India vs Sri Lanka: 1st Test

India beat Sri Lanka by a whopping 304 runs inside of 4 days. The match at Galle, a unique stadium by the sea, with a fort overlooking the playing field instead of a usual sight of empty stands that we are accustomed to seeing in tests, was the setting for the 1st test between India and Sri Lanka.

DAY 1: INDIAN DOMINANCE

DHAWAN’S BLITZKREIG

Very rarely since the days of Virender Sehwag, have India headed abroad for a test match and been in such a commanding position at stumps on the first day. Illness to KL Rahul saw Dhawan drafted into the eleven as an opener and he sent the Sri Lankan fielders on a leather hunt, notching up at unbeaten 126 runs in the first session.

Dhawan had been dropped on 31 and his luck further increased in the post lunch session when the oppositions third spinner, Asela Gunaratne suffered a fractured thumb and was subsequently ruled out of the series.

When Dhawan's luck finally ran out in the 55th over, when he attempted to clear the infield but ended up hitting the cherry to mid on. Dhawan had scored 190 runs of 168 balls with an astonishing 31 boundaries.  India was on 286 runs scoring in excess of  5 an over, which is something that ODI teams would be proud of.

His 190 bought back memories of of Sehwag's 195 at the MCG in 2003. In that innings, India didn’t have any substantial contribution from the middle order to build on the foundation.

Here at Galle, Cheteshwar Pujara laid anchor and ensured there wasn't a batting collapse. The "new wall" was unbeaten at 144 from 240 odd - a more conventional test innings which built on the foundation laid by Dhawan. With Virat Kohli falling cheaply Sri Lanka would've been hoping that would be the foot in the door they so desperately needed, but it was not to be. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara saw out the rest of the day. Nuwan Pradeep was the only bowler to pick up wickets on he first day.

At 399-3 India had the Sri Lankans on the mat.

DAY 2

THE LANKAN FIGHTBACK: PRADEEP GETS SOME SUPPORT

Overnight rain helped make the pitch lively and Sri Lanka made an early breakthrough.  Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed shortly after crossing the 150 run mark by guess who - Nuwan Pradeep. Ajinkya Rahane followed him back to the pavilion. Nuwan Pradeep would have been the happiest man on the field as this was the first Indian wicket not picked up by him- he finally had some support.

The Indian tail order contributed in excess of 100 runs with Hardik Pandya scoring a half century on debut. He was ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja(15 from 24), Mohammed Shami(30 from 30) and Umesh Yadav(11 from 10) as India recovered from 495-7 and reached the 600 run mark

WICKETS AT REGULAR INTERVALS

Sri Lanka were facing a mammoth 600 run deficit. They lost the early wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne . The Indian pacers got breakthroughs at regular intervals and dented the Sri Lankan top order.

Sri Lanka finished the day at 154-5 trailing India by 446 runs and needing a further 247 with 4 wickets in hand to avoid the follow on- Asela Gunaratne has been ruled out of the match and as per injured players cannot be replaced.

DAY 3

THE PERERA AND JADEJA SHOW

Much was expected of Angelo Matthews, if Sri Lanka were to have a good first innings total. He played well for his 83. Dilruwan Perera remained unbeaten on 92 and was extremely unfortunate to miss out on what would have been a maiden test century. He batted gamely and  shepherded the tail to help Sri Lanka reach 291. Jadeja picked up 3 of the 4 wickets that fell and was the star bowler of the morning session.

BATTING OUT THE OPPOSITION

India had a massive 309 run lead and predictably decided against enforcing the follow on. This was a smart tactic by India to give their bowlers some rest and to tire out the opposition. By batting again India would maximise their lead and leave Sri Lanka facing huge chase.

Pitches in the sub continent deteriorate drastically on the fourth and fifth day and if Sri Lanka got a lead, India did not want to be chasing in the 4^th innings.

