The tournament might have been affected by the ridiculous amount of rain that has been around in London over the last couple of weeks, but at least the Singles events are right on schedule.
The roof may not be needed on either show court on Day 10 of Wimbledon when the rest of the Semi Finalists are confirmed.
Taylor Fritz - 4.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: There is a big opportunity for both Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti on Day 10 of The Championships as they bid to reach a maiden Grand Slam Semi Final.
It was supposed to be a quarter of the draw where the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev would have made a big impact, but both were upset early on in the tournament.
Take nothing away from Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz, especially not the latter who came from two sets down to beat a top four player in Alexander Zverev in the Fourth Round on Monday, but you can also make a strong guess at the fact that both players in this Quarter Final are very comfortable with the match up presented to them.
The two players both enjoyed strong grass court tournaments in the build up to Wimbledon, which means both Musetti and Fritz should be playing with a lot of confidence on the surface. The former was a beaten Finalist at Queen's Club, while Taylor Fritz won the Eastbourne title and has now won eight matches in success on the grass.
Taylor Fritz looks to be the more battle-hardened of the two players having secured two top 20 wins already at Wimbledon and both against solid opponents. On the other side of the net, Lorenzo Musetti's best win in SW19 is against the current World Number 37 and the way he was handled by Tommy Paul in the Queen's Final will certainly be something that Fritz will have noted.
A couple of years ago, Taylor Fritz was able to beat Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets at Wimbledon and you have to give the American a big edge on the serve. Throughout this run, Fritz has really put opponents under significant pressure thanks to his serving numbers and this match is likely going to be placed on Court One, which is the quicker of the two show case courts.
It should further enable Fritz to rattle through some of his service games and keep the pressure on Lorenzo Musetti, despite the fact the Italian has been serving well in the last three matches. His win over a big server in the Fourth Round will have given Musetti plenty of belief ahead of the Quarter Final, even if Taylor Fritz is an all around superior player to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The grass court defeats to Matteo Berrettini and Tommy Paul last month are perhaps more of an indicator as to how this match may develop.
Lorenzo Musetti did win his last match against Taylor Fritz, but that was on a clay court and the faster surfaces should really give the American a significant edge.
The line is not an easy one to cover if Lorenzo Musetti is playing his best, but you have to believe the Taylor Fritz serve may just force a couple of capitulations thanks to scoreboard pressure and that will see the World Number 12 move through.
Taylor Fritz has played in three previous Grand Slam Quarter Finals, including one at Wimbledon, and that experience edge may also help in an event where he looks to be playing the superior tennis compared with his opponent.
Novak Djokovic - 4.5 games v Alex De Minaur: There are still a number of the grass court title winners playing in the Men's draw at Wimbledon this week, even as we move into the Quarter Final Round.
Those players will have a lot of confidence and belief in their tennis having also won four matches at Wimbledon and one of those is Alex De Minaur who has somewhat flown under the radar. That may have something to do with benefiting from a walkover in the Third Round, but a title winner on the grass courts of Hertogenbosch will be given plenty of respect.
The home fans may want to get behind him anyway seeing as De Minaur is in a relatively high-profile relationship with British women's number one Katie Boulter, although the crowd may be a little more aware of how they made sound to seven time Champion Novak Djokovic.
After cruising past Holger 'RUUUUUUNE' in the Fourth Round, Novak Djokovic's on-court interview suggested that the fans were perhaps happier to use this as cheer for his opponent as an opportunity to boo him. There were some tense exchanges and it is perhaps clear that Novak Djokovic continues to feel underappreciated despite moving past both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam Winners list.
Once again it is likely to be his opponent who receives more of the support with his connections to British Tennis, but Djokovic might just come out with a bit more fire, which is when he plays his best tennis.
As mentioned before the tournament began, Novak Djokovic is still one of the top grass court players in the world if he is healthy and the four wins here suggests he is capable of going all the way for an eighth time in SW19.
He is a favourite in this Quarter Final, but Novak Djokovic will know that it could be tougher to shorten the points as he has been trying to do all week. The defensive skills of Alex De Minaur makes him dangerous, although the Australian has a vulnerable serve and that is where the former World Number 1 can really come into his own.
Alex De Minaur has reached a career best World Number 7 and he is on course to actually break new ground at the end of this tournament. However, his lack of Grand Slam experience could be an issue with this being his third ever Quarter Final at this level compared with Novak Djokovic who has made it through to his fifteenth Wimbledon Quarter Final alone.
The key to this Quarter Final is the way that Novak Djokovic is serving and the feeling is that he is going to earn a few cheaper games than his opponent.
There are positives for Alex De Minaur to take away from his grass court successes this summer, but the serve is a bit more vulnerable and Novak Djokovic may just be able to find a way to cover even in a match where he may drop another set.
Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 games v Barbora Krejcikova: After barely having any main draw Grand Slam experience as a Singles player, Barbora Krejcikova surprisingly won the French Open in 2021 and followed up with three decent runs at the next three Grand Slams played.
