LONDON // Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka can justify their status as Wimbledon’s big four by making the semi-finals on Thursday.
Defending champion, top seed and 2011 winner Djokovic takes on US Open champion Marin Cilic boasting a 12-0 career lead over the Croatian.
Seven-time champion Federer faces Gilles Simon with the Frenchman playing in his first Wimbledon quarter-final, while 2013 winner Murray, seeded third, is up against surprise quarter-finalist Vasek Pospisil of Canada.
Fourth seed Wawrinka tackles 2007 semi-finalist Richard Gasquet, the second Frenchman in the last eight.
Cilic, 26, lost to Djokovic in five sets in the quarter-finals in 2014 despite being two sets to one ahead. He then went on to win his first grand slam title at the US Open in September.
“I know him well. We played many, many matches on different surfaces,” Djokovic said after reaching his seventh straight Wimbledon quarter-final and 25th in a row at majors with a 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 win over Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
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“I remember him mentioning earlier this year that he wants to focus mostly on Wimbledon, grass. That’s where he feels like he has a best chance besides US Open. He’s playing at a very high level.”
After Tuesday’s match, Djokovic promised to apologise to a shaken ball girl for an outburst. The world No 1, who had fought back from two sets down on Monday in a match halted by bad light, let rip midway through the tense final set.
Asked about the incident, he expressed surprise and said the anger was aimed at himself, although he appeared to be calling for a towel and gesticulating angrily at the ballgirl.
“I’m sorry. There was nothing towards her,” he said after what he called one of the toughest matches of his Wimbledon career. “Maybe she was just afraid of my screaming there. I was pretty close to her. I’m definitely going to try to apologise to her if I did something wrong.”
Djokovic had to do the same to a ball boy after a similar incident during this year’s Miami Open final when he raged in the direction of his entourage in the players’ box and snatched away a towel.
Sometimes, the Serb said, he could not hold it all in.
“I was trying to get myself motivated. I was not showing much emotion,” he said. “I was just trying to keep it together ... sometimes it’s just good to scream and let it all out, because that’s the way I work.”
Federer has been virtually untroubled on serve on his way to a 13th Wimbledon quarter-final, one behind the record of 14 held by Jimmy Connors.
He has yet to drop serve, has faced just two break points in 58 service games and has committed only three double faults. The last time he dropped serve was in the second set of his opening round win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in Halle — more than 100 service games ago.
“Maybe the guys are returning terrible,” Federer joked.
Murray is into his eighth successive Wimbledon quarter-final and takes a 3-0 lead into his match-up with world No 56 Pospisil, who had never previously got beyond the third round of a major before this Wimbledon.
Pospisil spent more than eight hours on court on Monday, first beating Viktor Troicki in the singles in five sets and then losing a five-setter with Jack Sock against Murray’s brother Jamie and John Peers.
“He’s played a lot of tennis here which is a positive for him,” Murray said. “But also maybe he’s a little bit fatigued. So if that is the case, and I won’t bank on that being the case, but if that is the case, I’ll try to use that to my advantage.”
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