(July 1, 2013) -- With all round of 16 matches contested today, no wonder many referred to Day 7 at Wimbledon as "Manic Monday." And though mania did continue in the unpredictable ladies' draw, things were not as bumpy for those men seeking to touch down safely into the quarterfinals.
The only real turbulence top seed Novak Djokovic experienced was the loss of his serve for the first time in the fortnight. Taking on Germany's
Tommy Haas, Djokovic rolled through the opening set, only to watch Haas break his serve mid-way through the second set.
It was the first time all event that Djokovic had dropped serve in 48 games. His response? A somewhat mocking "thumbs up" sign to himself.
But Haas's momentum was short lived as Djokovic broke Haas' serve and then again to take a two sets to love lead. Djokovic let out a loud roar, letting everyone know he knew how important that moment was to putting an end to things early.
Djokovic wasn't quite as efficient at the end of the third set when he served for the match at 5-3. Haas broke serve, leaving a rather agitated Djokovic to once again gives the "thumbs up" sign as the Centre Court crowd roared with approval.
Haas forced a tiebreak but Djokovic raised his level just enough to finally close out the 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4) win. This is now Djokovic's 17th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance in a row.
Next for him will be No. 7 seed
Tomas Berdych, who found his big groundstrokes when he needed them to punch through the often maddening no-pace play of Australia's
Bernard Tomic 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic afterwards talked about how he expected a tough match from Haas, especially on grass.
"You know, it was never going to be easy against Tommy, who I have a bad record against on grass. I lost both of our matches we played in the past. He's playing so well this season. You know, I didn't know what to expect. I just wanted to kind of focus on my game and what I want to do. I started extremely well. That was obviously helping me to feel confident on the court. Minor setback in the third set. I allowed him an opportunity to come back to the match. But a great tiebreak and I'm really glad to finish in three."
Murray, Ferrer, Del Potro Advance
Both
Andy Murray and
David Ferrer got past potentially tricky opponents in their fourth round matches. Murray proved too solid overall as he dismissed No. 20 seed
Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-1.
Next for Murray is Spain's
Fernando Verdasco, who posted his best result at Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over France's
Kenny de Schepper.
Verdasco's Davis Cup teammate, No. 4 seed David Ferrer, almost found himself down two sets to love against Croatia's
Ivan Dodig. After Dodig took the first set, it was Ferrer who edged out a tense second set tiebreak that could have gone either way. From there Ferrer assumed control to book a 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 6-1, 6-1 win.
Ferrer will next meet
Juan Martin Del Potro, who, despite having both a sore ankle and knee, emerged with a straight sets win over Italy's
Andreas Seppi. Del Potro has now reached the quarterfinals of all four majors.
All-Polish Quarterfinal Set Between Janowicz and Kubot
History was made earlier in the day when two Polish men set up an historic quarterfinal meeting. No. 24 seed
Jerzy Janowicz used his big hitting to wear down Austria's
Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Around the same time, Poland's
Lukasz Kubot outlasted France's
Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a battle between two men ranked outside the top 100.
This now marks the first time in Grand Slam history that two Polish men will face each other in a quarterfinal.