The Wimbledon round of 16 takes place on Monday with all eyes on whether top seeds Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will wobble again and if the Williams sisters can keep blasting opponents off the court.
With places in the quarterfinals at stake, the men’s top two will be hoping to iron out the problems in their games which has seen both of them stretched to five sets in the opening rounds.
Swiss top seed Federer faces Austria’s Jurgen Melzer, the 16th seed, on Centre Court, while Spanish world number one Nadal is up against France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu on Court One.
Nadal has been struggling with a right knee injury and is set to have treatment once the tournament ends.
He has to blank out the pain once again when he faces the unseeded Frenchman.
“Roger is in the other part of the draw. I am focused on my part,” the 23-year-old said.
“I am focused on the next match against Mathieu and playing well. But Mathieu is going to be a very difficult match.”
Britain’s Andy Murray will be looking to revive a nation’s sporting hopes after England’s dismal defeat to Germany in the football World Cup.
The fourth seed faces America’s Sam Querrey, who won Queen’s, the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.
Querrey, 22, is currently enjoying the best season of his career, winning three tour titles.
“It’s a little rough,” he said of the prospect of facing the home favourite on Centre Court.
“Hopefully you can get a few claps if you play a good point. But it’s understandable.
“Andy Murray has got Queen’s and Wimbledon. Let him have his moment with the fans. I’ve got three months’ worth of tournaments in America.”
The third seed, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, is up against Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, who won Halle, the other main Wimbledon warm-up.
Hewitt is in dangerous form and no player in the men’s draw has notched up more wins on grass than the Australian.
Meanwhile Andy Roddick, three times a beaten finalist here, is up against the unseeded Lu Yen-Hsun, who has made history by becoming the first Taiwanese man to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Serena Williams takes on Maria Sharapova, who made her name when she won the 2004 title here.
The Russian 16th seed has spent a long time struggling with a shoulder injury but is finally feeling back in the groove and could give the American world number one plenty to think about.
Serena and her sister Venus have had a fairly easy ride to the round of 16, dropping no sets and few games.
Venus Williams, five times a champion here, is up against the unseeded Jarmila Groth.
The Australian number three has never before played against world number two Williams but is in good form, having reached a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time at the French Open and followed up her exploits on clay by doing the same here on grass.
Third seed Caroline Wozniacki takes on Petra Kvitova, while fourth seed Jelena Jankovic is up against Vera Zvonareva.
But many will be watching the clash of the Belgian comeback queens, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, who are both looking to add the Wimbledon crown to their slew of Grand Slam titles.
Both have returned from retirement and will have to put their friendship on hold during the Court One clash.
The pair have 12 wins each from their 24 meetings, but Clijsters should be confident of progressing.
She has beaten Henin twice already this year and is yet to drop a set in her first three matches back at the All England Club after a four-year absence following a premature decision, as it turned out, to retire. — AFP