Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Three-time Grand Slam runner-up Andy
Murray, gritty Spaniard David Ferrer and former Australian Open finalist Jo-
Wilfried Tsonga booked spots in Wednesday's men's quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Rain on Monday forced five men's fourth-round matches to be either suspended
or postponed. The fourth-seeded Murray was in the second set when play was
halted and on Tuesday came back to finish a thorough 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 triumph
against 16th-seeded Croat Marin Cilic.
Murray has reached the semifinals each of the last three years at Wimbledon
and expectations may be even loftier this fortnight. He is trying to give
Britain its first male Wimbledon champion since Fred Perry back in 1936, and
is the highest-seeded player in his half of the draw after the second-round
ouster of two-time champion Rafael Nadal last week.
The consistent Murray will appear in a seventh straight Grand Slam and fifth
consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Next up for Murray will be the seventh-seeded Ferrer, who whipped ninth-seeded
former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Ferrer was ultra-clean on Day 8, committing only eight unforced errors and
zero double faults while advancing in just under two hours. He also broke a
lethargic del Potro five times while holding his serve throughout.
The 30-year-old Ferrer leads the ATP World Tour with 47 match wins this
year (47-8), including a perfect 9-0 mark on grass, and has now reached the
quarterfinals at all four Grand Slam events for his career.
The fifth-seeded Tsonga, meanwhile, was forced to wait out a lengthy rain
delay before dismissing 10th-seeded American Mardy Fish 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4,
6-4 on Court 2 in 3 hours, 18 minutes. The big-serving affair featured 37
aces, including 20 from the winner. Tsonga broke Fish three times, while the
American settled for two breaks in a losing effort.
The 30-year-old Fish, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist a year ago, returned to
action just last week after being sidelined for almost three months with
fatigue-like symptoms. The American star wound up undergoing a heart procedure
and was given clearance to play tennis.
The 27-year-old French Tsonga will appear in his third straight Wimbledon and
eighth overall Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Also advancing Tuesday was 27th-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber and
his 31st-seeded fellow countryman Florian Mayer. Kohlschreiber took care of
American qualifier Brian Baker 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, while Mayer eliminated
18th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. The 27-year-old
Baker was appearing in the Wimbledon main draw for the first time.
Kohlschreiber will now appear in his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal, while
his fellow 28-year-old Mayer reached a major quarterfinal for the second time
in his career, with the first coming back in 2004 in his first appearance at
Wimbledon.
The last time two German men reached the last eight at a Grand Slam was in
1997 at Wimbledon, when there were three -- Boris Becker, Nicolas Kiefer
and Michael Stich.
Kohlschreiber will meet Tsonga, while Mayer has a quarterfinal date with
top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who was one of three men to finish fourth-round
play Monday. The defending champion Djokovic eased past fellow Serb Viktor
Troicki, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
Also winning Monday were third-seeded six-time champion Roger Federer and No.
26 seed Mikhail Youzhny. Federer brushed off a minor back ailment in the first
set to win in four against Belgian Xavier Malisse and will next take on
Youzhny, who went five sets to beat Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.
The Sports Network