Wimbledon, Jul 5: Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic held every service game Monday and reached his 50th Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating No. 17-seeded Cristian Garin at Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Djokovic earned his 12th quarterfinal berth at Wimbledon, which ties him with Arthur Gore for third place on the men's all-time list, behind Roger Federer's 18 and Jimmy Connors' 14.

Three men became first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalists, including No. 25 Karen Khachanov of Russia, who won a bizarre fifth set to beat American Sebastian Korda on his 21st birthday, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8. With both players battling fatigue and nerves, there were 13 services breaks in the final set.

For Korda, it was a disappointing end to an otherwise impressive Wimbledon debut.

Khachanov will next face No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, who hit 15 aces and beat No. 8 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

Khachanov and Shapovalov joined Wimbledon's final eight for the first time, as did No. 7 Matteo Berrettini, who became the first Italian man in 23 years to reach the quarterfinals by ousting Ilya Ivashka 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.

Top-ranked Ash Barty also became a first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist when she beat French Open champion Barbora Krejc kov 7-5, 6-3. Barty was troubled again by a shaky serve but saved eight of 10 break points and did manage an ace on match point to end Krejc kov 's 15-match win streak.

Barty has yet to play her best in the tournament but is the favorite to claim her second Grand Slam title. The Australian won the 2019 French Open and was the Wimbledon girls singles champion in 2011.

I love coming out here and test myself against the best in the world, Barty told the crowd.

And there's certainly no place I'd rather be at the moment.

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia became the first Arab woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals by rallying past 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Jabeur, seeded 21st, converted all seven-break point chances.

No. 2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by defeating Elena Rybakina 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. No. 8 Karol na Pl kov hit 10 aces and eliminated Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-3.

All 16 fourth-round matches for men and women were on the schedule to start the tournament's second week.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.