India lost 1^st innings heroes Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara early. Opener Abhinav Mukund and captain Virat Kohli put on a 133 run 3^rd wicket stand. Mukund’s half century cemented his place in the Indian test team for the series,(Dhawan’s first innings score had many calling for him to leap over Abhinav Mukund as the first choice opener to partner KL Rahul who was set to regain his place in the second test)

Mukund was dismissed for on the last ball of the day. Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 72, with India 189-3 runs ahead.

DAY 4

INDIA ALL THE WAY

India came out all guns blazing. Virat Kohli raced to his 17^th Test Century and 10^th as captain. With Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, India scored 51 runs in the 6.3 overs they batted on the day.

Facing a daunting task of scoring 550 runs to win with 179 overs left, the Sri Lankan batsmen would have to occupy the  crease for long periods of time.

The Indian pacers made early breakthroughs removing top order batsmen Upul Tharanga and Danushka Gunathilaka in the first six overs itself.

THE SPIN TWINS SHOW

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja split the next 6 wickets between themselves. The duo were getting the ball to spin viciously and an Indian win on Day 4 was looking more and more likely with each passing minute.

Nirohan Dickwella and Dimuth Kanuratne put on a huge 101 run 5^th wicket stand. The duo were the only roadblocks and the sole reason India needed 76.5 overs to wrap up the win. Due to Rangana Herath and Asela Gunaratne being unable to bat that 8^th wicket (Lahiru Kumara's top edged slog sweep to mid-on) was the last. India won the match by picking up just 17 Sri Lankan wickets across the two innings.

Shikhar Dhawan, for his magnificent first innings performance was awarded the Man of the Match award.

The second test match begins on 3rd August at the SSC Ground, Colombo.

The beasts on the flanks

The Manchester City defence cost exceeds the annual cost of defence budgets of a few nations. Teams do need this sort of dream defence line ups with the influx of new strikers and creation of new look strike forces in the Premier League. After all, this is war and it looks as though 7 teams can challenge for the title, and in the EPL, anyone can beat anyone.

Benjamin Mendy

WAS IT NEEDED?

With the departure of right backs Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna and left backs Aleksandr Kolarov and Gael Clichy, the Citizens were in need of major reinforcements for the full back positions. The EPL’s best right back of the last two seasons Kyle Walker was signed from Tottenham Hotspurs for a whopping 45 million pounds. The left back position will be occupied by Benjamin Mendy who was signed for 52 million pounds from A.S.Monaco. 

With the purchase of Danilo from Real Madrid for 26.5 million pounds, who will mostly be the backup right back and start in cup competitions. Pep Guardiola has spent an unprecedented 123.5 million pounds on fullbacks. Yes, the purchases were needed.

HOW WILL THEY LINE UP?

With Benjamin Mendy in his line-up, Pep Guardiola could be tempted to switch to the 3-5-2 formation which has been utilised by Antonio Conte in helping Chelsea win the Premier League. But, he already has extremely good wingers in Leroy Sane on the left and Raheem Sterling/Kevin de Bruyne/Gabriel Jesus on the right. Wing back play would mean nullifying his team’s advantage.

It's more likely that he invested heavily in full backs to counter the oppositions 3-5-2 formation which sees the wide player operate as a wingback, with a 4-4-2 or a 4-1-4-1 formation. No wide player will be able to operate for the whole 90 minutes dealing with city's powerful threat on the flanks. Take for example, a right wing back dealing with the combined threat of Benjamin Mendy and Leroy Sane down City’s left flank. He may be able to do it but will he have the legs to get up front and provide crosses into the opposition penalty box?

This would result in them committing an extra body on the flank thus freeing up space in the midfield for guys like Kevin de Bruyne (if he plays as a 10) or David Silva to work their magic in the middle of the park.

IS IT WORTH IT?

While many may ridicule the spending and term Guardiola as the reason for the inflation in prices of defenders and a manager who can’t win anything without spending exorbitant sums of money, this decision was a masterstroke as it was the only place that needed strengthening. The two first choice full backs are proven players and at clubs like Manchester City, instant success is desired. They can hit the ground running. These purchases make City look like a complete unit with no chinks in their armour. With the beasts on the flanks, City, are now the favourites on paper for the 2018 Premier League Title.

