That was some week of tennis.
Drama, shocks and some sublime shot-making: the first six days of Wimbledon had it all – thank goodness we all had a day off to rest and recover on Sunday.
Of course, its only a brief pause before the mayhem recommences as on Monday – or Manic Monday as its more fondly known – every single last-16 match will take place.
Theres plenty more to come in the second week at the All England Club, heres a quick look ahead at what to expect.
Whats happened so far?
On the mens side, the usual suspects have eased into the second week, with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dropping just one set between them.
Thats not to say its been without surprises – far from it.
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One of the pre-tournament favourites, Marin Cilic, suffered the most stunning defeat of the tournament thus far – losing to Guido Pella in five – while the likes of Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin, Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem have all tumbled out.
The womens drew has been utter chaos.
Wimbledon top-10 women's seeds
1. Halep – OUT R3 v Hsieh
2. Wozniacki – OUT R2 v Makarova
3. Muguruza – OUT R2 v Van Uytvanck
4. Stephens – OUT R1 v Vekic
5. Svitolina – OUT R1 v Maria
6. Garcia – OUT R1 v Bencic
7. Pliskova – R4 v Bertens
8. Kvitova – OUT R1 v Sasnovich
9. V. Williams – OUT R3 v Bertens
10. Keys – OUT R3 v Rodina
Of the top-10 seeds, only world No. 8 Karolina Pliskova remains in the draw, with some simply sensational results across the board.
There have been no such problems for Serena Williams – who is the heavy favourite to claim a 24th Grand Slam title – she hasnt dropped a set.
Angelique Kerber – runner-up in 2016, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and Dominika Cibulkova – who lost her seeding to Williams prior to the tournament – are among the players left in.
Match of the tournament?
There have been several high-quality encounters with thrills and spills, but none were quite as memorable as Djokovics win against Kyle Edmund.
Backed by a partisan British crowd, which sometimes overstepped the mark, Edmund played some lights out tennis in the early stages to take a lead over the three-time champion.
However, as the atmosphere on Centre Court boiled over, the 31-year-old Serb raised his level to defy Edmund and British hopes, in a match that was not without controversy.
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It will require something truly remarkable in the second week for it not to be crowned as the match of the tournament.
So what happens next?
Kicking off with the mens side, Federer is still the clear favourite and its really quite difficult to see him being stopped en route to the final.
Milos Raonic perhaps has the best shot of causing an upset, but the big-serving Canadians fitness remains a concern.
The other half is far more difficult to call, but I think Djokovic is playing some very good stuff – and he will be hugely pumped after that tense win over Edmund. The losses of both Kyrgios and Zverev from the draw – both due to meet him in the last-eight was a huge boost to his chances.
Nadal may struggle to get past Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals but a potential meeting with the Serb for a spot in the final sounds very tempting.
Wimbledon second week predictions
R16
Federer d. Mannarino
Anderson d. Monfils
Raonic d. McDonald
Isner d. Tsitsipas
Djokovic d. Khachanov
Nishikori d. Gulbis
Del Potro d. Simon
Nadal d. Vesely
QF
Federer d. Anderson
Raonic d. Isner
Djokovic d. Nishikori
Nadal d. Del Potro
SF
Federer d. Raonic
Djokovic d. Nadal
F
Federer v Djokovic
Wimbledon odds (Betfair)
4/5 – Federer
5/1 – Djokovic
11/2 – Nadal
8/1 – Del Potro
18/1 – Raonic
40/1 – Anderson
40/1 – Nishikori
66/1 – Isner
80/1 – Monfils
80/1– Khachanov
80/1 – Tsitsipas
100/1 – Gulbis
150/1 – Simon
150/1 – Mannarino
300/1 – Vesely
500/1 – McDonald
The womens side of the draw feels nearly impossible to call – particularly considering the drama thats already unfolded.
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But hey, its just a bit of fun so lets see how we go.
In the top half, I see Cibulkova, who has been in great form, and former finalist Kerber as the semi-finalists, while Donna Vekic seems a decent shout to come through and make her debut in the final four of a Slam before ultimately losing to Williams.
A Kerber-Williams final would certainly be pretty appealing, although this is predicted with little to no confidence – theres a long way to go…
Wimbledon second week predictions
R16
Cibulkova d. Hsieh
Ostapenko d. Sasnovich
Van Uytvanck d. Kasatkina
Kerber d. Bencic
Pliskova d. Bertens
Vekic d. Goerges
Williams d. Rodina
Makarova d. Giorgi
QF
Cibulkova d. Ostapenko
Kerber d. Van Uytvanck
Vekic d. Pliskova
Williams d. Makarova
SF
Kerber d. Cibulkova
Williams d. Vekic
F
Kerber v Williams
Wimbledon odds (Betfair)
13/8 – Williams
7/2 – Kerber
8/1 – Pliskova
10/1 – Ostapenko
14/1 – Kasatkina
18/1 – Cibulkova
22/1 – Van Uytvanck
25/1 – Goerges
33/1 – Bertens
33/1 – Vekic
33/1 – Sasnovich
33/1 – Bencic
40/1 – Giorgi
40/1 – Makarova
50/1 – Hsieh
100/1 – Rodina Advertisement Advertisement
That was some week of tennis.
