Novak Djokovic on Monday demolished Holger Rune to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, staying on track for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam as Taylor Fritz stunned fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina wore a black ribbon and broke down in tears as she progressed hours after a Russian missile barrage killed dozens and ripped open a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Meanwhile top women’s doubles seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated the US’ Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the third round.
Photo: AP
They were to play the US’ Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals yesterday, while Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova were to take on the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the third round.
In the mixed doubles on Monday, Hsieh and Poland’s Jan Zielinski beat the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs and Monaco’s Hugo Nys 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in their second-round match.
Seven-time champion Djokovic, who dropped sets in the second and third rounds, was expected to be tested by Rune, but instead gave the young Dane a harsh lesson, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in just more than two hours.
The Serb, 37, still wearing a knee support on his right knee after surgery last month, did not drop a single point in the opening three games against his bewildered opponent.
He engineered a single break in the second set before two more breaks in the third set sealed a quarter-final against Australian ninth seed Alex de Minaur.
Yet despite his easy win, the Serbian launched an angry outburst at a section of Centre Court fans who constantly chanted “Rune” throughout the match and which the Serb took to be booing.
“To all the fans that have had respect and stayed here tonight, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate it,” Djokovic said.
“And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player — in this case me — have a goooooooood night,” he said, mocking his tormentors’ exaggerated “Ruuuuune.”
When told by the TV interviewer that some fans were shouting “Rune” rather than “boo,” Djokovic hit back.
“They were [booing]. They were. I am not accepting it. No, no, no. I know they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo,” he said.
“Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks, I know how it works. I focus on the respectful people that pay for the ticket, and love tennis and appreciate the players,” he said. “I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me — you guys can’t touch me.”
Rune said his fans started chanting his name in their distinctive, bellowing manner when the two men met for the first time at the US Open in 2021.
“It sounded a little bit like ‘boo.’ We played each other many more times, but more in Italy and France, where they don’t pronounce my name the same way,” he said. “Now we’re in England. If you don’t know what was happening, probably it sounded like ‘boo.’”
Earlier, 13th seed Fritz mounted a stirring comeback from two sets down to dump big-serving Zverev out of the tournament, winning 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Faced with Zverev’s relentless serve, the American looked to be heading home, but engineered a crucial break in the third set — the first time the German had been broken in the entire tournament — changing the momentum of the match.
“It was amazing to do that on Centre Court, two sets down in front of this crowd. It’s a dream,” said Fritz, who is to face Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the last eight.
Zverev, wearing a support on his left knee, said he was “on one leg today” as a result of an injury he picked up in his third-round win against Cameron Norrie.
“It is nothing that I need surgery on,” he added. “It is nothing that doesn’t heal by itself. It just needs time.”
In the women’s singles, Svitolina wept on court after reaching the last eight for a third time with a 6-2, 6-1 win against China’s Wang Xinyu in just 55 minutes.
The 21st seed, wearing a black ribbon on her white shirt, was in action after Russia struck cities across Ukraine in missile attacks, killing dozens and heavily damaging a Kyiv children’s hospital, according to Ukrainian officials.
“It’s a very difficult day today for all Ukraine people,” 29-year-old Svitolina said.
As she attempted to compose herself, she received a lengthy round of applause from spectators on Court Two.
“It was not easy to focus on the match. Since this morning it has been very difficult to read the news and go on court,” she added.
Svitolina will next play Russian-born Kazakh Elena Rybakina, who progressed when Anna Kalinskaya retired with the score at 6-3, 3-0.
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