Nadal Out Early, Venus Williams Advances at Wimbledon

By ESPN

Two years ago, Rafael Nadal sat in the press room at the All England Club a beaten man. He spoke of the sadness of losing once again to a player ranked outside of the top 100. More telling, Nadal's message to the media was one of uncertainty about his future. He questioned whether he would ever return to the form that had made him a two-time Wimbledon winner.

He had long suffered from ailing knees, and the grass wasn't kind. That day against Dustin Brown wasn't just a loss. When Nadal was asked about retirement, it didn't seem like a ridiculous question.

On Manic Monday, Nadal was back in the press room following another early Wimbledon setback. He had just fallen in a 4-hour, 48-minute marathon that ended 15-13 in the fifth set against Gilles Muller in the longest match of the tournament. More disappointment, yes. But this time, the aftermath had a different vibe.

"I played better than other years," Nadal said. "At the same time, I was ready for important things, so I lost an opportunity."

Remember, this is a player who had lost inexplicably four times to opponents outside the top 100 at Wimbledon, an incredible string of futility for a player of his caliber.

Against Muller, it was not the result Nadal wanted, but in many ways, it wasn't a bad one, either, considering this is just the second time since 2012 that he has gone this far at Wimbledon.

"I lost in the fourth round," Nadal said. "That's not the result I was expecting. It's true that I played some good matches, but [at] the same time it's true that I didn't want to lose that match."

This wasn't a first- or second-round upset, though This wasn't a straight-sets blowout to a player many figured would give Nadal problems on grass anyway. This was a classic five-setter, where the No. 26 player beat the No. 2 player in the world.

Nadal has been nothing short of terrific this season. In January, he made a run to the Australian Open final, before falling in five sets to Roger Federer.

After that, he reached the final in Miami, then won the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open and Madrid Open. Nadal has a 46 tour-level wins this season, the most on the ATP.

Stats aside, this also is about health. Nadal has been unaffected by any of the lingering knee and wrist injuries that have derailed so much of his play in the past couple of years. He's feeling good physically and mentally.

"I want to come back," Nadal said. "I want to play more times on Centre Court."

Unlike 2015, there was no reason to think this was anything more than it was -- a single setback.

Venus Williams Advances

Angelique Kerber, the top overall seed at Wimbledon, is out of the tournament following a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to 14th-seeded Garbine Muguruza on Monday while Venus Williams continued her run at the All England Club..

The result ensures that Kerber will lose her No. 1 world ranking. Either Simona Halep or Karolina Pliskova will take over as the top-ranked player after the tournament. Halep also advanced Monday, while Pliskova lost in the second round.

Muguruza won despite 50 unforced errors, 40 more than Kerber committed.

Williams, the No. 10 seed, defeated No. 27 Ana Konjuh 6-3, 6-2 to move into the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Williams, 37, made her Grand Slam debut at the 1997 French Open, seven months before Konjuh, 19, was born.

"Winning never gets old at any stage in your career, ever, ever," Williams said.

Williams served pretty much impeccably, hitting seven aces and winning 31 of 36 first-serve points.

"I think I'm playing pretty solid," said Williams, who last won the title at the All England Club in 2008. "For me, it's about getting through the round. You're not going to play perfect every round. I would like to play, you know, in straight sets every round. That would be great. If not, all that matters is you win."

Halep is back in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, advancing with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. Halep reached the semifinals at the All England Club in 2014 and played in the quarterfinals last year.

She will next face Johanna Konta, who claimed a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 win over Caroline Garcia.

CoCo Vandeweghe is into the quarterfinals for the second time after defeating fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (4), 6-4.

The 24th-seeded American had eight aces while Wozniacki had zero.

Wozniacki has yet to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 11 appearances but has advanced to that stage at the other three Grand Slam events, including two US Open finals.

Vandeweghe also made it to the quarterfinals at the All England Club two years ago, when she lost to Maria Sharapova.

Earlier Monday, Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first player to reach the quarterfinals, as the two-time Grand Slam champion beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4.

Muguruza and Kuznetsova will square off in the next round. They will be joined in the quarters by reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and Magdalena Rybarikova. No. 13 Ostapenko upset No. 4 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (6), and Rybarikova eliminated Petra Martic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Seeded seventh, Kuznetsova will be playing in the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the fourth time, but the first since 2007. She has yet to advance past that stage.

Radwanska, seeded ninth, made at least the quarterfinals five times in her 11 previous appearances -- including losing to Serena Williams in the final in 2012.

Ostapenko led 5-3 in the second set but was broken and forced into a tiebreaker. She finally won by converting her eighth match point and will face Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.

"She's such a great player," Ostapenko said of Williams. "I will just go on court and enjoy the match because I really have nothing to lose."

Before winning the title at Roland Garros last month, Ostapenko had never been past the third round at a Grand Slam. She was the first woman to win her debut tour-level title at a Grand Slam tournament since 1979. The 20-year-old Latvian won the girls' title at the All England Club in 2014.

Rybarikova, from Slovakia and ranked No. 87, had not advanced past the third round in any of her previous 35 appearances in the main draw at a Grand Slam. She missed nearly seven months after last year's Wimbledon because of injuries.