Wimbledon 2021: Quarter-finalists stepping into unknown at SW19

It's women's quarter-finals day at Wimbledon, with players across the draw stepping into the unknown, as eight will become four by close of play at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

As the days have gone by in the women's draw, those tipped as pre-tournament contenders have fallen; from Serena Williams' earliest of exits to Garbine Muguruza being dismissed and Coco Gauff falling in the fourth round.

However, prior to the main draw starting, the most commonly discussed topic was the openness of the women's draw. As was the case at Roland Garros, so many had the potential to make deep runs and so many others, had the potential to surprise us all.

Now, with just eight left in contention - Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Ashleigh Barty, Ajla Tomljanovic, Karolina Pliskova, Viktorija Golubic, Karolina Muchova and Angelique Kerber - the pressure mounts and many of them are moving into unchartered territory on SW19's grass courts.

Of the eight, only Muchova - who is playing in her second Wimbledon quarter-final - and Kerber, the 2018 champion, know what it is like to prepare for this stage of the Championships and beyond.

Barty, the world No 1, has never gone beyond the fourth round in London while Sabalenka has finally smashed through her fourth-round glass ceiling. Everywhere you look across the draw there is pressure, but also there are opportunities.

For Jabeur, the opportunity is the chance to continue blazing a trail for those watching as the first Arab woman to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon. She has already impressed the five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who she beat 7-5 6-0 in the second round, with her achievements and play.

"Ons I would say is one of my favourite people on tour, honestly she's just breaking down barriers," Williams said.

"You're gonna see a whole other generation of women from North Africa coming into tennis. It's going to be all owed to her."

Jabeur will now face the big-hitting Sabalenka on Centre Court on Tuesday afternoon. The duo have met twice previously and share the spoils with one victory apiece.

Despite Sabelanka taking the most recent meeting in Abu Dhabi, Jabeur is going into the contest with a great deal of belief.

"My goal is to break this quarter-final and be able to go to the semi and why not the final? I'm enjoying my time here in Wimbledon, enjoying the grass a lot.

"Actually, I got congratulated by Roger after my [fourth-round] match, which was amazing. I think now I'm good in my tennis career [now]! He was very nice. He took the time to say congrats. That inspires me a lot and gives me the hunger to win more."

Sabalenka, who knocked out Britain's Katie Boulter earlier in the tournament, overcame Elena Rybakina 6-3 4-6 6-3 in her fourth-round contest.

The second seed went into this Grand Slam draw with the unenviable label of being the only player in the top 20 not to have reached a Grand Slam quarter-final. Now, she has finally broke down that barrier and like Jabeur, she is looking for more.

"I'm really happy, but this is not the final goal for me. I'm happy for now, but tomorrow [Tuesday] is another match. I'm trying to stay focused. I'm really happy I finally broke this wall.

"She has good touch, good serving game, moving well," the second seed added about Jabeur. "I also have a good serve and play aggressive [tennis]. I'm kind of trying to use my touch also.

"It's going to be interesting match. It's going to be great battle. I'm really looking forward for this match."

Second on Centre Court will be an all-Australian contest between the world No 1 Barty and Tomljanovic.

Barty secured her 32nd win of the year in the fourth round, after a tough encounter with the recent French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.

The 7-5 6-3 victory saw the world No 1 come from 3-1 down in the first, and the contest highlighted both her control and form.

Tomljanovic's progression into the quarter-finals came in very different circumstances, after Emma Raducanu retired due to medical reasons when the Australian was 6-4 3-0 up late on Monday night.

"I'm unbelievably proud of myself that I'm here," Tomljanovic said. "I didn't think I would be, in a way. I didn't think these two weeks would be my breakthrough. Now that they are, it's kind of surreal. It just puts everything back into perspective."

First on No 1 Court will be Pliskova, the eighth seed, taking on Switzerland's Golubic.

Golubic and Pliskova have not faced each other since 2016 and the latter has yet to drop a set at this year's Championships.

After overcoming Veronika Kudermetova 11-9 in the decider back in the first round, Golubic has been equally efficient, having won her next three matches in straight sets too.

Golubic has won eight of her past nine matches on grass but Pliskova knows how to end an opponent's run, having beaten wildcard Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 6-3 in the fourth round and halted her 10-match streak.

Pliskova powered to victory in just 75 minutes and won 83 per cent of points on her first serve, so Golubic will have a good idea of what is coming her way on No 1 Court.

The final contest of the day will contain the only former Wimbledon champion left in the draw - Kerber - meeting Muchova.

Kerber outplayed Coco Gauff on Monday to win 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court. It is her first return to a Grand Slam quarter-final since her 2018 title run at the All England Club and puts to bed first-round exits at both the Australian Open and French Open this year.

"I really worked hard in the last few months. Being able now to play matches like this, win close matches, going out there and enjoying it, feeling my tennis, it's always a good sign., she said.

"Being now in the quarters here again, it's really great. I'm looking forward to the next round."

Muchova overcame Paula Badosa in their fourth-round match. She came from a break down in the opening set, and trailed 5-2 in the tie-break, to take it 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

The world No 22 will now try and erase memories of her quarter-final exit to Elina Svitolina two years ago, during her only other appearance at the Championships. In comparison, this year's main draw is Kerber's 13th at the grass-court slam.

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