Photo Source: Camera Sport
Wimbledon, Day 8: Sweet 16 action ends at the Championships on Monday with the top half of the men’s draw and the bottom half of the women’s draw contesting their round of 16 clashes. The quarterfinals will be set after a full slate of high-stakes tilts.
See the full Day 8 Order of Play Here
Here’s what we’ll be watching…
Iga Targets Tauson, Quarters
Iga Swiatek has played some of the best grass-court tennis of her career at Wimbledon, and she’ll head into the second week with plenty of confidence. The forehand is clicking, the serve is setting up the patterns, and the footwork has been magnificent.
On Monday the five-time major champion will face rising Dane Clara Tauson for the second time, as the 22-year-old contests her first round of 16 match at Wimbledon. Swiatek took their only meeting in three sets, at Indian Wells in 2022, but this version of Tauson has a lot more experience under her belt.
Tauson entered this season with zero grass-court wins to her name, but she has blossomed on the surface, using her first-strike tennis to hit through her opponents. She’ll have to do the same against Swiatek, as she doesn’t want to get involved in long rallies with the Pole. Tauson, seeded 23, will be confident, coming off a win of former champion Elena Rybakina in the third round. She also defeated Aryna Sabalenka earlier in the season.
Is she ready for an even bigger triumph, or will it be Swiatek who rides the hot hand into the quarters?
Pick: Tauson in straights
Shelton vs Sonego, again…
This year at the majors, it has taken Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner to knock Ben Shelton out. The American is 11-2 at the majors this year, losing to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros in the round of 16 and Sinner in the semis at the Aussie Open. 10th-seeded Shelton hasn’t been so formidable at the smaller events, but he sure has been dialled in at the majors.
He’ll need to be on Monday as he faces Italy’s Sonego for the third time at a major this year. His wins – in four tight sets in Melbourne and five at Roland-Garros – have been impressive, but not dominant. Sonego, ranked 47, will pull out all the stops as he looks to exact some revenge on the American southpaw.
Pick: Shelton in Four
Djokovic vs the Demon
Have to love the fact that Alex de Minaur – one year after missing out on the chance to face Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals due to a hip injury – is back in the second week at Wimbledon, and getting ready to face the ultimate challenge. That’s the Aussie in a nutshell: determined, defiant and always getting the most out of his tennis.
Djokovic will go in as the favorite, and provided that he executes at his highest level, he should be fine. If, however, he starts to feel the nerves with a 25th major title on the horizon, he could find himself in a scrap against De Minaur, who owns a victory over Djokovic in three previous meetings.
As good as De Minaur is, it’s hard to imagine him pushing the seven-time champion on Centre Court. There is a level that Djokovic possesses, and if we see it on Monday, it will be hard for De Minaur to match. Not impossible, but close.
Pick: Djokovic in three, the man is on a mission
Enjoy.