Karen Khachanov should have been worried as soon as he stepped onto court with Novak Djokovic at just before 7pm last night. Djokovic is never more dangerous than when on the receiving end of a perceived slight, and two days on from feeding off the Centre Court crowd’s baiting to defeat Kyle Edmund, he now had the Wimbledon schedulers in his sights. Djokovic’s slot of third on Court No 1 to face Khachanov meant that for the second successive year he was facing the likely prospect of not finishing his fourth round on "Manic Monday". Last year Djokovic was left furious after his last-16 match against Adrian Mannarino was held over until the Tuesday, contributing to his retirement against Tomas Berdych a day later. But with the light fading and the wind billowing around the players yesterday, Djokovic set about his business with ruthless efficiency.<doc-sep>Novak Djokovic was pleased to have had a little more support at Wimbledon When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Djokovic did not get on court until 6.55pm after the conclusion of Kevin Anderson vs Gael Monfils but raced past the Russian in straight sets for the loss of just eight games. The Serbian had hit out at the “unfair” Centre Court crowd on Saturday night after they had sided with home favourite Kyle Edmund and jeered him for getting a time violation. But asked tonight if he felt No 1 Court was more favourable, he replied:“Absolutely. It was great. I enjoyed it.” Djokovic had never played Khachanov, the big-serving Russian who is ranked No 40 in the world, and in extremely windy conditions, both players were broken in their opening service games.<doc-sep>A former three-time champion Novak Djokovic has scored another impressive win to race towards the quarter-final, dismantling Karen Khachanov 6-2 6-2 6-4 in an hour and 46 minutes to stay on the title course. Novak has been searching for his form in the first four and a half months of the new season and it all changed in Rome where he finally looked like the old Djokovic who is ready to play for the big titles again. He was rock solid in Paris and Queen's as well and he seems to be in an even better form here at Wimbledon, dominating with his forehand to leave Karen with no chances. Djokovic notched his 248th Grand Slam win and the 62nd at Wimbledon, becoming the fifth player in the Open era who reached the last eight at the All England Club 10 times after Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and Andy Murray. In addition, Novak is now tied with Jimmy Connors on 41 Grand Slam quarter-final appearances, trailing 12 behind Roger Federer who has 12 more. There was nothing Khachanov could do against deep and well-constructed strokes from Djokovic, especially from his forehand side, and there was only one player on the court after a slow first set. Novak did lose his serve twice but there was nothing wrong with his initial shot in sets two and three, rattling off one good hold after another and keeping all the pressure on Karen who gave his serve away seven times from 14 opportunities that Djokovic created. The players traded four breaks in the first seven games of the match and it was Novak who clinched another one at 5-4 to grab the lead. That gave him the momentum and he went on to break Khanhanov in the second and eight games of set number two to move closer to the finish line and complete the win before the dark. Karen started to hit with more power in set number three but that was enough for a positive result only in the first part of the set, getting broken in games six and eight to hand the win to Novak and end his solid run in the last 16. Playing against each other for the sixth time, the 8th seed Kevin Anderson has finally managed to defeat Gael Monfils after a great battle, prevailing 7-6 7-6 5-7 7-6 in three hours and 29 minutes for his third Grand Slam quarter-final and the first at Wimbledon. Anderson needed 10 Wimbledon appearances to enter the last eight (Arnaud Clement, Mikhail Youzhny, Tommy Haas and Fernando Verdasco have played more) and he is the first South African in Wimbledon quarter-final since Wayne Ferreira in 1994. This was the 63rd Grand Slam win for Anderson and the 16th at Wimbledon and he had to give his best to emerge as a winner against Monfils who played in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time in his career. Kevin fired 20 aces but he got broken four times from five chances he offered to Gael. In fact, Gael suffered just three breaks from 12 chances he gave to the South African but he was beaten in the most important points, ending on the losing side in all three tie breaks to miss a chance to play in the first Wimbledon quarter-final. They traded breaks in games seven and eight in the opening set and Gael saved a pair of break points in game 11 to reach a tie break that Kevin grabbed 7-4 after a single mini-break on his tally. The second set was also very close, Monfils had an early lead after a break in game five but Anderson got it back in game eight to set up another tie break where he prevailed 7-2 with two mini-breaks to open up a huge lead. The Frenchman had a 5-2 lead in the third set as well with a break in game six and he served for the set in game nine, only to get broken and having to start all over. Nonetheless, he broke Kevin again in game 12 to extend the match and his chances, hoping for more of the same in set number four as well. Instead of that, he faced seven break points but he managed to repel them all and enter another tie break, with all the pressure on him. Anderson again did enough to cross the finish line first, claiming two mini-breaks that have led him into the last eight where he will face the defending champion Roger Federer. Fourth round results: ↓ SHOW RESULTS ↓ [8]Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 5-7 7-6(4) [12]Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS) 6-4 6-2 6-2 [5]Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6(1) 7-6(5) 5-7 Interrupted ALSO READ: ATP Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal hits first QF since 2011. Isner edges Tsitsipas<doc-sep>Djokovic dodged a bullet (Picture: Getty) Three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic narrowly avoided becoming the victim of another scheduling nightmare at the All England Club by downing Karen Khachanov in rapid fashion to book his spot in the quarter-finals. It was so nearly a case of deja vu for the 12-time Grand Slam winner, who was forced to play against Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday in 2017 after Wimbledon chiefs dawdled over making a decision whether to move their match to an empty Centre Court. Inexplicably this time around, having waited patiently all day to get on court, Jamie Murray and Victoria Azarenka’s mixed doubles match was moved to the showpiece court before the conclusion of Gael Monfils and Kevin Anderson’s match. Fortunately for schedulers, Anderson wrapped up the victory in four sets a matter of minutes later – avoiding a potentially embarrassing scenario. Anderson