Wimbledon W2: Federer and Nadal near collision, Serena having fun with Murray

Federer and Nadal both won their matches in three sets over Frenchmen on Saturday: Fed over Lucas Pouille, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(4), and Rafa against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Another GOAT, Serena Williams won her first round mixed doubles match with partner Andy Murray in front of a delighted crowd on Center Court, 6-4, 6-1.

The nextgen players dropped like flies at the outset of Wimbledon, and there are several familiar names heading into week two of the tournament. Of the 16 men left, only two are under 27.

No surprise here: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are still in the draw as we progress into the second week at the All England Tennis Club. If you’re wondering if the next generation will step up to change the guard, the answer is a very definitive no.

Federer to face young Italian

“I think on the men’s side, maybe at 15 it’s not possible, I don’t think, to go through a Slam,” said Federer, when asked about 15-year-old American sensation Cori Gauff, to Yahoo.

“At 17 and 18, what Rafa did or [Boris] Becker did or [Bjorn] Borg did, I think it’s possible.”

To underscore his longterm dominance, the 37-year-old achieved his record 350th grand slam win in the match against Pouille. Only Djokovic sits behind him with 273, and Nadal 263. Federer is just two matches away from getting to a magical, record 100 match wins at Wimbledon.

https://twitter.com/ATP_Tour/status/1147576088811278337

The Swiss player is also two matches from facing his great rival, Rafa in clash No. 40. The marquee semifinal would be reminiscent of what is considered the greatest tennis match of all time, their 2009 final, which the Spaniard won after five grueling sets, culminating in a hard-fought fifth set score of 9-7. It was beautifully revisited in the documentary, Strokes of Genius (a must-see for any tennis fan). The two haven’t played each other at Wimbledon since that match of the ages.

But first the two icons of the sport need to get through tough opponents on Manic Monday’s fourth-round lineup. Next up for Fed is the young Italian racehorse, Matteo Berrettini, who has tons of momentum going for him and the confidence of a pre-Wimbledon grass court title behind him. There’s been a lot of criticism of the younger players, but Berrettini is not included in that mix. The 23-year-old is the future of men’s tennis, having just cracked the Top 20.

"“I saw him play a little bit in Halle and I saw his run in Stuttgart. Now he’s backing it up here again. That’s not easy to do, especially when you’re sort of newer on the tour,” said Federer according to Yahoo.“I’m expecting a tough one. I hope he has no energy left. I’m sure he’ll recover. He’s young. I’m sure we’ll see a tough match on Monday.”"

When Federer won his first trophy in 2003, Berrettini was just seven years old (incorrectly reported as six in the Yahoo article). Berrettini is thrilled with the opportunity to play someone he’s admired for so long, but admits he needs to adjust that feeling in order to try to beat him.

"“When I was a child playing tennis I was looking at him, the best player. I was cheering for him … Now I kind of stopped cheering for him when I saw — I don’t remember which tournament, but I saw his name and then my name in the draw.“So it was, like, now I’m playing same tournament, I cannot cheer for him. But I grew up watching him. So for sure it’s gonna be one of dreams.”"

Nadal calls his next combatant dangerous

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal knows his upcoming opponent, world No. 69 Joao Sousa, very well. The Portugese player took a set off of Rafa the last time they met — on clay — at the 2016 Madrid Masters event. Nadal, per the ATP, said:

"“We know each other very well, we’ve practiced plenty of times together … He’s a player who when he’s winning matches, he’s a super dangerous opponent against everybody. He is very quick, very good physical performance. He’s aggressive with his shots, he’s going for the shots all the time.”"

The Nadal the Portuguese will be facing is a far more resilient player post-2016 and is performing at a ruthlessly high level in the grass slam.

https://twitter.com/tsonga7/status/1147877937200410625

In fact, both Federer and Nadal are playing peak tennis. It’s a good bet they’ll progress to the semifinal everyone is waiting for. The consolation prize after what will surely be an epic match will likely be a ready-to-pounce Novak Djokovic, who won this third round match over Polish player Hubert Hurkacz, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4. Nole will face another nextgen player, Frenchman Ugo Humbert. Of the three, the Serbian has the easiest draw.

Serena having fun

Joining the male icons of the sport is a legend on the WTA side, Serena Williams, who is playing both singles and mixed doubles with another famous player, Andy Murray.

Serena Williams entered the tournament with a lot of people doubting her chances, but the world No. 10 has only lost one set, to Kaja Juvan in the second round. Her commanding win over Julia Görges is an indication of the confidence with which she’s playing, 6-3, 6-4.

But the 23-time slam champion is also having a blast playing mixed doubles with two-time Wimbledon winner Murray. Their first round match was packed at Center Court.

The fourth round matches for men and women take place on Monday, including a highly anticipated all-American one with Sam Querrey and Tennys Sandgren, the only US men’s players left. Also playing is exciting tennis star Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff.

Stay tuned here for all your Wimbledon and tennis coverage.