Why couldn’t Pep promote a youth team player?

That just doesn't happen in world football anymore. La Liga’s Athletic Bilbao are the only club that would promote a youth player into their first team. Even if Pep Guardiola did promote a youth player, it would take a minimum of two seasons for that player to establish himself, thus throwing the desire of instant success into jeopardy.

Defence has always been the area which has traditionally seen the least amount of money invested. Even the football awards are dominated by the forwards. The transfer records also are held by the attackers. With top class attackers costing in the region of 70-80 million pounds, a quality defender with an average price of 40-45 million pounds, is reasonable. 

Why Lukaku to Manchester United is a good buy

Manchester United have signed Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku from English Premier League side Everton for 75 million pounds(could rise to 90 with add-ons). Is this a good or a bad buy? Let's find out.

1.HE IS A STRIKER

With Zlatan Ibramhimovic not being offered an option of a 1 year extension (at this moment) and Wayne Rooney looking like he has played his last game for Manchester United( he has since returned to his boyhood club Everton) the Reds only had the teenage Marcus Rashford on their books as a striker.

With the experiment of false 9s (Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marouane Fellaini) and converting wingers like Anthony Martial, Memphis Depay, Angel Di Maria into strikers failing, Jose Mourinho recognised the need for a proper centre forward if Manchester United were to challenge for the Premier League Title. Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane, Alvaro Morata and Andrea Belotti were some of the names that the club was reportedly interested in signing.

The club had significant interest in striker Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid, but the Frenchman chose to remain as his club were handed a two transfer window buying ban by FIFA. A deal with Real Madrid for Alvaro Morata seemed unlikely as the Spanish side wanted any deal to include Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

2. PREMIER LEAGUE EXPERIENCE

From the above mentioned list of players only Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku have the experience of playing in the Premier League. In the past Manchester United have signed quality players from leagues across the continent-Angel di Maria from La Liga side Real Madrid, Memphis Depay from Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven, only to see them struggle to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

Anthony Martial from Ligue 1 side A.S.Monaco, is one player who has somewhat held his own but he hasn't exactly set the league on fire. His returns are what a club like Manchester United would expect from their attacking midfielders. The Premier League experience category left only Harry Kane and Romelu Kukaku as options that the Manchester United board and manager Jose Mourinho would consider.

3. PRICE TAG?

With Harry Kane leading the line at the most consistent side in the Premier League over the past two seasons, and Spurs qualifying for the Champions League on a regular basis, any attempt to bring Tottenham to the negotiating table would have to see Manchester United stump out in excess of 120 million pounds.

In the present day, there is a lack of true centre forwards. They are so scarce a commodity that it is massive news when a top quality centre forward is transferred. The prices are exorbitant for these rare individuals who are deemed as worthy of being part of top clubs.

75 million pounds for Lukaku is a steal, as he has the Premier League experience. He is the 2nd best Premier League striker and has hit in excess of 60 goals in the past three seasons, with mid table club Everton. He is 24 and is yet to really reach the prime of his career and the club could have purchased him as a long term investment.

A combination of these 3 factors could show us that it's a good buy.

The lure of the Champions league could drive him to find that extra gear-

Romelu Lukaku has publicly stated that it his dream to play in the Champions League. With Manchester United he will be assured of that opportunity as the lead striker.

He scores against small teams and disappears in big games-

Everton is a team that is a rung below the Big 6 of EPL. When Everton play the big teams, the defences know they just have to focus on Lukaku, while the midfield aims to stifle out the supply to the Belgian who cuts a lone figure in the opposition half. At Manchester United, the defences won't know who to mark and Lukaku could have a free reign. Defences will have to be alert from a run from Manchester United's star studded midfield. 