At the end of the Australian Open in 2022, Barbora Krejcikova had reached World Number 2, but it has been a tough time for her since then and she was fortunate to earn a Seeding for Wimbledon.
Twelve months ago, the Czech player arrived here just outside the top 10 of the World Rankings and that should underline how difficult the last twelve months have been for a player now down at World Number 32. Her four wins at Wimbledon will be a huge boost though and another win or two would see Barbora Krejcikova move back into the top 20, while also alleviating any fears of falling out of the Seeding positions for the US Open.
She did reach the Australian Open Quarter Final earlier this season, but Barbora Krejcikova had failed to progress beyond the Second Round in four of her previous five Grand Slams before her surprising run under the radar here at Wimbledon. With top names falling all around, there may be a feeling in the Krejcikova camp that she has the tennis to secure a second upset Grand Slam title.
Performances early in the draw at Wimbledon were not very impressive, but Krejcikova looks to have improved her level in the last couple of matches. One of those was against an injured opponent so cannot be given the same respect as the one in the Fourth Round when the Czech player got the better of Danielle Collins.
Next up is a former Wimbledon Juniors Champion in Jelena Ostapenko who also had limited Grand Slam experience before surprisingly surging to the French Open title in 2017. She is still only 27 years old, but Ostapenko has not had the kind of impact as a Singles player that was threatened with that run to the French Open title as a teenager.
She did reach the Wimbledon Semi Final in 2018 before losing to eventual Champion Angelique Kerber, but Jelena Ostapenko was not able to progress past the Fourth Round of any Grand Slam until Melboune in January 2023. Later in the year she reached the Quarter Final at the US Open too, so recent experiences may just settle the Latvian who will go for all of her shots without any hestitation.
After a pretty poor grass court campaign over the last month, Jelena Ostapenko has blitzed the competition at Wimbledon and is playing about as well as anyone left in the draw. Not only has she yet to drop a set, but no player has managed to win more than three games in any of the sets played and Jelena Ostapenko's numbers are very impressive.
With three wins in a row over Barbora Krejcikova behind her, including beating her in the Birmingham Final on a grass court last year, Jelena Ostapenko has to be feeling confident about her tennis. She is a player that will go for big shots, which can lead to a host of errors, but the serve has been working well and an aggressive return might keep her fellow former French Open Champion under the cosh.
It has been an easy tournament for Jelena Ostapenko so far, but that is rarely the case for her over stretches of periods- however, the Latvian is playing with a real sense of belief and expectation that can see her progress and cover this handicap mark set by the layers.
Elena Rybakina - 3.5 games v Elina Svitolina: After winning her Fourth Round match due to Anna Kalinskaya being forced to retire, Elena Rybakina was asked if she is feeling any additional pressure as the highest Seed left in the Wimbledon Ladies tournament and as a former Champion here.
The World Number 4 made it clear that she is not thinking about anything but the next match and that has to be the right approach with matches still to be won on the grass and not on paper.
Arguably this is the toughest match that Elena Rybakina could face out of the players remaining in the last eight of the draw and Elina Svitolina showed twelve months ago how good she can be on the grass courts of SW19.
Added motivation is there to give her compatriots something to cheer them up as Ukraine continues to deal with the Russian offensive in a war that has lasted well over two years already. Elina Svitolina wore a black ribbon in support of those affected by a major Russian strike on the eve of her Fourth Round match and the World Number 21 has admitted that she is finding it tough to focus on her tennis.
Despite that, Elina Svitolina is performing at a high level when she is on the court and she has been serving very effectively, which makes things all the easier on the grass. Three of the four wins have been against opponents that Svitolina would have expected to beat, but the victory over Ons Jabeur in the Third Round is very impressive, especially in the manner that win was put together.
Beating a two time Runner Up is one thing, but beating a former Wimbledon Champion is another and that is the challenge that Elina Svitolina will be facing in this Quarter Final. When the two players met at the French Open, you may have thought the surface would have aided Svitolina, but it was Elena Rybakina who came through with a strong win and is now on a much more favoured court.
Neither player can point to a deep grass court run in preparation for Wimbledon, but the level within the tournament has to be respected.
Elena Rybakina has certainly enjoyed the benefit of being a top four Seed with the way the draw has panned out for her and so there is some concern that she is not going to be ready for a big step up in class. Being familiar with the Elina Svitolina game will help, but Rybakina will know that she will need to serve well and avoid a rash of unforced errors if she is going to edge past this opponent.
The competition level has to be considered, but even then the 2022 Wimbledon Champion has played really well in working her way through the tournament.
Elina Svitolina will offer resistance, but she was pretty well beaten in her Semi Final here last season and the World Number 4 might just wear her down with big serving and aggressive groundstrokes through the course of this Quarter Final.
MY PICKS: Taylor Fritz - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Novak Djokovic - 4.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Jelena Ostapenko - 2.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Elena Rybakina - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Wimbledon Update: 17-17, - 3.94 Units (68 Units Staked, - 5.79% Yield)
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