Wimbledon Day 7 recap: Rublev and Svitolina survive seesaw matches

Sunday is normally a day of rest and recuperation for a lot of the world. That was not the case at Wimbledon as some players began battling for quarterfinal berths. Unseeded, but only by default, Elina Svitolina overcame the 19-seed Victoria Azarenka in a gutsy performance.

No. 7-ranked Andrey Rublev secured his first Wimbledon quarterfinal by overcoming the enigmatic Alexander Bublik. Rublev seemed to be in absolute control of the match as he raced out to a 2 sets to 0 lead.

However, if you can expect anything from a Bublik match, it’s to expect the unexpected. The ever-entertaining Bublik would win tiebreakers in the 3rd and 4th sets as things went the distance. However, Rublev showed great composure to stem the tide and got it done in the 5th.

Recapping Day 6 of Wimbledon

The Russian booked his first trip to the last 8 at Wimbledon with the 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory in just under 3 1/2 hours. En route to the win, Rublev hit possibly the shot of the tournament that left his opponent bewildered.

Svitolina had to pull out all the stops as she needed a final set tiebreak to complete the comeback against the multiple-time Grand Slam winner Azarenka. The final line of 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9) was the result of some outstanding tennis and also great fight and spirit.

There are not many players that can match Azarenka in a battle of wills, but Svitolina did just that in the biggest moments. Her return to the tour from motherhood has seen her reach the Quarterfinals at Roland Garros and now Wimbledon. Great stuff to see.

No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner (My pick to win before the tournament began) continued his leisurely stroll to the Quarterfinal stage for the second year in a row. The uber-talented Italian brushed aside Daniel Elahi Galan 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3.

No. 26 Denis Shapovalov saw his nice return to form end in the Round of 16 as he was upset by one of the surprise packages at Wimbledon, the unseeded Roman Safiullin.  11 double faults from the big-hitting Canadian aided his upstart foe in securing 5 breaks over their 4 set match.

No. 1 Iga Swiatek had to battle hard as she saved match points to overcome Gold Medalist and No. 14 seed Belinda Bencic 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-3. This was a semifinal-or-better-worthy match that fans got in the Round of 16. Swiatek marches onto her first Wimbledon Quarterfinal as she continues her summer surge.

No. 4 Jessica Pegula waltzed past Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-3 in probably the most routine match of the day. The top-ranked American won’t have any problem with that.

Two more seeds fell on the Women’s side to unseeded opposition as Marketa Vondrousova ousted No. 32 Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-4 6-3, while the 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva took out No. 22 Ana Potapova.

No. 21 Grigor Dimitrov finished off his impressive dismissal of number 10 Frances Tiafoe which was a continuation from yesterday. The Bulgarian put the final touches on a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win. Dimitrov is into the Round of 16 and goes into a toss-up match against No. 6 Holger Rune. Based on form and experience, you could pit Dimitrov as the slight favorite.

Finally, the tournament favorite No. 2 Novak Djokovic, saw his match suspended as a result of the self-imposed curfew at Wimbledon. Djokovic was locked in a razor-tight battle with the heavy-hitting Pole and 17-seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Novak had just barely scraped the first two sets in tiebreaks 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6) before play was stopped. He had to fight off 3 set points in the first set breaker, but as ever, his mental fortitude showed through as he simply locked in and refused to miss. He will consider himself extremely lucky tonight to be 2 sets to the good as he lays his head down.