Wimbledon News: Sam Querrey Upsets Andy Murray In Quarter-Final, Roger Federer Advances

Day 10 at Wimbledon featured both highly expected results and surprises, as Andy Murray was eliminated from the quarter-finals and Roger Federer advanced to the semis.

Wimbledon news Andy Murray Roger Federer

World number one Murray lost to 24th-seeded American Sam Querrey on Center Court at All England Club on Wednesday. Querrey, 29, came back from two sets behind to defeat the Scotsman and defending Wimbledon champion 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1.

Murray was clearly still feeling the effects of a hip injury he sustained before the tournament, despite winning the opening set in just 28 minutes. The 30-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion (two Wimbledon titles, one U.S. Open title) got ahead 3-0 in the first set and then 4-3 in the second as Querrey — the World number 60 — struggled to deliver proper serves.

However, Querrey then broke back to tie it 4-4 in the second set and then held serve to gain the lead from there, winning that set with a backhand.

Following a 7-6 lead in the third set, Murray raced to a 6-1 advantage in the tiebreak and then won it 7-4 to lead the match 2-1.

However, the Scot fell apart after that, particularly in terms of serves and chasing balls. Querrey broke Murray for a second time and then a third en route to a 6-1 set victory.

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times noted that after the tiebreaker, Murray still had a chance to win despite looking “limpy” and delivering a “horrendous” start because Querrey seemed to have lost some steam:

Querrey had not advanced past the fourth round of a tournament since the 2010 U.S. Open. The San Francisco native also reached the third round of this year’s Australian Open and the third round of the French Open in 2013.

On Friday morning, Querrey will face seventh-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic in the first men’s semifinal. Cilic defeated 16th-seeded Luxembourgish star Gilles Muller on Wednesday.
Third-seed Federer, meanwhile, inched closer to his eighth Wimbledon title by defeating sixth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic — the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up and a semifinalist at last year’s Australian Open — 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(4) in his 100th match at All England Club.

The 35-year-old Swiss looked in fine form, finishing with 46 winners and only nine unforced errors. He will next face 11th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych — the 2010 runner-up — in the second men’s semifinal on Friday.

On the women’s side on Tuesday, Johanna Konta eliminated second seed Simona Halep of Romania with a 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory to become the first British woman to reach Wimbledon’s semifinals since Virginia Wade in 1978.

The 26-year-old Australian-born sixth seed will next face 10th-seeded American Venus Williams in Thursday’s second women’s semifinal. Konta praised the 37-year-old Williams, who beat Latvian 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko — the 13th seed and reigning French Open champion — in her own quarterfinal 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday.

“Age is not a factor,” Konta said of Williams. “She’s a tremendous champion. I feel privileged to share a court with her.”

Konta defeated Venus on hardcourt at the Miami Open earlier this year, then lost to her on clay in Rome.

“I’ve never played her on grass, so that will be a new challenge,” the Brit added. “The way Venus and her sister have elevated women’s tennis is truly inspiring. I feel very excited and very humbled.”

The first women’s semifinal on Friday will see 14th seed Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain — the 2016 French Open champion and 2015 Wimbledon finalist — face Slovakian Magdaléna Rybáriková. 

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Sam Querrey of The United States plays a forehand during the Gentlemen’s Singles quarter final match against Andy Murray of Great Britain on day nine of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)