Misery for Nadal; Murray, Federer win at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON - Rafael Nadals bittersweet relationship with Wimbledon endured another twist on Monday when he was knocked out in a five-set, fourth round epic by Luxembourg journeyman Gilles Muller. Nadals stunning 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 defeat came after defending champion Andy Murray and seven-time winner Roger Federer had cruised into the last-eight in straight sets. The four hour and 48-minute stunner on Court One had the knock-on effect of pushing Novak Djokovics last-16 clash against Frances Adrian Mannarino back to Tuesday. Djokovic had been the last match scheduled on the court but officials chose to postpone the tie instead of shifting it to Centre Court where it could, if necessary, have been completed under lights. Just weeks after winning his 10th French Open title, Nadal was condemned to his fifth exit before the quarterfinals in his last five visits to Wimbledon. It was not my best match against a very uncomfortable opponent, said world No 2 Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 champion. Well done to him. He played great, especially in the fifth set but I fought to the last ball. MULLER TIRED, BUT THRILLED Nadal converted just two of 16 break points, while Muller fired 30 aces and 95 winners. Muller, seeded 16th, will make his first Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance against former US Open champion Marin Cilic on Wednesday. Tired! It was a long match. I did really well in the first two sets then Rafa stepped it up and in the end it was just a big battle, said Muller, who won on a fifth match point, more than an hour and a half after his first. In a pulsating final set, which stretched to 95 minutes, Nadal saved two match points in the 10th game and two more in the 20th. In between, Muller had to fight off a break point in the 13th game and four more in the 19th. Nadal was always chasing the score and he finally cracked in the 28th game of the decider when he went long with a return. I said, just give it a shot, go 100 percent, and its a great feeling to be winning that match, added Muller whose only other win over the great Spaniard also came at Wimbledon, 12 years ago. MURRAY THROUGH Defending champion Murray reached a 10th successive Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4 win over Frances Benoit Paire. World No 1 Murray will face Sam Querrey for a place in the semifinals. I thought I played well. Maybe a couple of sloppy service games in the first set but that was by far the best Id hit the ball so far in the tournament. So Im really pleased with that, said Murray. Only Federer and Jimmy Connors (11 each) have reached more consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinals than Murray. Murrays win meant that with Johanna Konta also making the last-eight in the womens tournament, it is the first time since 1973 that Britain has two players in the quarterfinals. Federer reached his 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal and 15th at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov. The Swiss star will now face Milos Raonic, the 2016 runner-up, after the sixth-seeded Canadian clinched a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Alexander Zverev of Germany, the 10th seed. Raonic defeated Federer in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2016. Federer, 35, is the second oldest man to make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon behind Ken Rosewall who was 39 when he reached the last-eight in 1971. Querrey, the US 24th seed who knocked out Djokovic in 2016, made the quarterfinals for a second successive year with a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (13/11), 6-3 over unseeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Seventh seeded Cilic downed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Cilic will look to reach his first semifinal at the All England Club when he faces Muller. Czech 11th seed Tomas Berdych downed eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-3, 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Berdych, the 2010 runner-up, will face either three-time champion Djokovic or Mannarino for a place in the semifinals. Agencies

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Misery for Nadal; Murray, Federer win at Wimbledon