Lukaku has been accused of being a small team bully-

The people behind those accusations really need to sort out their definition of small teams as the Belgian has netted against teams like Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs and Liverpool.

Also, Manchester United struggled to break through the so called small teams defences like Burnley where they had 38 shots on target. Smart strategy by Jose Mourinho? Struggle to score against small teams, buy a small team destroyer.

Lukaku has scored just 1 goal in 3 halves played during pre-season, but what matters is how he fares in his first competitive game which could be considered as a ‘ Baptism by Fire’ where Europa League Champions Manchester United take on Champions League winners Real Madrid.

Rooney's return

Just two months after lifting the Europa League Trophy with Manchester United, Wayne Rooney returned to Everton. In his first competitive game back at the club he fulfilled his boyhood dream of representing ‘The Toffees’ in European competition.

English Premier League side Everton took on Slovakian Fortuna Liga side Ružomberok in the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. The game was Rooney’s first at Goodison Park in thirteen years where he was not booed by the Everton faithful. It must have felt strange. 13 years is an eternity in sport. Wayne Rooney must have felt like he was back at Everton in 2003 where he was the starry eyed teenager who was destroying defences and making his name in football.

The game at Goodison Park, saw Wayne Rooney restored to the central striker role he so desperately craves, but Manchester United's highest goal scorer struggled to find space upfront and spurned a couple of gilt edged chances.

On the hour mark, following the introduction of Sandro Ramirez for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Wayne Rooney dropped into the midfield role which we have become accustomed to seeing him in during his later years at Manchester United.

It was no fairy-tale return for Wayne Rooney, but left back Leighton Baines saved it from becoming a night to forget as his strike is what separates the two clubs ahead of next week’s return leg in Ruzomberok. For Rooney all that matters was that his return was a winning one.

Focus aside from Rooney though, the newly assembled Everton line up worth over a 100 million pounds in new signings were extremely scrappy. They will have to get their act together to get past this gritty and resilient Ruzomberok side at the Stadion pod Cebrat’om .

Wimbledon Men's Singles Final

 A 114 MPH ace down the T saw Roger Federer clinch his 8th Gentlemen's Singles Wimbledon Title. He had beaten Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 and had become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1976 to win Wimbledon without dropping a set.

At 35 years old, 23 days shy of his 36th birthday, Federer who had been written off following a four year drought at the majors had added to his collection in Australia. He then followed it up with his 2^nd Grand Slam win of 2017 at Wimbledon, which proved that his win in Australia wasn’t a fluke.

The match saw both competitors make tentative starts. Roger Federer hit two double faults in his first two service games. Cilic's forehand kept flying long or wide and he was struggling to get his first serve in.  Federer faced break points in the first set at 1-2, 30-40 and that seemed to awaken the legend. He saved the break points and then raced up the gears. He broke Cilic immediately in the next game to take a 3-2 lead, normal service resumed with each player holding his next service game. Federer reeled off the next 5 games in succession winning the first set 6-3. He took a 3-0 lead in the second set and post the changeover Cilic was surrounded by the tournament doctor and other officials. He was seen crying. At the end of the 1 minute change of ends break the chair umpire said, "time." Federer got up and headed to the baseline like an emotionless machine. The occasion had gotten to Cilic, he seemed lost. Tennis is a cruel sport as once you are on court you have no one from your camp to talk to you. You are all alone.

Cheered on by the Centre court faithful who wanted to see a bit of a contest. Marin Čilić held on to his serve and got in the board in the second set, but that was it before Federer held, broke and held to wrap up the second set just under the hour mark.

Cilic must have been hoping that quicksand would swallow him whole. He was the villain in this pantomime- the one barrier between Roger Federer and his 8^th Wimbledon Title.

Federer wanted this title so bad. According to commentator and German tennis legend Boris Becker, what I felt were random yells was actually Federer admonishing himself in Swiss German. This was when he was just 2 points away from the win and sent a down the line forehand wide.

