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WImbledon 2021: Djokovic's Win, Andy Murray's Exit Headline Friday's Results
July 2, 2021
Novak Djokovic moved onto the Wimbledon round of 16 for the 13th time in his career on Friday.
The top seed in the men's singles draw won his second straight match in three sets over American Denis Kudla to set up his first meeting with a seeded player in London this year.
Djokovic has been playing with the weight of being the pre-tournament favorite, and he has handled it well over 10 sets.
The challenges will only get harder for the five-time Wimbledon winner, as three other top-10 seeds are left in the top half of the draw.
One of them, Denis Shapovalov, ended Andy Murray's comeback tour in the final match of the day on Centre Court.
The women's singles draw was dominated by easy two-set victories from a trio of top seeds. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Karolina Pliskova lost a combined 10 games over six sets.
Friday Results
Men's Singles
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. Denis Kudla, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7)
No. 5 Andrey Rublev def. No. 26 Fabio Fognini, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
No. 8 Roberto Batista Agut def. Dominik Koepfer, 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (4)
Marton Fuscovics def. No. 9 Diego Schwartzman, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4
No. 10 Denis Shapovalov def. Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
No. 17 Cristian Garin def. Pedro Martinez, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Sebastian Korda def. No. 22 Dan Evans, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 25 Karen Khachanov def. Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Djokovic has not missed out on the quarterfinal round at Wimbledon since 2009.
The top seed battled through a third-set test from Kudla, who forced Djokovic into a tiebreak. He cruised through the opening two sets, but it took him extra points in the tiebreak to dispense of the 28-year-old American.
The Serb will face 17th-seeded Cristian Garin in the next round. The Chilean dropped a set in each of his first three matches and fell in straight sets to Djokovic in their only head-to-head meeting in 2020. Garin's fourth-round appearance matches his furthest advancement at a Grand Slam. He reached the same stage at the French Open last month.
Rublev would be Djokovic's likely foe in the final eight if he gets by the unseeded Marton Fuscovics, who upset No. 9 seed Diego Schwartzman.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam in which Rublev has not reached the quarterfinals. He reached that stage in three of the last five majors.
Shapovalov and Roberto Batista Agut are the other two top-10 seeds left in the top half. They will face each other in the fourth round.
Shapovalov ended Murray's comeback on home soil with a straight-set victory in which he took control after the first set.
Murray mustered a comeback from 1-5 down in the first set, but he failed to finish it off against the Canadian. The No. 10 seed finished off Murray with an impressive showing in the final two frames, the last of which took place under the closed roof on Centre Court.
The Shapovalov-Batista Agut winner will take on No. 25 seed Karen Khachanov or American Sebastian Korda.
Korda continued his rise on the Grand Slam stage with a four-set upset of No. 22 seed Dan Evans. Korda is the second American man left in the draw, and he will be playing in his second-ever fourth-round match at a major.
Women's Singles
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, 6-0, 6-3
No. 7 Iga Swiatek def. Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-1, 6-0
No. 8 Karolina Pliskova def. Tereza Martincova, 6-3, 6-3
No. 21 Ons Jabeur def. No. 11 Garbine Muguruza, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 23 Madison Keys def. No. 13 Elise Mertens, 7-5, 6-3
No. 18 Elena Rybakina def. Shelby Rogers, 6-1, 6-4
Liudmila Samsonova def. Sloane Stephens, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Viktorija Golubic def. Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-1
The top-seeded women who took the court on Friday did not face any challenges.
Sabalenka put her Grand Slam struggles to the side for one round, as she turned in a thorough performance to eliminate Maria Camila Osorio Serrano.
The performance was a welcome sight for the No. 2 seed since she was forced to three sets in the previous round.
Sabalenka has never made it past the fourth round in a Grand Slam singles draw. She will try to break that run of bad form against Elena Rybakina, who has not lost a set in three rounds. Sabalenka won both previous head-to-head meetings.
Swiatek looked like the strongest of the three top seeds on Friday, as she lost a single game over two sets.
The 2020 French Open champion is perfect through six sets, but that run could come to an end against Ons Jabeur in the final 16.
Jabeur won the match of the day on the women's side against Garbine Muguruza. The No. 21 seed became the first Arab woman to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The Tunisian rallied back from a first-set loss to Muguruza to set up what could be the best round-of-16 match in the bottom half of the draw.
Karolina Pliskova and Madison Keys will oppose unseeded foes in the next round. Pliskova made quick work of Tereze Martincova, and Keys knocked out Elise Mertens in straight sets.
Keys and Coco Gauff are the only American women left in the draw. Gauff plays Kaja Juvan in the third round on Saturday.