Wimbledon Day 7 Surprises: Riske sets up Serena clash

By Nina PanticPublished July 08, 2019

Each day of Wimbledon, Baseline will sum up the action with a photo gallery of the top surprises.

Riske Gets Rewarded

US player Alison Riske (R) shakes hands with Australia's Ashleigh Barty (L) after Riske won their women's singles fourth round match on the seventh day of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 8, 2019. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

Alison Riske has been a virtually unstoppable force on grass this season, but taking out a world No. 1 still seemed a little out of the realm of possibility. The unseeded world No. 55 beat Roland Garros champion Ashleigh Barty, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Including ITF matches, Riske is now 14-1 on grass, while Barty was handed her first loss since Rome.

"I'm so incredibly excited," Riske said. "The fact that it's at Wimbledon, my favorite Grand Slam, the place that I had always dreamed to be in the last eight club of, they can't kick me out now, I'm here to stay."

She'll play Serena Williams on Tuesday.

Czech Challengers

Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova returns against Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova during their women's singles fourth round match on the seventh day of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 8, 2019. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

Barbora Strycova and Karolina Muchova both snuck into the quarterfinals on Monday. At 33, Strycova has been around the block, and then some. A 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Elise Merten has granted the Czech a second Wimbledon singles quarterfinal appearance in 16 trips to the All England Club. Muchova is a 22-year-old compatriot of Strycova's ranked No. 68. She lost her first set of the Slam to Karolina Pliskova, and won the longest third set thus far by a 13-11 scoreline.

Flawless Federer

Switzerland's Roger Federer prepares to return against Italy's Matteo Berrettini during their men's singles fourth round match on the seventh day of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 8, 2019. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

Roger Federer must have expected a battle on Monday against world No. 20 Matteo Berrettini. The Italian had an 11-1 grass record going into the fourth round, having won the title in Stuttgart. The opposite of a battle happened with Federer bringing his best to win 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Venus and Frances Flounder

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 01: Venus Williams of The United States leaves the court following defeat in her Ladies' Singles first round match against Cori Gauff of the United States during Day one of The Championships - Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 01, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) — © Getty Images

While there wasn't as much hype surrounding the mixed doubles duo of Venus Williams and Frances Tiafoe, it was still surprising to see them lose so meekly. They fell 6-3, 6-1 to Franko Skugor and Raluca Olaru. Meanwhile, Venus' younger sister Serena is still on the title hunt in both singles and mixed doubles.

Coco's Run Ends

US player Cori Gauff (L) reacts after a point against Romania's Simona Halep during their women's singles fourth round match on the seventh day of the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 8, 2019. (Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images) — © AFP/Getty Images

OK, 15-year-old Cori "Coco" Gauff was taking on a very formidable foe in Simona Halep, but her many new fans expected her to challenge the world No. 7. The match went comfortably in Halep's favor, 6-3, 6-3, ending a Cinderella story that has captured the world's attention. Gauff's ranking will jump nearly 200 ranking spots to land her inside the Top 150. Halep will face unseeded Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals.