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Djokovic, Rybakina face tricky opponents to reach Wimbledon last eight

tennis07 July 2024 20:36| © Reuters
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Novak Djokovic © Gallo Images

The fourth round of Wimbledon is due to be wrapped up the All England Club on Monday.


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Seven-times champion Novak Djokovic is up against 15th seed Holger Rune, while fourth seed Alexander Zverev and ninth seed Alex de Minaur will be trying to reach the quarter-finals for the first time when they take on Taylor Fritz and Arthur Fils, respectively.

Champion in 2022, Elena Rybakina is on the verge of reaching the quarters for the third time in a row but an in-form Anna Kalinskaya stands in her way.

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TOP MEN'S MATCH: RUNE V DJOKOVIC

A win over Rune will get Djokovic into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 15th time, behind only Roger Federer who made the last eight 17 times.

While the Serbian has played in the last five Wimbledon finals, he faces a serious challenge from Rune, who has beaten him twice in the five matches they have played each other.

"I'm sure that on Monday we'll see a lot of fireworks on the court," Djokovic said on Saturday. "(Rune) is a spectacular player, no doubt. He loves the big stage, loves playing on grass. I think he's very, very tricky opponent."

TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: RYBAKINA V KALINSKAYA

Kazakh fourth seed Rybakina took less than an hour to beat Caroline Wozniacki in the third round, but Kalinskaya is on a career-best Wimbledon run. She has not dropped a set in the campaign, which includes a win over 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova.

Kalinskaya has beaten Rybakina twice in their first three meetings. In their last match in May 2023, Kalinskaya retired with an injury, locking them 2-2 in head-to-head.

"She's a very good player, and she's been playing this year pretty good. She's tough opponent," Rybakina said.

ZVEREV AND DE MINAUR SEEK TO BREAK NEW GROUND

Zverev has won 22 career titles, but none on grass. De Minaur is also lacking major success on the surface, but wants to change that.

"What's driving me this Wimbledon is that I need to put up a decent performance here on the grass because I don't want to be classified as a claycourt specialist," De Minaur said ahead of his match with France's Fils.

For Zverev, who has reached the semis of every Grand Slam except Wimbledon, this campaign is about chasing a dream.

"I was close in Australia. Maybe one point away from being in the final. Was one set away from winning the French Open ... I'm working towards achieving that dream of mine," he said before facing US 13th seed Fritz.

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