The men’s bottom half of the draw will just be completing their third round matches today, so the women will be a full round ahead when play concludes this evening. While there are many younger players well worth your attention on Monday, the biggest stories to follow will be veterans who continue to amaze in the twilight of their careers: 38-year-old Venus Williams, 37-year-old Roger Federer, and 36-year-old David Ferrer.
Simona Halep (2) vs. Venus Williams
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This is a rematch from January’s Australian Open, which was also a fourth round match. Halep prevailed in straights sets on that day, as she has the last three times they’ve met. In fact, Venus has not won more than three games in any set of those matches. Venus did claim the other three matches they’ve played, though her last win came in 2013. As impressive as Venus’ play has been this month, especially considering she’s been much less than 100% physically, Halep is just not a good matchup for her. Venus’ serve and groundstrokes are not as powerful these days, and Simona is too solid off the ground and too quick around the court. However, Halep herself is far from 100%. She was hampered by a knee injury in her third round match yesterday, and needed three sets to survive against the 93rd-ranked player in the world. Simona spent nearly three hours on court yesterday, while Venus dropped just four games in a much quicker victory. And you know the crowd will be fully behind the American today. If Venus is ever going to defeat Halep again, this may be her best shot.
Frances Tiafoe (28) vs. David Ferrer (WC)
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Watching David Ferrer outcompete Sascha Zverev on Saturday night, and seeing how much he still wants to win just mere weeks ahead of retiring from the sport, was a thing of beauty. His upset of the second seed is even more impressive considering David had not won back-to-back matches yet this year. Does he have another upset left in him? It would seem unlikely under normal conditions, but much like the women’s match of the day, the player on the other side of the net may not be 100% healthy. Frances Tiafoe appeared to be dealing with stomach issues in his second round match on Saturday, and his leg went into a full cramp right after match point. Tiafoe can ill afford to be tired or injured against one of the game’s best competitors. Hopefully Frances is good to go, as he’s had a full day off to recover. In their first career meeting, the 21-year-old American should be the favorite.
Other notable matches on Day 8
- Roger Federer (4), who survived on Saturday despite some very poor play, vs. Filip Krajinovic, who upset Stan Wawrinka in the last round
- Petra Kvitova (3) vs. Caroline Garcia (19). The Frenchwoman had a losing record on the year coming into this tournament, but already defeated Victoria Azarenka and Julia Goerges, and is 3-2 lifetime against Kvitova
- Caroline Wozniacki (13) vs. Su-Wei Hsieh (27), who took out World No.1 Naomi Osaka on Saturday
- Kiki Bertens (7) vs. Ash Barty (13). Barty is vying to enter the top 10 for the first time, as Bertens aims for her debut in the top five. Bertens is 0-2 against Barty.
