By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) – Naomi Osaka began her Wimbledon week wearing a kimono-style walk-on outfit inspired by her favourite character from the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Kill Bill’ and she ended it by taking out top seed Aryna Sabalenka in brutal fashion.
The Japanese 14th seed produced the kind of tennis that took her to four Grand Slam titles as she blazed to a 6-2 7-6(2) win to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, with Sabalenka’s demise adding to the carnage in the women’s draw.
Osaka’s victory, following third-round defeats for defending champion Iga Swiatek and 2022 winner Elena Rybakina, means the top three seeds are all out. With Barbora Krejcikova losing to fellow Czech Karolina Muchova in the fourth round on Sunday, a ninth successive first-time Wimbledon winner is guaranteed.
Novak Djokovic continued his challenge for a men’s record-equalling eighth title although the 39-year-old said he did not enjoy his scrappy 7-6(6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory over Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin.
“To be honest, I haven’t felt really great on the court, so I was relieved to get out of it and get a win,” Djokovic said after moving past Swiss great Roger Federer with a men’s record 106th Wimbledon match win.
“Satisfaction and enjoyment weren’t part of today’s win.”
It may have been ugly, but Djokovic is through to his 17th Wimbledon quarter-final and one victory away from a possible semi-final showdown with defending champion Jannik Sinner.
For that to happen Djokovic will have to beat Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who outlasted Spain’s last survivor Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7(4) 7-6(6) 6-3 6-7(2) 6-1 — a four-hour 26 minute battle that ended with an angry exchange of words between the players at the net.
Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz suffered heartbreak as he was forced to retire in the fifth set of his clash against German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff who at the age of 36 is in a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time.
SHOWDOWN BETWEEN POWER MERCHANTS
There was no doubt about which match had top-billing on a warm and sunny Day Seven at the All England Club — a showdown between power merchants Sabalenka and Osaka, two 28-year-olds with four Grand Slams apiece, all on hard courts.
After Osaka beat Sabalenka en route to winning the 2018 U.S. Open title, they did not meet again for almost eight years.
When they finally did cross paths, Sabalenka beat her Japanese rival three times this season.
But the tables were turned emphatically as a serene Osaka produced a display of sustained power and accuracy to leave Sabalenka screaming in frustration on Centre Court.
The expected fireworks failed to materialise though as Osaka dominated throughout against a misfiring Sabalenka — claiming her biggest win since returning from maternity leave in 2024.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court. To do it here, it really means a lot. I lost to her like three times in a row, so that really sucked.
“So I wanted to turn it over.”
Asked later about her slightly ‘toned-down’ outfit for her entrance on Centre Court, Osaka said: “I actually really wanted to focus on the match. So that was me being very tame.
“I kind of want to focus on my tennis now, so I might dial back a little bit.”
Next up for Osaka is 10th seed Muchova who beat 2024 champion Krejcikova 7-5 5-7 6-3 in a tight battle.
Five American women reached the last 16, the most since 2002 and two of them met on Court One where fourth seed Jessica Pegula’s experience paid dividends as she gave 18-year-old Iva Jovic a lesson in match management in a 4-6 6-3 6-1 victory.
Pegula, who has matched her best Wimbledon run, could face another American next if Coco Gauff beats Belinda Bencic.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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