Wimbledon Day 7 wrap: Rafa rocked, Roger rolls

Manic Monday at Wimbledon is one of the busiest – and best – days in the tennis calendar. And, as is traditional, the Last 16 dust-off enjoyed more than its fair share of drama.

The Men: Rafa rocked, Roger rolls

When the draw came out for Wimbledon 2017, everyone – organisers included – breathed a sigh of relief: Roger v Rafa was still on for the Final.

Gilles Muller obviously didn’t get the script.

In a match that ended just short of the five hour mark, the big Luxembourg leftie sent Nadal crashing out of The Championships in the fourth round. Always a threat on the grass, Muller attacked Rafa early and raced away to a two-set lead. But Nadal is a tough opponent to put down, and the Spaniard back back to level the match.

Then came the epic fifth set. For more than two hours the pair went back and forth, neither capable of breaking through. As the clock ticked into the evening it was a matter of who would crack first. Nadal did. A poor service game cost Nadal the match, sealing a famous 5-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 win.

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After Rafa, did anything else really matter? Well, yes. Roger Federer made short work of Grigor Dimitrov, needing just one hour 38 minutes to down the Bulgarian 6-4 6-2 6-4. Andy Murray was similarly emphatic – but needed a little longer – to beat Benoit Paire 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4.

Meanwhile, Milos Raonic was a 4-6 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-1 winner against Alexander Zverev; Tomas Berdych downed Dominic Thiem in five; Marin Cilic was a straight sets winner over Roberto Bautista Agut; and Sam Querrey needed five to down Kevin Anderson in a big serving masterclass.

As for Novak Djokovic, he was a victim of Nadal’s epic and will play Adrian Mannarino tomorrow.

The women: Halep on course for No.1

Simona Halep is one match win away from the world No.1 spot. The Romanian, who needs to reach the semifinals to take her place at the top of the world, looked impressive during her 7-6(3) 6-2 win over Vika Azarenka. After a topsy turvey opening set Halep seized control of the match in the second, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Johanna Konta.

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Konta, who came into the tournament with question marks about her fitness, has impressed since coming through a tough second round tussle with Donna Vekic. The Brit needed to dig deep yet again on Court 1, edging past a resurgent Caroline Garcia to take the win 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4.

Venus Williams, meanwhile, has booked a quarterfinal date with French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Williams delivered a big hitting masterclass in her 6-3 6-2 win over Croatia’s Ana Konjuh. Ostapenko, menawhile, looked impressive in her 6-3 7-6(8) victory against Elina Svitolina.

Elsewhere, Garbine Muguruza won the battle of the former finalists, beating Angelique Kerber (knocking her off the world No.1 spot in the process) 4-6 6-4 6-4; Svetlana Kuznetsova was a 6-2 6-4 winner over Agnieszka Radwanska; big hitting Coco Vandeweghe was a 7-6(4) 6-4 winner over Caroline Wozniacki; and Magdalena Rybarikova needed three sets to down Petra Martic.