IT was a quarter-final to remember at The Championships that included a historic matchup between two Australian powerhouses and a previous title-holder who continued to impress on the grass court. As four players look to uphold their Wimbledon dream in the upcoming semi-finals, the quarter-finals showed that it is still anybody’s game.

Angelique Kerber was at the top of her game, as she secured the win in her match against Czech Karolina Muchova 6-2 6-3. Taking just one hour and fifteen minutes, Kerber took down Muchova in a performance reminiscent of her Wimbledon campaign back in 2018.

Kerber cruised through the first set, slightly caught off guard by Muchova in the second set before reclaiming the lead back. The Czech talent came unstuck against her opponent and although fought on strong, was not able to hold Kerber off from getting her 80^th career grass-court win.

“Of course, it’s a good feeling already to have the [Wimbledon] trophy at home and to win it here,” Kerber said. “I think it’s more about this tournament for me, because when I was a kid, I really looked forward to playing this tournament good, and playing my best tennis here.”

“I just try to continue my play on grass,” she said. “Having, of course, the confidence from the last week, coming here and winning a title in my bag, gives me also confidence that grass is really my surface.”

The day also saw the highly anticipated all-Australian derby between the world number one Ash Barty and Ajla Tomljanovic, a feat not seen since Wendy Turnbull’s defeat to Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980. Barty advanced to the semi-finals to take on Kerber following a classy display against her Australian counterpart, 6-1 6-3.

The 25-year-old was in strong form, cruising through six games after losing just seven points during the first set. She capped off the game with her fourth ace of the day, which ended Tomljanovic’s Wimbledon hopes for 2021.

“Today I was able to use my weapons a little bit better and just bring the ball back into my patterns a bit more regularly,” Barty said. “I certainly wasn’t as loose as I have been with errors and kind of ill-timed lapses, I suppose. But I felt really sharp today. I felt like I knew I needed to bring that level in order to match it with Ajla.”

Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur went head-to-head in their quarter-final match-up which lasted for one hour and 13 minutes. Tunisian superstar Jabeur came up short against her opponent, going down 6-4 6-3. Sabalenka’s win sees her move onto the next stage of the competition, making it the first time that she’s progressed past the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, Karolina Pliskova has reigned supreme in her match against Swiss player Viktorija Golubic 6-2 6-2. Pliskova’s 81 minutes of play saw her come out on top, hitting eight aces and winning 83 per cent of points off her first serve  in the process. Pliskova will take on Sabalenka in the second semi-final.

WIMBLEDON QUARTER FINAL RESULTS: 

[1] Ash Barty (AUS) defeated Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-1 6-3
[2] Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) defeated [21] Ons Jabeur (TUN) 6-4 6-3
[8] Karolina Pliskova (CZH) defeated Viktorija Golubic (SWI) 6-2 6-2
[25] Angelique Kerber (GER) defeated [19] Karolina Muchova (CZH) 6-2 6-3

Picture credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports