By Mike McIntyre
Manic Monday lived-up to its name and saw some fantastic fourth round action of tennis from the remaining sixteen women who have now been narrowed down to the final eight. They will be back at it on Tuesday so let's take a quick look at the four matches on the schedule.
Garbine Muguruza vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Muguruza has been to the finals at Wimbledon before (2015) and came up short against Serena Williams. With that Williams on the sidelines perhaps the Spaniard can make amends for the loss. The 23 year old leads her head-to-head against the 32 year old Kuznetsova by a 3-1 margin. Kuznetsova is in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the fourth time but has never made it any further. The Russian has only dropped 20 games through her four matches thus far and the 7th seed appears to be rejuvenated over the past year on tour. The winner from this match will be considered a heavy favorite to make the finals compared to the other two players who are left in this half of the draw.
Magdalena Rybarikova vs Coco Vandeweghe
Rybarikova is currently ranked 87th in the world but that is due to her absence to injuries. If we focus on recent results it is clear that she is comfortable on grass with a 17-1 record on the surface this summer. At 28 years old she seems ready to make the most of this Grand Slam run. In 36 career Grand Slam appearances Rybarikova is into the quarterfinals for the very first time. Her opponent is 25 year old hard hitting American Coco Vandeweghe who made the semifinals here in 2015 and is currently benefiting from the coaching tutelage of 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash. Vandeweghe turfed Caroline Wozniacki 7-6(4), 6-4 in the fourth round but has never previously beaten Rybarikova in their two career matches including most recently at the French Open where it was the Slovakian who won easily 6-1, 6-4.
Venus Williams vs Jelena Ostapenko
The two bottom half quarterfinals are going to both be really interesting battles for a variety of reasons. The Williams vs Ostapenko one pits an ageless wonder with 49 career titles against a young upstart with but a single tournament victory. That being said, the 20 year old Ostapenko's lone victory was the last Grand Slam at Roland Garros. Ostapenko is aiming to be the first player on the WTA Tour since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to follow-up her maiden Grand Slam win with the following major as well. She captured the Junior Wimbledon trophy in 2014 and doesn't seem to be phased one bit by the pressure of the moment. Venus on the other hand is trying to become the oldest player to reach the finals at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1994. Fun fact: Venus turned pro in 1994 while Ostapenko wasn't even born until 1997!
Johanna Konta vs Simona Halep
Konta is carrying the pressure of an entire nation on her back and doesn't appear to be having any problems with that so far. Past the second round at Wimbledon for the first time in her career, she is attempting to be the first British woman to win at the All-England Club since Virginia Wade in 1977. Already she is the first from her country into the quarterfinals since Jo Durie in 1984. Progress, right? Konta is going to face Simona Halep for the first time since Great Britain fell to Romania in a tense Fed Cup tie in April. Both players were rather frosty in their recollections of that encounter which should give their match Tuesday a little extra drama. While Halep won that last match to seal the victory for her country, Konta has won their previous two matches - both on hard courts. For extra motivation, Halep knows that if she can make the final this weekend she will take Angelique Kerber's place as the World Number One.