Wimbledon 2018: Roger Federer ousted from Centre Court as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal headline quarter-finals
Having played three of his opening four matches away from Centre Court, Djokovic's request to have his quarter-final with 24th seed Kei Nishikori played in the main stadium was granted
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Your support makes all the difference.Defending champion Roger Federer will play in the unfamiliar surroundings of Wimbledon's No. 1 Court today as he takes on eighth seed Kevin Anderson. It is the first time since 2015 that the eight-time champion will play away from Centre Court.
In his place, former world No 1 Novak Djokovic will headline the men's quarter-final line-up on Centre Court alongside Rafael Nadal, who faces Juan Martin del Potro.
Having played three of his opening four matches away from Centre Court, three-time champion Djokovic's request to have his quarter-final with 24th seed Kei Nishikori played in the main stadium was granted.
Djokovic made it clear after his three-set win over Russia's Karen Khachanov on Monday evening that he was tired of being moved around the tournament’s showpiece arenas, having also made a rare appearance on the No 2 Court in the second round.
As such, organisers opted to move Federer and his showdown with Anderson.
The South African is through to the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time, and he said: "Playing somebody like Roger Federer is going to be a great experience. Not just an experience, but a challenge that I've set for myself. I feel like a lot of aspects of my game can give him a lot of trouble."
Anderson admitted to feeling some nerves ahead of the clash, though. “I’d be surprised if no tennis player feels nervous,” he said.
“I was listening to Roger earlier in the week. He said he was feeling nervous going out into his first-round match. You’re talking about Federer, who has won 20 of these grand slams. I’ve often said the day that you don’t feel nervous is the day you should be more worried about.”
Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are all bidding to reach the last four at the same Grand Slam for the time since the 2012 French Open.
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