The final was completely one sided owing to what was later revealed to be a blister on Marin Cilic foot. Only Federer could have carried this final without the crowd losing interest in the match. At the French Open in an almost similar one sided final between Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka, the crowd had lost interest in the match (despite it being the match Nadal needed to win to secure his tenth French Open) and lukewarm applause followed after the points. There was raucous cheering for both players throughout the game at Wimbledon.

Federer got his tactics spot on such as slowing down the pace of his shots which made Cilic have to generate power, as well as get the ball up and over the net and down to bounce within the baseline-not possible unless heavy topspin is applied. Cilic with his flat shots kept hitting the ball long. Federer began racing through his service games and continuously took Cilic to deuce on his serve. In doing so he denied quick holds to the Croat who in a bid to reduce time spent on serve decided to reduce the number of bounces before serve. It was about 6-8 bounces in the latter half of the 3rd set compared to the 16-20 bounces in the initial part of the first set. When Cilic got accustomed to the slow pace of the rallies Federer switched back to quick play which left the 6’ 6” man on the backfoot more often not.

Federer: We've been away for a long time, 5 years to be precise. So good to have you back!

Out of all of Federer's triumphs at SW19, this one would have to be the sweetest.The 5 years since 2012 was the longest he has been away from the Wimbledon Trophy. In the Rolex advertisements he stated that 8 is his favourite number. He was born on the 8th day of the 8th month and was his country flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games which was on 8.8.2008, his 28th birthday.

The win over Marin Cilic was his 91st match win at Wimbledon and 1,111th win overall. He became the first man to win 8 Wimbledon Singles Titles. With his win he broke Arthur Ashe's record as the oldest ever Gentlemen's Singles Champion at Wimbledon. He became the oldest Wimbledon finalist since Ken Rosewall- who made the final in the 1974 edition as a 39 year old. He extended his own record of most Men's Singles Grand Slam Titles to 19, now 4 ahead of second placed Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic with 12 is 3rd among active players.

WHAT'S NEXT
For Marin Cilic, a return to the North American hardcourts where he ended the hegemony of the Big 5 could serve as motivation. For Federer, he heads off into the part of the season traditionally dominated by him, he is 560 points behind 2017 ATP points leader Rafael Nadal and 1205 points behind current world No.1 Andy Murray in the official 12 month ATP rankings.

India vs West Indies T20

Sabina Park in Jamaica played host to a mauling received by the inaugural T20 World Champions India at the hands of the only two time T20 World Champions, the West Indies. The one off T20 saw the party atmosphere synonymous with cricket in the Caribbean return as the stands were jam packed and the music was blaring out loud.

India had won the ODI series 3-1 ( West Indies were lucky to get a win after an Indian meltdown in the fourth game of the series.)
 India had just strolled through the 5 match series. This game however, was not going to be a walk in the park as the West Indian T20 specialists Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine made their return to the squad. ( I wish the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies players can come to some sort of compromise about the playing of domestic cricket being made mandatory for consideration for selection in tests and ODI's. Especially after West Indies embarrassingly missed out on a spot in the recently held 8 nation ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales.)
Evin Lewis is a name that team India won't be forgetting for a long time. The young batsman overshadowed his illustrious teammate Chris Gayle and scored a magnificent 125 of 63 as the West Indies romped home with 9 wickets and 1.3 overs to spare.

India's bowling, barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked like a city club attack. Spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja failed to contain the batsmen.

Earlier in the day West Indies won the toss and sent India in to bat without any hesitation.
Openers Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan struck boundaries at will and India crossed the 50 run mark in the 5th over. They looked set for a huge total before Virat Kohli who had just struck a monstrous six over long on was looking to make the most of the final balls of the power play, ended up mis timing one straight to mid on. On the very next ball Rishabh Pant felt the nerves and did not respond to a quick single which saw Shikhar Dhawan get run out. Pant and Dinesh Karthik steadied the ship, but abysmal shot makingby India's lower middle order and beautiful death over bowling by the West Indians saw India restricted to 190 in their allocated 20 overs.
India's next assignment is an away series against Sri Lanka commencing in the last week of July.

