Entering in its second week, 2017 Wimbledon Championships is gathering a fair share of illustrious moments seasoned with big chunks of drama. The Manic Monday had a serious impact on the men's singles contest as several top seeded players went out in defeat. Still, Andy Murray, the current world no. 1 and the defending champion at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club edged out Benoit Paire to win the match at the end of three tight sets.
The big news came from a secondary court where Rafael Nadal wasn't able to get past Gilles Muller who made it to the last eight stages for the very first time. There were other big names who failed yesterday. Dominic Thiem lost to Tomas Berdych while Alexander Zverev collapsed against last year's finalist Milos Raonic.
Still struggling, Murray has a Nadal-free path to the final
Against Benoit Paire, Andy Murray had a decent display of tennis but he never really seemed to be the dominant player on the Centre Court. The final score is another clue of his struggle throughout the match. In the end, his experience and self-determination put Murray in the winning seat.
He edged Paire by 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4 and will have an accessible route to the final as Sam Querrey will stand at the other end.
The American who is well known for defeating Djokovic last year at Wimbledon got past Kevin Anderson in another 5 set thriller. As a curiosity, four out of seven matches played yesterday in the men's contest were decided in a final fifth act. Only Federer, Murray and Cilic solved the puzzle in a minimum of sets required.
Head to head, Murray leads Querrey by a margin of 7-1. Two of their past meetings occurred on a grass court, and both were won by Murray (2006 Newport, 2010 Wimbledon). Ranked 28th in the world at this point, Sam Querrey has made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the second year in a row.
Murray trying to preserve the title from last year and the world no. 1 spot
If he reaches the final, Murray will be clear of one thing - he will remain the world no. 1 regardless of any future outcome this week. If he gets past Querrey, Marin Cilic or Gilles Muller are the options for the semifinals. The Croatian seems to have a slight advantage as he spent less time on the tennis court. In the fourth round, he dispatched Roberto Bautista-Agut in a bit under two hours of play. It was a symmetrical 6-2 6-2 6-2 win for Croatia's no. 1 and the 2014 US Open champion.
Beating the Spaniard is such a clear fashion, he booked a spot in the last eight stages for the fourth consecutive year. Murray vs Cilic would make such an impressive contest.
If he reaches the final, Andy Murray could win the contest.
On the other side of the draw, Federer and Djokovic are on a collision course for the semis. Federer must face Milos Raonic first while Djokovic is yet to play his fourth round match. These two greats will have to put in a serious amount of effort to get into that final while Murray seems to have the easier path.