London, July 11, 2023: Novak Djokovic contests his 400th Grand Slam match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, aiming for a place in a record-equalling 46th major semi-final.
As the Serb prepares to face Russia’s Andrey Rublev with his eyes on a 12th last-four spot at the All England Club, women’s world number one Iga Swiatek is in uncharted territory.
The US Open and French Open champion, who had never got past the fourth round before this year, tackles Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian star riding a wave of emotional good will at the tournament.
Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and 24th Grand Slam, will be playing for a third day in succession.
The 36-year-old boasts a 3-1 winning record against Rublev including a straight-sets demolition in January’s Australian Open quarter-finals where he lost just seven games.
“Andrey is a fantastic player who’s got one of the best forehands in the game. Brings a lot of intensity to the court with his grunts,” said the world number two.
“He kind of scares off his opponents across the net! Extremely nice guy.”
Rublev is one of four Russian and Belarusian players – three men, one woman — to make the quarter-finals.
Twelve months ago, they were banned from the tournament in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus is a key ally of Moscow.
World number seven Rublev needed five sets to get past Russian-born Kazakh Alexander Bublik in the last 16.
He is in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time and eighth at the majors but has never made it to a semi-final.
“Novak is one of the best players on grass. Nothing else to say,” said the 25-year-old.
The winner of that quarter-final will face either eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner or world number 92 Roman Safiullin of Russia.
Sinner reached the same stage in 2022, losing to Djokovic from two sets up.
Slender in frame, Sinner packs a huge punch, delivering the third-fastest serve of the tournament so far at 139 mph (223.7 km/h).
While Sinner is playing in his fifth quarter-final at the majors, it will be a first for Safiullin.
‘Understanding, respect’
The 25-year-old had never previously got past the second round at a Slam but has knocked out two former semi-finalists in Roberto Bautista Agut and Denis Shapovalov.
Swiatek saved two match points to defeat Belinda Bencic in the last 16, having been untroubled in the first three rounds.
The 22-year-old Pole faces crowd favourite Elina Svitolina who has made the last-eight for a second successive Slam after only returning from maternity leave in April.
Her three-set win over former world number one Victoria Azarenka on Sunday saw her Belarusian rival booed off Court One.
The jeers came after some fans had apparently been unaware of Svitolina’s policy of refusing to shake hands with players from Belarus and Russia in protest at the war.
However, the ire of some spectators was aimed at Azarenka who they believed had deliberately snubbed Svitolina.
On Monday, the WTA, which runs the women’s game, pleaded with fans to show “understanding and respect” when Ukraine players refuse to shake hands.
Svitolina was in tears as she conducted an on-court TV interview after her triumph over Azarenka, describing it as a victory for Ukraine.
Swiatek has been vocal in her support of Ukraine and wears a ribbon in the colours of the country on her cap.
“It’s good to have these kind of players (Svitolina) on tour that are nice and they have good values,” said Swiatek who won the pair’s only previous meeting in straight sets on clay in Rome two years ago.
In Tuesday’s other quarter-final, US fourth-ranked Jessica Pegula takes on unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, a former French Open runner-up now down at 42 in the world.
Pegula is in her sixth quarter-final at the Slams but has yet to make it to a semi-final.