Wimbledon: With Rafael Nadal’s shock exit, ‘Big Three’ aim to prove mettle in quarters

The ‘Big Four’ has become a ‘Big Three’ with the shock exit of Rafael Nadal, and the remaining trio of Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will all be aiming to prove their elite credentials in Wednesday’s quarter-finals.

Federer, a seven-times Wimbledon champion, has the toughest challenge on paper against sixth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic. The big-serving Canadian sixth seed Raonic, beaten finalist to Murray last year, has beaten Federer just three times in their 12 meetings, but those include their last two clashes, most recently in the 2016 Wimbledon semi-finals. But the Swiss third seed is in much better shape than a year ago, even if he has yet to be fully tested in this tournament.

“Roger’s been the best player I think this year, hands down, when he’s been on court,” Raonic said after his fourth round victory over Alexander Zverev in five sets on Monday. “But it’s not about six months or whatnot, it comes down to Wednesday, one day. So I have just got to try to find a way to try to be better on the day.”

LESS REST

Djokovic has the disadvantage of one day’s less rest because his last 16 match against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, which he …read more