The bar was set absurdly high by the time Rafael Nadal walked onto Centre Court on Monday but the Spaniard responded with a sensational 6-3 6-3 6-4 defeat of Jiri Vesely to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals. His great rival and eight-times champion Roger Federer had already maintained his regal progress, claiming the first set of his match against Adrian Mannarino in 16 minutes. Then came Serena Williams who posted another thumping win to continue her ominous progress towards an eighth-title. So Nadal, whose 17 Grand Slam titles are eclipsed by Federer’s 20 and the 23 owned by Williams, had a lot to…
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