At 39, Federer is the oldest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open era, which began in 1968.
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — It was Wimbledon’s last Manic Monday — as of next year, no longer will all 16 fourth-round singles matches be scheduled on one day, a tradition vanishing along with that of a Middle Sunday without any play — and yet, amid all the chaos of simultaneous matches, one could be forgiven for imagining Roger Federer held the stage to himself. He’s an eight-time champion at the All England Club, after all, who is coming off a pair of knee operations last season and participating in a Grand Slam tournament for the last time before turning 40, so who knows how many of these he has left? Maybe that’s why nearly every point Federer claimed while beating Lorenzo Sonego 7-5,6-4,6-2 was treated by the Centre Court crowd as if it might be the last, riotously cheered and applauded for posterity. It all added up to a more vibrant atmosphere than at other contests on the packed schedule, whether involving victories for past title winners Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber — she ended 17-year-old American Coco Gauff’s run — or for one of the more than 10 players who earned a debut trip to the quarterfinals at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. “We’ll look back in 20 years,50 years, from now and this is it. This was the last Middle Sunday, the last Manic Monday,” Federer said. “I’ve been happy I played in an era when there was a Middle Sunday. We have to go with the times. I understand.” The whole “We really only care about one of these guys” vibe seemed to get to Sonego a bit. After at least four points that went his way, he waved his arms up and down, motioning to the crowd for more noise. They obliged, voices reverberating under the retractable roof pulled shut when rain arrived late in the first set, a delay of more than 20 minutes that, not incidentally, was followed by an immediate double-fault by the 26-year-old Italian on break point to fall behind 6-5. That was the only opening Federer really needed as he moved into his record-extending 18th quarterfinal at Wimbledon. At 39, with his milestone birthday arriving Aug.8, Federer is the oldest Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic made it to his 12th while continuing his pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam, never troubled a bit while defeating No.