Drama, shocks and some sublime shot-making: the first six days of Wimbledon had it all – thank goodness we all had a day off to rest and recover on Sunday.
Of course, its only a brief pause before the mayhem recommences as on Monday – or Manic Monday as its more fondly known – every single last-16 match will take place.
Theres plenty more to come in the second week at the All England Club, heres a quick look ahead at what to expect.
Whats happened so far?
On the mens side, the usual suspects have eased into the second week, with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dropping just one set between them.
Thats not to say its been without surprises – far from it.
Advertisement Advertisement
One of the pre-tournament favourites, Marin Cilic, suffered the most stunning defeat of the tournament thus far – losing to Guido Pella in five – while the likes of Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin, Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem have all tumbled out.
The womens drew has been utter chaos.
Wimbledon top-10 women's seeds
1. Halep – OUT R3 v Hsieh
2. Wozniacki – OUT R2 v Makarova
3. Muguruza – OUT R2 v Van Uytvanck
4. Stephens – OUT R1 v Vekic
5. Svitolina – OUT R1 v Maria
6. Garcia – OUT R1 v Bencic
7. Pliskova – R4 v Bertens
8. Kvitova – OUT R1 v Sasnovich
9. V. Williams – OUT R3 v Bertens
10. Keys – OUT R3 v Rodina
Of the top-10 seeds, only world No. 8 Karolina Pliskova remains in the draw, with some simply sensational results across the board.
There have been no such problems for Serena Williams – who is the heavy favourite to claim a 24th Grand Slam title – she hasnt dropped a set.
Angelique Kerber – runner-up in 2016, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and Dominika Cibulkova – who lost her seeding to Williams prior to the tournament – are among the players left in.
Match of the tournament?
There have been several high-quality encounters with thrills and spills, but none were quite as memorable as Djokovics win against Kyle Edmund.
Backed by a partisan British crowd, which sometimes overstepped the mark, Edmund played some lights out tennis in the early stages to take a lead over the three-time champion.
However, as the atmosphere on Centre Court boiled over, the 31-year-old Serb raised his level to defy Edmund and British hopes, in a match that was not without controversy.
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It will require something truly remarkable in the second week for it not to be crowned as the match of the tournament.
So what happens next?
Kicking off with the mens side, Federer is still the clear favourite and its really quite difficult to see him being stopped en route to the final.
Milos Raonic perhaps has the best shot of causing an upset, but the big-serving Canadians fitness remains a concern.
The other half is far more difficult to call, but I think Djokovic is playing some very good stuff – and he will be hugely pumped after that tense win over Edmund. The losses of both Kyrgios and Zverev from the draw – both due to meet him in the last-eight was a huge boost to his chances.
Nadal may struggle to get past Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals but a potential meeting with the Serb for a spot in the final sounds very tempting.
Wimbledon second week predictions
R16
Federer d. Mannarino
Anderson d. Monfils
Raonic d. McDonald
Isner d. Tsitsipas
Djokovic d. Khachanov
Nishikori d. Gulbis
Del Potro d. Simon
Nadal d. Vesely
QF
Federer d. Anderson
Raonic d. Isner
Djokovic d. Nishikori
Nadal d. Del Potro
SF
Federer d. Raonic
Djokovic d. Nadal
F
Federer v Djokovic
Wimbledon odds (Betfair)
4/5 – Federer
5/1 – Djokovic
11/2 – Nadal
8/1 – Del Potro
18/1 – Raonic
40/1 – Anderson
40/1 – Nishikori
66/1 – Isner
80/1 – Monfils
80/1– Khachanov
80/1 – Tsitsipas
100/1 – Gulbis
150/1 – Simon
150/1 – Mannarino
300/1 – Vesely
500/1 – McDonald
The womens side of the draw feels nearly impossible to call – particularly considering the drama thats already unfolded.
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But hey, its just a bit of fun so lets see how we go.
In the top half, I see Cibulkova, who has been in great form, and former finalist Kerber as the semi-finalists, while Donna Vekic seems a decent shout to come through and make her debut in the final four of a Slam before ultimately losing to Williams.
A Kerber-Williams final would certainly be pretty appealing, although this is predicted with little to no confidence – theres a long way to go…
Wimbledon second week predictions
R16
Cibulkova d. Hsieh
Ostapenko d. Sasnovich
Van Uytvanck d. Kasatkina
Kerber d. Bencic
Pliskova d. Bertens
Vekic d. Goerges
Williams d. Rodina
Makarova d. Giorgi
QF
Cibulkova d. Ostapenko
Kerber d. Van Uytvanck
Vekic d. Pliskova
Williams d. Makarova
SF
Kerber d. Cibulkova
Williams d. Vekic
F
Kerber v Williams
Wimbledon odds (Betfair)
13/8 – Williams
7/2 – Kerber
8/1 – Pliskova
10/1 – Ostapenko
14/1 – Kasatkina
18/1 – Cibulkova
22/1 – Van Uytvanck
25/1 – Goerges
33/1 – Bertens
33/1 – Vekic
33/1 – Sasnovich
33/1 – Bencic
40/1 – Giorgi
40/1 – Makarova
50/1 – Hsieh
100/1 – Rodina Advertisement Advertisement
