By Jackie Finn, USTA.com
On a manic Monday at Wimbledon, Sam Querrey became the first American man to advance to a Grand Slam quarterfinal since John Isner and Andy Roddick at the 2011 US Open, and the Williams sisters celebrated the July 4 holiday by joining Querrey in the quarterfinals.
Querrey, 28, is the fortnight’s biggest giant killer so far, and he showed no letdown from his stunning Saturday upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in defeating France’s Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
"If I didn't win, there would have been a lot of, 'Wow, it was kind of a fluky match against Novak, because you didn't back it up,"' Querrey said. "I feel like I did a really good job of putting my head down and playing really well today."
Querrey’s play was efficient and powerful against Mahut. The American fired in 23 aces and lost his serve only once. He will face Canadian No. 6 Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals, who came back from a two-set deficit against No. 11 David Goffin of Belgium in his fourth round match.
On the women’s side of the draw, the Williams sisters both advanced, earning two of the eight spots in the quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Serena Williams defeated former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-5, 6-0, in an hour and 16 minutes. Kuznetsova broke Serena to go up in the first 5-4, but as rain began to fall, play was stopped to close the Centre Court roof, allowing Serena to regain her composure.
When play resumed, the six-time and defending Wimbledon champion raced through the match without dropping another game. She finished with an astounding 43 winners in just 18 games.
Meantime, Venus was busy beating Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro on Court No. 1. Venus, 36, who has had a comeback year, has raised her WTA ranking to No. 8, and her win Monday earns her a slot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
If both sisters were to win their next two matches, they would meet in a Grand Slam final for the first time since Wimbledon in 2009, which Serena won.
"[Venus] knows how to play," the 34-year-old Serena reminded the assembled media after her win. "I say this constantly. I feel like she's my best opponent, my toughest opponent."
Elsewhere on Monday, Americans Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe fell in straight sets while Steve Johnson went down on Centre Court to seven-time champion and No. 3 seed Roger Federer.