LONDON —
Novak Djokovic admits he is a convert to Wimbledon's new middle Sunday play rule as
the three-time defending champion aims at reaching the quarter-finals for the
13th time.
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Top seed Djokovic,
seeking to move level with
Pete Sampras as a seven-time champion at the All
England Club, faces Dutch wild card Tim van Rijthoven, the world number 104.
His last-16 tie will be
the highlight of a landmark day which sees play scheduled at the tournament for
the first time on the middle Sunday.
It has traditionally been
a rest day with the exception of 1991, 1997, 2004, and 2016 when rain in the
opening week forced a quick planning reset.
One of the special guests
on Centre Court, which marks its 100th anniversary this year, will be
Roger Federer.
The eight-time champion
sat out the championship to recover from knee surgery.
"All the other Grand
Slams are playing on mid Sunday. I'm glad that Wimbledon has introduced that.
I'm in favour of the rule change," said Djokovic.
The 35-year-old dropped a
set in his opening win over Kwon Soon-woo but has since coasted, losing just 14
games in the next two rounds.
'Dream' to face
Djokovic
Van Rijthoven was ranked
outside the top 200 just a month ago.
Having won his first ATP
title on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch, the Dutchman is making the most of his
Wimbledon wild card.
He has dropped serve just
three times and has defeated seeded players Reilly Opelka and
Nikoloz Basilashvili to make the fourth round.
Plagued by physical
problems since he was 18, Van Rijthoven has endured groin and wrist injuries as
well as back spasms in his career.
"Before the
tournament started, it was a dream for me to play Djokovic," said Van
Rijthoven.
Victory for Djokovic will
set-up a mouthwatering quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz if the 19-year-old
Spaniard sees off Italy's Jannik Sinner.
The swashbuckling Alcaraz
is bidding to reach his third Slam quarter-final but first at Wimbledon.
Sinner is also seeking a
first quarter-final at the tournament having fallen in the first round on his
main draw debut last year.
Frances Tiafoe and Tommy
Paul will set-up an all-American quarter-final if they overcome Belgium's David
Goffin and British ninth seed Cameron Norrie respectively.
Rafael Nadal remains
Djokovic's biggest barrier to a fourth successive title after making the last
16 on Saturday.
But mercurial
Australian Nick Kyrgios cannot be ruled out after he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in a
bad-tempered clash.
Tsitsipas branded Kyrgios
"a bully" with an "evil side" after a fiery third round
duel which saw both men warned for their behaviour.
"It's constant
bullying, that's what he does," the Greek fourth seed said.
"He bullies
opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself. I don't like bullies."
Kyrgios branded the Greek
as "soft".
'Don't know I
got here'
After world number one
Iga Swiatek was knocked out Saturday, the bottom half of the women's draw is
also wide open with world number two Ons Jabeur the only top 10 player
remaining.
She tackles Belgian 24th
seed
Elise Mertens who defeated 2018 champion Angelique Kerber in the last 32
having saved two match points to beat Panna Udvardy in the second round.
The Tunisian has only
dropped 13 games in three rounds, spending just three hours and six minutes on
court.
Mertens needed three
hours and 15 minutes just to see off Udvardy in the tournament's longest
women's match so far.
Should Jabeur make the
quarter-finals for a second successive year, she will play Marie Bouzkova.
The world number 66 from
the Czech Republic reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final when she breezed
past Caroline Garcia of France 7-5, 6-2.
The big-serving Garcia's
challenge was undermined by 25 unforced errors to her opponent's four.
"I don't know how I
got here," said 23-year-old Bouzkova who had never previously progressed
beyond the second round at a major.
Mother of two Tatjana
Maria takes on former
French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko while Britain's
Heather Watson faces Germany's Jule Niemeier.
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