karen Khachanov
Head to head: Shapovalov leads 1-0
Key stat: Both players have equaled their best Grand Slam result this Wimbledon.
Lo and behold, there is a Russian man in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and his name isn’t Medvedev, Rublev – or even Karatsev. Karen Khachanov, the forgotten Russian man until last week, has found his form on the Wimbledon grass and, after his dramatic five-set win over Sebastian Korda on Monday, he will face Denis Shapovalov for a shot in his first major semifinal.
Shapovalov, a former Boys’ Singles champion at Wimbledon who has underachieved on grass and at Wimbledon professionally until this year, has been fantastic through four rounds. He smothered Andy Murray in his first ever appearance on Centre Court in the third round and appeared to take the confidence with him into his fourth-round contest with Roberto Bautista Agut—another straight sets win, this one more impressive than the Murray chop.
Shapovalov defeated Khachanov in their only previous meeting, but it’s hard to say how these two will match up stylistically. Shapovalov’s “A Game” would trump Khachanov’s “A Game”, but if the Canadian is off the mark too often this one could became a battle of nerves. If that happens, Khachanov has already proven he can win ugly at Wimbledon. Look no further than his win over Korda, which featured a record 13 service breaks in the fifth set, for proof.
[7] Matteo Berrettini v [16] Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head to head: Berrettini leads 1-0
Key stat: Berrettini leads all remaining players in service games won, percentage of break points saved, second serve points won and unreturned first serves.
The stats tell the story: It’s going to be extremely difficult for Felix Auger-Aliassime to break Matteo Berrettini’s serve on Wednesday, so he better mind his own.
The Canadian slipped into his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal with a five-set victory over Alexander Zverev, the No.4 seed, on Monday, but he hasn’t exactly been lethal on serve through his first four rounds at Wimbledon. Auger-Aliassime has been broken nine times and won 84 percent of his service games.
Statistically there doesn’t seem to be much of an edge for Auger-Aliassime anywhere, but the margins are thin on grass and if he can execute and make the most of his opportunities, while also quelling his nerves, he may have a shot.