West Indies take on England in mid August

Austrain GP

After an adventure on the second longest circuit in the calendar the F1 circus headed off to the Red Bull Ring in Salzburg, Austria i.e. second smallest circuit. This race didn't have the same level of excitement as the previous round in Azerbaijan, but such races are fun only if they happen on rare occasions.

Normal service between Ferrari and Mercedes resumed.
Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes started on pole and had what he called the start of his life(reaction time of 0.21 secs) and put in a spectacular drive right to the chequered flag. After a drab 68 laps, 4 time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari closed to within DRS range of Valtteri Bottas (1 second) and mounted a late challenge over the last 4 laps for the race lead.

Max Verstappen started fifth, but was taken out in a first corner collision triggered by Daniil Kvyat leaving his braking too late and tipping Fernando Alonso's McLaren into a spin. Both Verstappen and Alonso retired immediately. Alonso had scored the first championship points of the season for the beleaguered McClaren team and had made a good start to the race.  Home fans were slightly disappointed with Max's retirement as they were hoping to see both Red Bull cars on the podium.

Lewis Hamilton who had a 5 place penalty due to an unscheduled gearbox change was unlucky to miss out on a podium place as he was held off beautifully by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo who thrilled the home fans(Red Bull is an Austrian team) with a 3rd place. The sheer pace of Ferrari and Mercedes means that they can afford to take a penalty for unscheduled gearbox and engine changes, rather than risk running a race with a failure that would result in a DNF.

The win was Valtteri Bottas’ second in his Formula 1 career

Ricciardo  performing the "shooey"(drinking champagne from his race boot) as per his own podium tradition

 

Courtesy his 2nd place finish, Sebastian Vettel increased his lead in the World Championship over Lewis Hamilton to 20 points.

It was also Daniel Ricciardo's 5th podium in a row and he continued the tradition of a shooey( drinking champagne from his race boot. Yes that sweaty race boot which was on the accelerator for the past 2 hours and he drove around the km circuit. )

Formula 1 will return next week from the Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain.

Manic Monday

Wimbledon has a tradition of keeping the middle Sunday as a rest day for two reasons. One, because of its proximity to the Wimbledon village so as to allow the residents to have a peaceful Sunday away from the hustle and bustle of fans who troop down to SW19 to catch a glimpse of the action. Two, because the organisers recognise the need to allow grass (the only live surface on which tennis is played) to recover after 6 days of relentless action. The need for grass to rest is even more this year as unlike previous years the grass has a faded green tinge to it compared to the lush green lawns we have grown accustomed to seeing during the 1st week.

The end result is that the 2nd Monday sees all the 16 round of 16 matches(8 each in men’s and women's singles) slotted in for Monday. (In Australia, France and USA the top half of the draw sees their round of 16 clashes played on Sunday, which leaves only 8 matches for the 2nd Monday. )
Manic Monday right? In my opinion, the 2nd Monday is the best day for someone to have tickets to watch the action at Wimbledon. This year is the 1st time since 2014 and only the 2nd time since 2011 that all members of The Big 4 will take to the court of the 2nd Monday.

 With London being London imagine the scheduling nightmare should the rain gods decide to visit SW19.

This year's Manic Monday on the men's side has blockbuster clashes like:-

Andy Murray vs Benoît Paire

Andy Murray has waltzed through his first three matches with the loss of just 1 set. He was errant against Fabio Fognini but managed to raise his game when it mattered most and saved 5 set points to avoid being taken to a fifth set. Benoît Paire is just lucky to be here and should make the most of his few minutes of fame as he has a date with the World. No.1 on Wimbldeon’s centre court.

Prediction: Murray to win in straight sets

 Rafael Nadal vs Gilles Müller

Rafael Nadal is in the form of his life. He has won the last 29 sets he has played in Grand Slam competitions. Gilles Müller is having is best year on tour and has made the semi finals at Queens and won the tournament in Holland. He is serving like a machine. His groundstrokes are not his best weapon but he will have to be ready for shots that wouldn't come back had it been anyone else across the net.

