Flawless Federer and Serena reach quarterfinals in style

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Flawless Federer and Serena reach quarterfinals in style
Switzerland's Roger Federer celebrates a point against US Steve Johnson during their men's singles fourth round match on the eighth day of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London

Published: Mon 4 Jul 2016, 10:15 PM

Last updated: Tue 5 Jul 2016, 12:19 AM

Roger Federer reached his 14th Wimbledon quarterfinal and tied Martina Navratilova's all-time Grand Slam record of 306 match wins on Monday.
The seven-time champion achieved his double landmark by seeing off Steve Johnson of the United States 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in the fourth round on Centre Court.
Federer, the third seed, next takes on Croatia's Marin Cilic for a place in the semi-finals.
Cilic, the ninth seeded Croatian, progressed to his third Wimbledon quarterfinal when Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulled out of their last-16 clash with a rib injury in the second set.
Federer has a 6-1 record over Cilic but the big Croatian stunned the 17-time major champion in the US Open semi-finals in 2014 on his way to his maiden Grand Slam title.
"He brushed me off the court in the US Open a few years ago and I hope to get him back," said Federer who had former coach Stefan Edberg watching on from the player's box on Centre Court.
Meanwhile, bride-to-be Dominika Cibulkova sent world number three Agnieszka Radwanska crashing out of Wimbledon on Monday, while Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber cruised into the quarterfinals. Serena Williams also powered into her 12th Wimbledon quarterfinal as the defending champion celebrated American Independence Day with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Russian 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Cibulkova defeated Poland's Radwanska en route to her first grass-court title at Eastbourne last month and emulated that result with a surprise 6-3, 5-7, 9-7 fourth round victory to secure her first Wimbledon quarter-final berth since 2011.
The 27-year-old will play Russian world number 50 Elena Vesnina or Russian world number 35 Ekaterina Makarova for a place in her first Wimbledon semifinal.
Cibulkova cried tears of joy as she rolled on the court in celebration after the final point, but the triumph could come with a sting in the tail as she will have to postpone her wedding if she makes it to Saturday's final. The 2014 Australian Open runner-up is due to get married to fiance Miso Navara in Bratislava on the same day after planning the big occasion nine months ago.
Radwanska, beaten in the 2012 Wimbledon final, is still waiting for her first Grand Slam title.
German fourth seed Kerber cruised into her third Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-1 thrashing of Japanese world number 49 Misaki Doi.
Kerber, who won her maiden Grand Slam crown in Melbourne in January, has yet to drop a set in four matches and could leave Wimbledon as the world number one if she wins the title and Serena Williams fails to make the semifinals.
Johnson, the champion on grass at Nottingham this summer and playing in his first fourth round at a Slam, was comprehensively out-played in the first two sets.
He rallied to break the 34-year-old Federer in the fourth and sixth games of the third set but the former American college champion was reeled in on both occasions.
"Best of five matches are always tough," added Federer, whose 14th appearance in a Wimbledon quarterfinal matches the mark of Jimmy Connors. Federer has reached the last eight without dropping a set, easing to four successive wins on Centre Court.
"I would never have thought I would win the first four rounds in straight sets. I now need to play my best tennis."
Nishikori pulled out against Cilic suffering from a rib injury at 6-1, 5-1 down.
The 26-year-old confirmed it was the same injury which forced him out of the Halle tournament in the run-up to Wimbledon.
"It got worse after the second round. I couldn't compete today," said Nishikori.
Cilic had taken the first set in just 16 minutes, allowing Nishikori only seven points.

By AFP

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