Your Wimbledon day nine guide as Djokovic an underdog after match suspended | Tennis | Sport

We’re into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon as day nine arrives. Novak Djokovic finds himself in an unusual position at the All England Club while one fourth-round match has still to be completed after the Grand Slam’s 11pm curfew was hit for the first time on Centre Court last night.

Express Sport brings you all you need to know for Tuesday, July 7 at the All England Club…

Djokovic’s unusual situation

It’s not often Novak Djokovic is an underdog in a match at Wimbledon. At least when it’s not against world No.1 Jannik Sinner or two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, who is absent this year through injury. But that’s the unusual situation the seventh-seeded Serb finds himself in for his last-eight match today.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, his opponent, is actually the third seed and is in fine form. He has dropped just two sets across four matches so far, both coming in a hard-earned win over recent Mallorca champion Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last round. The Canadian has only played a Wimbledon quarter-final once previously, in 2021, when he lost to Matteo Berrettini.

Berrettini would ultimately lose to Djokovic in the final as the Serb collected his seventh of eight titles at the Championships. He’s desperately craving a ninth that would take him to a career 25th. But in Felix he faces a confident, younger and fresher opponent who will be his biggest test yet at this year’s tournament, and they both know reigning champion Sinner may await in the semis.

After being taken off court late last night by the supervisor, French Open winner Alexander Zverev and Jiri Lehecka must resume their fourth-round tie today.

Zverev leads by two sets with the pair tied 3-3 in the third. Incredibly, the German, 29, has never got past the fourth round here in nine previous attempts. There’s a first for everything, as Sascha found out at Roland Garros a few weeks ago when he ended his long wait for a first Slam success.

The All-American showdown

For the first time, world No.4 Jessica Pegula and world No.7 Coco Gauff meet at Wimbledon. It is their ninth all-time head-to-head and their sixth which has come at the quarter-finals or later. But they’ve never faced at a Slam before, only at the WTA Finals.

Pegula is still searching for her first major and has never been into the semis. Gauff is a two-time major champion but, likewise, has never even reached the final four at SW19. One of their waits has to end today.

The pair are known to be good friends off court and are frequent doubles partners. Coco said two years ago when asked if it’s difficult to play her pal: “It doesn’t feel as much as people make it out to be. Playing her is difficult, but I don’t think me being friends with her makes it more difficult.

“I want to win regardless who is on the other side of the court.” Time to put that mindset to its biggest test yet, then.

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