Preview: Federer, Nadal Lead Bottom Half On Wimbledon’s ‘Manic Monday’

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal headline Last 16 action in the bottom half of the draw on manic Monday at The Championships with eight singles matches scheduled. Kei Nishikori, last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finalist, and 2017 semi-finalist Sam Querrey also feature.

Eight-time champion Federer, who is two match wins away from 100 victories at the All England Club, aims to reach his 17th Wimbledon quarter-final against No. 17 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy on Centre Court. It will be a first-time FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Federer, who has compiled a 35-4 record on the season, admitted, “I saw him play a little bit in Halle. Saw his run, of course, in Stuttgart. Now he’s backing it up here again. That’s not easy to do, especially when you’re sort of newer on the tour. He played a bunch of finals at [ATP] 250 level, as well… I’m expecting a tough one… He’s young. I’m sure we’ll see a tough match on Monday I guess it is.”

The 23-year-old Berrettini, who beat No. 24 seed Diego Schwartzman over five sets in the third round, will be attempting to become the first Italian man – and fifth overall – to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 21 years. He would follow in the footsteps of Uberto de Morpurgo (1928), Nicola Pietrangeli (1955, 1960), Adriano Panatta (1979) and Davide Sanguinetti (1998).

Third seed Nadal, who has safely negotiated a route past Yuichi Sugita, Nick Kyrgios and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first three rounds, take a 2-0 lead against Joao Sousa of Portugal in their fourth round clash on Centre Court. Both Nadal and Federer have ATP Tour-leading 35 match wins in 2019 going into Monday’s play.

When asked about Sousa, Nadal said, “We know each other very well. Practised plenty of times together. He’s a player that when he’s winning matches, he’s a super dangerous opponent against everybody. He is very quick, very good physical performance. He’s aggressive with his shots, he’s going for the shots all the time.”

Read Feature: Five Things About Sousa

Nadal is bidding to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon title double in the same year for the third time and equal Bjorn Borg’s record. Additionally should Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut and Fernando Verdasco, who play in the top half of the draw on Monday, all reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals here, it will be the first time that three Spanish men have reached the stage at the All England Club. 

Eighth-seeded Japanese star Nishikori, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year, takes an 8-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan into their encounter. On Saturday, Nishikori recorded the 400th match win of his career over Steve Johnson in the third round, while Kukushkin will compete in the Last 16 of a Grand Slam championships for the first time since the 2012 Australian Open.

Read Exclusive Feature: Kuskushkin Harsh Road To The Top

In the first meeting between two Americans in the Last 16 or later at Wimbledon since Pete Sampras defeated Jan-Michael Gambill in the quarter-finals en route to his seventh trophy in 2000, Querrey challenges Tennys Sandgren for the first time. The 31-year-old Querrey, who has a 22-11 record in matches at Wimbledon, beat top seed Andy Murray en route to the 2017 semi-finals.

World No. 94 Sandgren, who reached the 2018 Australian Open quarter-finals, is attempting to become the lowest-ranked Wimbledon quarter-finals since No. 144 Kyrgios in 2014.

Read Feature: Sandgren Outlasts His Apartment Rental

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, 8 JULY 2019

Centre Court start 13:00
[3] Rafael Nadal vs Joao Sousa
WTA match
[2] Roger Federer vs [17] Matteo Berrettini

No. 1 Court start 13:00
Two WTA matches
[1] Novak Djokovic vs Ugo Humbert

No. 2 Court start 11:00
Two WTA matches
[8] Kei Nishikori vs Mikhail Kukushkin

No. 3 Court start 11:00
WTA match
[21] David Goffin vs Fernando Verdasco
[15] Milos Raonic vs [26] Guido Pella

Court 12 start 11:00
WTA match
Sam Querrey vs Tennys Sandgren
[8] Henri Kontinen / John Peers vs [12] Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
Mixed doubles match

Court 18 start 11:00
WTA match
[23] Roberto Bautista Agut vs [28] Benoit Paire
[7] Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan vs [11] Nicolas Mahut / Edouard Roger-Vasselin
Mixed doubles match

Click here to view the schedule for all other courts.