Wimbledon: Quarterfinals

When the rain is not wreaking havoc on Wimbledon, it is some relatively unknown ladies, like Cornet, Kerber, and Makarova.  They've taken out Serena, Sharapova, and Radwanska as the top seeds keeps getting picked off one by one.  It's been a tournament for Czechs and Germans as Kvitova and Lisicki once work their magic on London's lawns.  There's also rising stars Halep and Bouchard showing their across-surface consistency.  On the men's side, there has been little drama, well until Nadal was knocked out today an Aussie teenager.  Still, 5 of the top 8 seeds are still around, the 2012 finalists in fine form, and we still have a high quality remainder of the second week.  But without further ado, here are the final eight in each draw:

Men
1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) - 29th major quarterfinal (7th at Wimbledon), 22-6 record (5-1), 21st consecutive QF
3) Andy Murray (GBR) - 20th major quarterfinal (7th at Wimbledon), 14-5 record (5-1), 5th consecutive QF (14th that he has played)
4) Roger Federer (SUI) - 42nd major quarterfinal (12th at Wimbledon), 34-7 record (9-2), last '14 Aussie Open
5) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) - 6th major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 2-3 record, last '14 Aussie Open
8) Milos Raonic (CAN) - 2nd major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 0-1 record, 2nd consecutive QF
11) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) - 2nd major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 0-1 record, last '14 Aussie Open
26) Marin Cilic (CRO) - 4th major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 1-2 record, last '12 US Open
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) - 1st major quarterfinal

-The men have now combined to reach 104 major quarterfinals
-There are seven different countries represented with two Swiss
-Wawrinka has now reached the quarters at all four majors
-Federer and Murray have yet to lose a set
-Only finalists Murray and Djokovic remain from the '13 quarterfinalists.  The others were Del Potro (injured), Janowicz (R3 l. to Robredo), Ferrer (R2 l. to An.Kuznetsov), Berdych (R3 l. to Cilic), Verdasco (R1 l. to Matosevic), and Kubot (R3 l. to Raonic)
-With Nadal out, Djokovic can take the no. 1 ranking only by winning the title
-Raonic is up to no. 7 in the live rankings and Dimitrov is up to no. 10.  Murray has dropped to no. 9 for the time being.  Cilic is back in the top 20.  Kyrgios is set to rise 78 places to no. 66.
-Isner lost to Lopez in R3 in 4 sets despite 52 aces, a 4-set record in the main draw of any tournament.  This eliminated the Americans from the draw with a men's record of 5-10, which is not good for grass.

Due to current form, I think Federer and Murray will contest this final.  Djokovic has been good but not great and Murray has been fabulous, so I'll stick with my original pick for the Scot to defend his title.  It is nice to still a little consistency from Raonic and Dimitrov and prehaps the next generation is finally arriving, especially with Kyrgios reaching a major quarterfinal.

Matchups:
-Djokovic vs Cilic
-Murray vs Dimitrov
-Federer vs Wawrinka
-Raonic vs Kyrgios

Women
3) Simona Halep (ROU) - 3rd major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 1-1 record, 3rd consecutive QF
6) Petra Kvitova (CZE) - 8th major quarterfinal (5th at Wimbledon), 4-3 record (2-2), last '13 Wimbledon
9) Angelique Kerber (GER) - 4th major quarterfinal (2nd at Wimbledon), 2-1 record (1-0), last '12 Wimbledon
13) Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) - 3rd major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 2-0 record, 3rd consecutive QF
19) Sabine Lisicki (GER) - 5th major quarterfinal (5th at Wimbledon), 2-2 record (2-2), last '13 Wimbledon
22) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) - 4th major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 0-3 record, last '13 US Open
23) Lucie Safarova (CZE) - 2nd major quarterfinal (1st at Wimbledon), 0-1 record, last '07 Aussie Open
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) - 1st major quarterfinal!

-The women have now combined to reach just 30 major quarterfinals
-There are only 5 different countries represented with 3 Czechs and 2 Germans
-Five women will contest their first Wimbledon quarterfinal
-Halep and Bouchard have made the quarters at every major this year
-Bouchard, Safarova, and Zahlavova Strycova have all yet to lose a set
-Kvitova and Lisicki return from the quarterfinals from last year.  The others not making it back are Bartoli (retired), Radwanska (R4 l. to Makarova), Flipkens (R3 l. to Kerber), Li (R3 l. to Zahlavova Strycova), Stephens (R1 l. to Kirilenko), and Kanepi (R2 l. to Shvedova)
-Halep will take no. 2 from Li if she reaches the final.  Safarova is up to no. 17 in the live rankings, Zahlavova Strycova is up to no. 30 and Lisicki has so far minimized her damage down to no. 32, but of course she is still alive.  Not a lot of other movement though.
-The American women laid an egg in the 3rd round after the decent start.  The Williams sisters, Riske, Keys, and Davis were all eliminated.  They end with 13-13 record.

The rest of this tournament is a bit unpredictable but I am going with a Kvitova/Lisicki final, as they both love grass and have been there before.  I wouldn't count out Kerber though after her gutty win over Sharapova, though her match with Bouchard is a toss up.  The young Canadian is fast on her way to being a star, being a win from 3 straight major semis.  Safarova also could through a wrench in the mix but I would think Kvitova could handle her compatriot.

Matchups:
-Kerber vs Bouchard
-Halep vs Lisicki
-Safarova def Makarova
-Kvitova vs Zahlavova Strycova