Expect a Nadal straight sets win, unless Gilles Müller has a serving masterclass and can raise his game in the tie breaks.

 Novak Djokovic vs Adrian Mannarino

Novak Djokovic has seemingly rediscovered the hunger and competitive spirit that seemed missing from his game for the past 12 months. Adrian Mannarino had a tough match against Gaël Monfils to reach this stage, but to progress further would be an absolute miracle.

Djokovic to advance in straight sets.

Grigor Dimitrov vs Roger Federer

This match is the toughest to call. Roger Federer hasn't been playing like he did in Australia, Indian Wells and Miami. He seems to be struggling and is hitting a slice backhand. His flat backhand seems to be meeting the net more often than not. In Grigor Dimitrov he faces an opponent who was nicknamed Baby Federer and is now looking a younger version of the Swiss Maestro himself. Dimitrov, a former semi finalist at Wimbledon has reached the last 16 losing just 18 games. Federer on the other hand has lost 28 games. The young Bulgarian has never beaten Federer and based on current form this could be his best chance of ending that run.

Too tough to call this one. Expect a 4 or 5 setter.

 Milos Raonic vs Alexander Zverev

A finalist last year, Milos Raonic of Canada takes on the man touted to be tennis’ next superstar. Alexander Zverev is making his first appearance in the 2^nd week of a Grand Slam, but despite being 20, he isn’t a kid who has had a lucky first week and should just be glad to be here. He is the only man apart from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win a Master 1000 title this season. Zverev is at home on the grass and has a good forehand, backhand and serve. If he can return Milos Raonic’s bullet serves, expect the Canadian to struggle.

This one is tough to call. Expect a 4 setter.

Marin Čilić vs Roberto Bautista Agut

Dominic Thiem vs Tomáš Berdych

Kevin Anderson vs Sam Querry

 On the women's side we have

Angelique Kerber vs Garbine Muguruza

The world No.1 and 2016 Wimbledon runner up takes on the 2015 runner up. With Serena Williams out of action many expected the German to grab the opportunity to consolidate her position atop the WTA rankings. Early departures in Melbourne and Paris have given the WTA tour the belief that it won’t be a one woman show. Kerber was on the brink of elimination in the previous round, she will have to play well right from the moment the referee yells out play. Based on form, it’s looking unlikely. But grass is Kerber’s favourite surface, whereas Muguruza prefers the slower clay courts.

Tough to call. Expect a 3 setter

Caroline Garcia vs Johanna Konta

This match should see the home favourite Johanna Konta march into the Quarter finals without a massive test.

Konta in straight sets

Victoria Azarenka vs Simona Halep

What a return it has been for Victoria Azarenka! After a year out of the game, the Belarusian has made it to the second week of Wimbledon having played only 5 matches since making her return to tennis. Standing between her and the last 8 is World no.2 Simona Halep, who will pose the toughest test on paper for the 2 time Grand Slam Champion. Victoria Azarenka will have nothing to lose here. On paper it’s World No.2 vs World No.683. On court it should be worthy of a final.

Halep to win in 3 sets

Ana Konjuh vs Venus Williams

9 years back Venus Williams won her 5^th Wimbledon title. With her sister Serena missing the tournament, Venus is the one with the most Grand Slam titles under her belt. She has the experience to get through these rounds. Like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on the men’s side, Venus Williams has been experiencing a career renaissance this year. Ana Konjuh earned her spot in the 4th round by knocking out the World No.9 Dominika Cibulkova, but to pull off two upsets in a row could be tough.

Williams should win this one in 3 sets

Coco Vandeweghe vs Caroline Wozniacki

Agnieszka Radwańska vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Jelena Ostapenko vs Elina Svitolina

Magdelena Rybarikova vs Petra Martic