Fans and players gear up for Wimbledon quarter-finals

Tennis fans and players will be gearing up for the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic will take on Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the last eight on Tuesday.

Djokovic joined fans in calling for Wimbledon to start play earlier on Centre Court after finishing his suspended game against Hubert Hurkacz on Monday afternoon.

He told reporters: “I think the matches could be pushed at least to start at 12pm. I think it would make a difference.”

Complaints poured in on social media from fans keeping up with the tournament who expressed “frustration” at high profile matches being suspended overnight.

Matches involving Sir Andy Murray and Djokovic have both been forced into a second day during this year’s tournament because they have not finished before the council-imposed 11pm curfew.

But final matches on Centre Court and Court One – which start play at 1.30pm and 1pm respectively instead of 11am as per the outdoor courts – finished well before the cut off point on Monday evening.

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina will face Polish Iga Swiatek on Tuesday, switching out the tension of her last match – where Belarusian Victoria Azarenka was booed off by crowds following a narrow defeat – with appreciation for her quarter-finals opponent.

The Pole has spoken up for Ukraine and wears a blue and yellow ribbon, earning praise from Svitolina who called her a “great champion” and a “great person”.

Ukrainian players refuse to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents at the end of matches as a result of the invasion of their country.

Chief executive of the All England Club Sally Bolton told reporters on Monday morning that there will be no instruction to umpires to inform crowds not to expect a handshake if