Wimbledon 2015 Quarterfinals (Photo : REUTERS)
Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic will all try to book a star-studded Wimbledon semifinal cast, but each of them has to overcome first a formidable opponent in the quarterfinals to keep their grass-court Grand Slam bid alive.
Federer, who will be trying to punch his ticket to his 10th semifinals appearance at All-England Club, is scheduled to face Frenchman Giles Simon at 8:00 a.m (US EST). While Simon has never beaten him in a Grand Slam tournament, Federer is aware that his French foe has all the tools to beat him after pushing him to the limit at Australian and French Open.
"I'm not going to look further than Gilles Simon, who has caused me difficulties in the past," said Federer. "I played him tough in some of the majors - Australian Open, French Open - we played five sets both times there."
In their seven head-to-head encounters, Simon never played the Swiss Master on grass. Nevertheless, he knows that he has to play his best tennis against a top-form Federer, who has been dismantling his opponents through the first four rounds.
"We have never played on grass," Simon said of the opportunity to face Federer for the first time on grass via ATP News. "Facing him, this I know. But I think he's playing really good right now. I will just go there and try to play how I'm playing from the beginning of the tournament and from the beginning of the grass-court season."
Fresh from a highly competitive five set showdown with South Africa's Kevin Anderson, world's no.1 Novak Djokovic will set his foot on the court for the second straight day, taking on reigning US Open winner Marin Cilic. The Croatian never defeated the world's top netter in 12 meetings, but Cilic's big serve and fatigue could make things harder for Djokovic in perhaps the most intriguing match of the day.
Great Britain's Andy Murray will also attempt to make his Wimbly semis return against surprising quarterfinalist Canada's Vasek Pospisil, while reigning Stan Wawrinka looks to get rolling against veteran Richard Gasquet in the other quarters pairing.
ESPN will begin coverage of Wimbledon men's quarterfinal at 7:00 a.m (US EST) with the first match starts at 8:00 a.m US (EST). ESPN Watch and Sports Stream will provide live streaming feed, while real-time commentaries, updates, scores and results are available on ESPN Tennis Courtcast.