and Monfils’ match dragged on (Picture: AFP/Getty) With no roof on Court 1, Djokovic still needed to act quickly to get his match done – which wasn’t necessarily easy given the gusty conditions – and he put Khachanov to the sword with a 6-4 6-2 6-2 win to set up a quarter-final clash with Kei Nishikori. After the match, he confessed his delight at avoiding playing back-to-back matches on Tuesday and Wednesday and also his own performance. ‘When you have to face it, obviously the only thing you can do is try to find what’s best that you can rely on from inside,’ he said in his post-match press conference. ‘The external, so to say, conditions, factors are there for both players, so you can’t really affect the natural occurrence, the wind, rain or dark or light. It is what is. So you just have to kind of accept it. on day seven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 9, 2018 in London, England. ‘Even though it is a big challenge, you know, it’s not easy to kind of get used to it. I was warming up earlier today without any wind basically. You come out, you have to adjust your toss, the wind is changing direction all the time. Once you get used to a certain direction, it changes. But it is, as I said, same for both players. ‘I’m really happy the way I played tonight. I managed to win in straight sets against a player in form. I was really pleased with my second and third set. Really, really pleased. I made him play a lot. I served accurately, picking my spots, not really forcing the serve too much, trying to get easier first shot in the rally.’ When asked how had prepared himself for the day, he continued: ‘Well, seeing who was scheduled before me on the court, the matches, Kerber and Bencic, I think Anderson and Monfils, I expected a long day. But, again, why spend energy on something that you can’t change? I mean, it is what it is. ‘I just accepted it. I went with the flow of my routines and everything that I have to do to get myself ready for the match, if I get to play today. I also knew that there is a big chance of us getting interrupted by darkness, continuing the next day, as it happened for me last year. Those are the kind of circumstances that you just have to accept. Men's quarter-finals Djokovic v Nishikori Federer v Anderson Raonic v Isner Nadal v Simon/Del Potro If it does end up being Nishikori-Djokovic and Nadal-Del Potro… should Federer-Anderson be pushed to Court 1 along with Isner-Raonic? — George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) July 9, 2018 ‘Post-match I heard that the organisers were planning to cancel my match if Monfils and Anderson went to a fifth. Luckily for me it didn’t happen. I’m glad that we’re talking tonight after a fourth-round win.’ There’s set to be another scheduling conflict for men’s quarter-finals day on Wednesday – with three potentially high profile matches set to be spread across the top two courts. Should Juan Martin del Potro finish Gilles Simon off on Tuesday, it seems inconceivable that his match with Rafael Nadal won’t be on Centre Court – with Djokovic-Nishikori vying with Roger Federer-Kevin Anderson for the other spot. Asked whether he expects to be on Centre on Wednesday the 31-year-old Serb added: ‘We’ll see. Hopefully.’<doc-sep>
Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 10th time on Monday with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Russia's Karen Khachanov. Three-time champion Djokovic, seeded 12, will face Japan's 24th seed Kei Nishikori for a place in the semi-finals. It will be Djokovic's 41st appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final and he will start favourite against Nishikori who will be in his first last-eight at the All England Club. Former world number one Djokovic has a 13-2 winning record against the Japanese player. Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 23 years to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday and then predicted a "war" with Djokovic to get to the last four. Nishikori, 28, overcame an arm injury to reach his first All England Club quarter-final with a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (12/10), 6-1 win over Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis. But having become the first Japanese man to reach the quarter-finals since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995, Nishikori must now overturn a 13-2 career losing record against three-time champion Djokovic on Wednesday. "He's always like a big war for me. I always enjoy playing against him. It's always big challenge," said Nishikori. The Japanese player has already lost twice to the former world number one this year -- on clay in Madrid and Rome. Although the two have never met on grass, Nishikori is still hamstrung by the knowledge that the last of his two wins against the Serb was in 2014 in a memorable semi-final victory at the US Open. "Maybe I don't have good results or good record with him, but I always enjoy playing him. "He's one of the best players on the tour." Adding to Nishikori's problems is a worrying right arm injury which required extensive treatment and a medical time-out in his win over world 130 Gulbis, the man who had put out fourth seed Alezander Zverev in the third round. "My elbow was bothering me little bit," admitted Nishikori. "From the second, it got better and I just tried to stay calm and fight every game." Djokovic, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals for the 10th time with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Russia's Karen Khachanov. Seeded 12, Wednesday will Djokovic's 41st appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final. His match against Nishikori will fall on the first anniversary of him having to retire from his 2017 quarter-final against Tomas Berdcyh with an elbow injury. That precipitated a lengthy absence from the tour and a worrying dip in form and confidence. However, the 31-year-old has looked back to something approaching his best at Wimbledon. "I like my chances against Nishikori," said Djokovic. He added: "I played very well in Queen's (where he finished runner-up) coming into Wimbledon. "I haven't spent too much time on the court. I feel physically, mentally ready, fit, positive." Djokovic's run to the Queen's final on the eve of Wimbledon was his first appearance in a championship match since Eastbourne almost 12 months earlier. That was a boost after a shock quarter-final exit at the French Open to world number 72 Marco Cecchinato of Italy. "I didn't feel comfortable on the court for long time. Indian Wells, Miami, most of the clay court season," added Djokovic. "I just had to go back to basics and hit as many balls as I can on the practice courts, just get that feel. "Also psychologically obviously, I was so fortunate to have so much success on the tour over the course of 10-plus years. Promoted "I was top 3 player for so many years in a row, it was quite a strange feeling for me not to be able to deliver my game. "But things are looking much better in the last month and a half."