Wimbledon: Nadal leads charge of old brigade; Barty, Gauff, Pliskova exit

 

Rafael Nadal reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the seventh time on Monday as the evergreen 30-somethings of men's tennis threatened to take a stranglehold at the All England Club.

Third seed Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion, swept to an easy 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over outclassed Joao Sousa of Portugal.

He will next play either Sam Querrey or Tennys Sandgren in what will be his 39th appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

The 33-year-old Spaniard is chasing his 19th title at the majors, which would put him just one behind the all-time record of 20 held by Roger Federer—his potential opponent in the semifinals.

Also joining Nadal in the last-eight was his compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut who reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal and second at the majors this year when he defeated France's Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

The 31-year-old world number 22 will face either 2016 runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada or Argentina's Guido Pella for a place in the semifinals.

With Nadal and Bautista Agut safely through, the Wimbledon quarterfinals were turning into an old boys' club.

Later on Monday, eight-time winner Roger Federer, 37, and world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic, 33, can also make the last eight.

Should Sam Querrey, Fernando Verdasco and Mikhail Kukushkin also win, then seven of the eight quarterfinalists on Wednesday will all be aged over 30.

For the first time, Monday's last-16 lineup featured more players over 30 than under for the first time in the modern era.

Federer, the second seed, tackles Italy's world number 20 Matteo Berrettini in what will be the Swiss great's record 17th fourth round appearance at the All England Club.

Djokovic, meanwhile, insists he will not be complacent about his chances of reaching the final for the sixth time.

The highest seed that the world number one can face before the final is number 15 Raonic.

But first up for the defending champion and 16-time major winner is 21-year-old Ugo Humbert from France, who is playing in his first Wimbledon.

Should Djokovic emerge triumphant, he would face either Belgian 21st seed David Goffin or Spanish veteran Verdasco in what would be his 11th quarter-final at the tournament.

Raonic, beaten by Andy Murray in the 2016 final, has made the quarterfinals in the last two years.

He tackles 26th seed Guido Pella, who has reached the last 16 at a Slam for the first time in 20 attempts.

Monday's other ties see 2017 semifinalist Querrey face last-16 debutant and US compatriot Tennys Sandgren.

Japan's Kei Nishikori, a quarterfinalist in 2018, takes on Kukushkin. Nishikori recorded his 400th tour victory when he beat Steve Johnson in Saturday's third round.

In women's singles, world number one Ashleigh Barty's hopes of becoming the first Australian women's champion in nearly four decades were dashed on Monday, opening the way for Serena Williams to potentially equal the all-time Grand Slam haul.

At the opposite end of the age scale to 37-year-old Williams, 15-year-old Coco Gauff could not summon up yet another magical performance as the crowd-pleasing American went down 6-3, 6-3, to battle-hardened Romanian Simona Halep.

Having looked assured last week, while Williams was not altogether convincing, it was 23-year-old Australian Barty who cracked and went down in three sets to unseeded American Alison Riske 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

There was one consolation for Barty as Karolina Pliskova could have taken her number one spot but the Czech third seed went out as well in a marathon duel beaten by compatriot Karolina Muchova 4-6, 7-5, 13-11. Williams, bidding for a 24th Grand Slam title to tie with Australian Margaret Court, will play Riske next after trouncing Carla Suzarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2.

For Riske it was perhaps an unexpected early wedding present—she gets married after Wimbledon Stephen Amritraj, the son of former Indian Davis Cup player Anand—but extremely well-earned.

It will be the 29-year-old's first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Zhang Shuai became the first Chinese woman since Li Na in 2013 to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

World number 50 Zhang defeated Ukraine teenager Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 1-6, 6-2—a result far from her mind when she was talked out of retiring at her lowest point in 2015.

The 30-year-old, who faces Halep for a place in the semifinals, thanked her close friend and doubles partner Australia's Sam Stosur for convincing her to stick with it.

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