Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Wimbledon 2019: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in superb form while Novak Djokovic wins


A review of Monday's action in the men's singles at Wimbledon as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal powered into the quarter-finals.

Roger Federer's 99th Wimbledon win was probably one of his easiest after he crushed 17th seed Matteo Berrettini.

The eight-time champion moved seamlessly into the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory which took just an hour and 13 minutes.

Federer will bring up his century of triumphs if, as looks increasingly likely, he reaches the semi-finals.

Not many of the previous 98 could have been this straightforward, so powerless was Berrettini to even threaten the Swiss.

Federer was a break up inside 10 minutes, and had the first set wrapped up within 17 in a painful opening for Berrettini.

Things did not improve much for the Italian in the second, the dreaded Mexican wave breaking out as the crowd made their own entertainment once Federer had the set in the bag after three quarters of an hour.

Berrettini's humiliation was complete when, facing yet another break point in the third, he misjudged the spin on a Federer return, swatted at thin air and fell in a heap on the grass.

Rafael Nadal again showcased his credentials for the Wimbledon title by breezing past Joao Sousa and into the quarter-finals.

The Spaniard has not won the trophy at SW19 since 2010 but is looking every inch the contender this time around, dispatching the Portuguese 6-2 6-2 6-2 on Centre Court.

There were doubts before the tournament that Nadal would even get this far after what looked like a horror draw on paper.

It did not turn out like that as results elsewhere prevented meetings with the likes of Denis Shapovalov and Marin Cilic, but on this evidence Nadal would have got past them just as easily.

The 33-year-old is moving extremely well for a man whose knees have not always been grateful for the transition from clay to grass in the past and a tantalising semi-final with Roger Federer is edging ever closer.

An easy afternoon for the 18-time grand-slam winner began by surging into a 4-0 lead in the opening set.

Such was his dominance against Sousa, who beat Britain's Dan Evans in five sets on Saturday night, that a double fault at 4-1 up was met with a gasp of horror by the Centre Court crowd.

He wrapped up the opener in 29 minutes and after a break in the first game of the second set, the writing was on the wall.

There was simply no way back for Sousa, who failed to force any break points during the match, and the second set was sealed when Nadal took his opponent's serve again.

It was only a matter of time until he was back in the locker room and two more breaks put him on the brink, eventually seeing out victory with an ace.

Nadal, into just his second quarter-final here since 2011, will play Sam Querrey or Tennys Sandgren in the last eight.

Novak Djokovic's title defence at Wimbledon is still yet to come under serious threat as he eased into the last eight for the 11th time.

The world number one breezed past French rookie Ugo Humbert in straight sets, 6-3 6-2 6-3, on Court One to set up a meeting with David Goffin in the quarter-finals.

It is the 45th time he has reached this stage of a grand slam - only Roger Federer has achieved more - and few would back against him claiming a fourth SW19 crown on Sunday.

With Kevin Anderson, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitipas all losing in the first week, Djokovic's route to the final looks plain sailing.

He barely broke sweat against Humbert, who was enjoying a breakthrough slam, and won in one hour and 42 minutes.

Djokovic was masterful on his serve, winning 78 per cent of points on his first delivery and faced no break points.

That meant that Humbert had little chance and a break in the fourth game allowed Djokovic to take the first set 6-3.

Djokovic was as solid as could be from the baseline and continued to have success on Humbert's delivery, breaking twice on his way to the second set.

This was one-way traffic and it was all over in less than two hours after two more breaks, Djokovic claiming victory on his second match point.

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