The rain delays at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships and the lack of play on Sunday have pushed the schedule back and forced both the men's and women's quarterfinals to be played on the same day.
While that is not the ideal circumstances for the All England Club and the tournament's orchestrators, tennis fans are treated to even more elite action on the same day.
With three of the top names in men's tennis making the quarterfinals ( , Roger Federer and Andy Murray) and the women's competition wide open after the defeats of Serena Williams, Li Na and Maria Sharapova, Day 9 will be must-watch programming.
Wednesday's Centre Court Order of Play (starting at 12pm BST): Halep v Lisicki, Murray v Dimitrov, Wawrinka v Federer #Wimbledon
- Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2014
Wednesday's No.1 Court Order of Play (starting at 12pm BST): Bouchard v Kerber, Djokovic v Cilic, Raonic v Kyrgios or Nadal #Wimbledon
- Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2014
Here is the full television schedule for Wednesday at the Wimbledon Championships and the top matches from the schedule for all of the men's and women's quarterfinals.
Source: SI.com
Source: Wimbledon.com
Match of the Day: No. 4 Roger Federer vs. No. 5 Stan Wawrinka
There are several marquee matches on the schedule for Wednesday at Wimbledon, but none has the draw of the battle between Swiss stars No. 4 seed Roger Federer and No. 5 seed Stan .
Federer is a seven-time champion at Wimbledon and knows how to win on the grass courts of this tournament. He blazed through the first four rounds, defeating Paolo , Gilles Muller, Santiago Giraldo and No. 23 seed Tommy respectively, but it was the manner in which he accomplished each victory that stunned many fans.
Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times talked about the history between the countrymen:
Next up for Federer is likely his buddy Stan Wawrinka, who is up two sets on Feliciano Lopez. Federer leads head-to-head 13-2. #Wimbledon
- Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 1, 2014
Through Federer's first four , he has yet to drop a set.
After his fourth-round matchup with , Federer told about his mindset thus far in the tournament and his outlook moving forward:
I feel like my game's right there. It's important to keep it up and not have any major let downs or minor hiccups. I need to be really focused out there. I'm able to do that. I'm healthy. Things are exactly where I want them to be. But I'm only in the quarter-finals and that's where the tournament really starts.
While Federer is the picture of consistency at Wimbledon, this year's event marks the first time in 's career that he was able to advance past the fourth round. He 't take the easy way, either, beating the likes of Sousa, Yen-Hsun Lu, Denis and No. 19 seed Lopez en route to his quarterfinals matchup with Federer.
Both men are coming off matches on Tuesday due to a shuffled schedule, but the lack of rest in between games evens the playing field for the challengers. Each would likely be the first to admit an extra day would have been ideal, but neither player has an advantage now.
The real key to 's success is his tenacity. When he is focused on the task at hand and completely invested, he is one of the hardest players to beat. Unfortunately for the Swiss star, he is squaring off with the face of tennis in Switzerland and a Wimbledon legend.
Using his experience and his expertise, Federer will capitalize on his advantages with his serve and return ability to control the baseline and depict the pace of play. If is even slightly intimidated by the magnitude of the event, Federer will cruise to an easy victory.
Lucky for tennis fans, 't appear to want to go out without a fight.
Predicted Winner: Federer, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
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