Kratochvil through to quarter-finals
Swiss tennis star, Michel Kratochvil, has qualified for the quarter-finals of Wimbledon after seeing off his Czech opponent, Radek Stepanek.
The Swiss from canton Bern easily triumphed over his 147th ranked opponent, who at one stage flunked his serve six times. Kratovil played with confidence to defeat Stepanek in 102 minutes, 6:2, 6:3, 6:3.
The 23-year old now goes on to face fourth-ranked British favourite, Tim Henman, for his first-ever grand slam quarter finals.
“I’m very excited about playing against Henman,” an elated Kratochvil said. “If I manage to play against Henman like I played against Stepanek, then I have a good chance [of winning].”
“I’ve been getting better with every game. The backache from earlier this week is gone and I feel fit and healthy.”
Casanova out
Myriam Casanova also put up a strong fight on Saturday, but was eventually overcome by her Belgian opponent, Justine Henin.
The 17-year old Swiss was no match against Henin, a quarter-finalist at last year’s tournament.
But Casanova’s five wins – three of them in the qualifying round – mean that she is now ranked among the world’s 120 players, rather than 180th.
She also now only needs a few WTA points in order to qualify for the US Open.
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