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ICYMI at Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal out, Americans into quarters

LONDON -- Well, Week 2 went off with a bang, didn't it?

Manic Monday. Mad Monday. Magical Monday. Whatever you call it.

It's a Manic Monday indeed at Wimbledon.

Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer7y ago

In particular ... American tennis fans.

On Monday, Coco Vandeweghe and Sam Querrey made their mark on the Wimbledon history books.

Vandeweghe secured her place in the final eight by defeating the No. 8 seed, Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (4), 6-4. She will be hoping to improve upon her last quarterfinal performance, when she bowed out to Maria Sharapova in 2015.

She remains focused on the match in front of her, though. This is from her news conference:

Q. At the beginning of the tournament people were talking about how wide open the women's field is. Do you still feel it is that way heading into the quarterfinals?

Vandeweghe: "I guess. I mean, there's still a lot of good players in the draw. There's Grand Slam champions still in the draw. I don't know if it's wide open. You still have to win the matches in front of you.

"That's all I can really think about, is myself really. I can't really focus on what other people are doing or how they're feeling."

Over on Court 18, Querrey beat Kevin Anderson 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (11), 6-3 and will now face Andy Murray in the next round.

This is the second consecutive year that Querrey has qualified for the quarterfinals at Wimbledon -- continuing his mission to end the American drought of 54 majors, which is the longest the U.S. men have had in the Open era.

Sam Querrey, in his 2nd straight QF here, faces the local hero & defending champ, who's in his 10th straight & is always under the microscope. "It's like nothing we have in the States," said Querrey. "It feels like everyone watches Wimbledon here with Andy Murray...he's earned that position...these two weeks, it's all about him."

William Weinbaum, ESPN7y ago

Meanwhile, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams was also doing her bit:

Today also marked a momentous day for British fans. Great Britain has quarterfinalists in the Wimbledon men's and women's singles for the first time since 1973 after wins on Monday for Murray and Johanna Konta.

Who will take the women's crown?

Over on Court No. 2, Garbine Muguruza knocked out first seed and world No.1 Angelique Kerber.

This result has wider implications for the women's tour.

With her loss Monday, Kerber also loses the world No. 1 crown.

Are we surprised? Not all that much.

The German hasn't looked in form all tournament, nor has she all season. A fall from the top might be just what Kerber needs to rediscover her form.

But who will take her place as world No. 1? (Dare we ask, again, who may take the women's Wimbledon crown?!)

Garbine Muguruza, the 2015 finalist at Wimbledon, defeated world No. 1 Angelique Kerber Monday. The Spaniard knows the women's draw is wide open and the title is there for the taking. "We'll see who wants it more," she said in her postmatch news conference.

Rob Bartlett, ESPN UK Associate Editor7y ago

'That' match

Rafael Nadal is out of Wimbledon.

Yes, it's still sinking in for us, too.

He lost to Gilles Muller in an unbelievable 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 marathon.

It was the best match we've had at the tournament, so far. Tennis enthusiasts took to Twitter to express their love:

But aside from that, we're pretty sure this has never happened midmatch at Wimbledon before ...

Rafael Nadal complained about the glare from the safety glass at Gate 21 so blankets were brought in to cover it.

Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer7y ago

It provided some light relief for the fans, who were poised on the edge of their seats for a full 4 hours, 48 minutes.

In his postmatch news conference, Muller joked about the reasons for his initial two-set lead:

Q. Right before you walked out on the court, Nadal jumped up and maybe hit his head on the doorway there.

Muller: "Yeah, I heard something. I looked back. He was laughing. Yeah, I don't know what he said. I think he said, 'Almost.' I don't know if he hit his head or the racket. I'm not sure what happened. He hit something, I don't know what it was."

Q. A different way to go on court?

Muller: "Yeah, I guess. Maybe that's why the first two sets I was winning quite easy. Maybe still a little bit feeling dizzy, I don't know."

#Wimbeldon2017

Apparently, everyone was so engrossed in the Nadal-Muller match that no one noticed (or cared?!) that this was happening:

We obviously totally noticed.

Scheduling saga

Kerber -- who was the world No. 1 when she stepped onto the court -- was assigned to Court No. 2 Monday. The decision not to put her on one of the two main courts has sparked up a lot of debate.

We think Murray has devised the solution.

A common theme of Manic Monday has been talk about the scheduling, with five-time champion Venus Williams and British hopeful Johanna Konta both playing on show courts while world No. 1 Angelique Kerber had to settle for Court No. 2. With a lot of players being asked about the issue today, defending champion Andy Murray offered his view: "Ideally you would have two men's and two women's [matches] on Centre. Maybe starting the matches a little bit sooner, a little bit earlier in the day, and splitting them between men and women - it's not the hardest thing to do."

Rob Bartlett, ESPN UK Associate Editor7y ago

Manic Monday turns Mad Monday

One fan took the Manic Monday theme to the extremes.

Women's quarterfinals

With the Novak Djokovic vs. Adrian Mannarino match still to be played Tuesday, the men's quarterfinals are yet to be finalized.

Here is the women's bracket: