Wimbledon: With a host of first-time quarter-finalists, Manic Monday was a reminder of year gone by

The last-ever Manic Monday at Wimbledon - when all the singles fourth-round matches are played to maintain the tradition taking rest on Middle Sunday - turned out to be a reminder of the year gone by. Specifically, the absence of Wimbledon in 2020, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The landscape of tennis has changed much from the last time Wimbledon was held and a stark reminder was served by a host of players booking last-eight spots at the tournament for the first time.

Five players reached their first-ever Grand Slam singles quarter-final – Aryna Sabalenka, Marton Fucsovics, Viktorija Golubic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ajla Tomljanovic. Further, 11 players became first-time quarter-finalists at Wimbledon – Matteo Berrettini, Ashleigh Barty, Karen Khachanov, Karolina Pliskova, Denis Shapovalov and Ons Jabeur. With Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz’ match suspended due to rain, one of these numbers will increase.

At the same time, Novak Djokovic reached his 50th Grand Slam quarters, only the second man to do so, while Roger Federer reached his 58th. Angeliqe Kerber, the only women’s singles champion left standing, made it to her 11th. Of the quarter-finalists, only Federer, Djokovic, Kerber and Barty have won singles Slams before.

While some of the quarter-finalists were a surprise; Hungary’s Fucsovics and Swiss Golubic would have been on very few lists, some others felt like they were long overdue. Pliskova and Barty not reaching the last eight at Wimbledon was an anomaly while Berrettini and Jabeur carried their grass court title-winning form into the Grand Slam. But perhaps the two biggest new names were the two who were long expected to reach this stage, given their potential from a young age.

Aryna Sabalenka, 23, making her first Major singles quarters at Wimbledon is both a surprise and not. The big-hitting Belrusian was expected to reach this stage long back given her success on tour, yet she kept falling short. She was the best and highest ranked woman to not have reached the final eight at a mjaor.

At last month’s French Open, she was one of the form players but was blown away in the third round by eventual finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She lost in the first and third rounds at the two grass-court events she played, but won the doubles title at Berlin with Victoria Azarenka. That seemed to be a turning point as she has finally broken the duck on a surface she is least comfortable on.

Seeded second due to withdrawals, she lived up to the billing to defeat Roland Garros quarter-finalist Elena Rybakina 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The 23-year-old has played a very steady game at Wimbledon so far, not failing under the pressure of being a favourite and closing out three-set matches. Up against Ons Jabeur, the first Tunisian woman to reach the last eight at Wimbledon, she will face a player adept at grass-court tennis with a mixed bag of tricks and having the advantage of momentum having beaten Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Iga Swiatek back-to-back. Whether Sabalenka can make her first semi-final remains to be seen but she has started on the path towards Major success at last.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, 20, has not been one of the favourites at any Grand Slam given his propensity to struggle in the big moments but has always been under the spotlight for his raw talent at a young age, drawing comparison to Arthur Ashe even. The 16th seed got a walkover from Nick Kyrgios in the last round after getting through an eye-catching battle against Mikael Ymer.

He was leading by two sets to love against fourth seed Alexander Zverev and yet found himself in the fifth set. He broke first in the decider and was broken back soon after. He had been in this position before, against Aslan Karatsev in the fourth round of the Australian Open. But this time the Canadian youngster, who beat Federer on grass at Halle, didn’t let the lead slip against a comparatively experienced Zverev and won his first five-setter. The German was undone by 20 double faults and 42 unforced errors but Auger-Aliassime stayed on track with 17 aces and 54 winners.

The 20-year-old has struggled consistently in big matches with eight final losses in his short career so far – without even winning a set in any of them. But somehow, he found an extra gear when needed against a player who has been down the same path before and came through. The Canadian, who has Toni Nadal in his coaching corner, has always been a potential star and this might just be the start of him finally fulfilling that promise.