Former UGA star Isner moves to Wimbledon Quarterfinals

LONDON - Former Georgia men’s tennis All-American John Isner continued his impressive run at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4) win against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas during Monday’s fourth round. 

The victory puts Isner into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time in his career. He is looking to become the first former Georgia men’s tennis player to advance to the finals of a grand slam singles event since Mikael Pernfors made the finals of the French Open in 1986. 

Isner will now face Canadian and No. 13 seed Milos Raonic on Wednesday. 

Isner is one of three first-time men’s quarterfinalists.

They’ll join top seed and defending champion Roger Federer, who defeated 22nd-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France 6-0, 7-5, 6-4.

Federer, who has won 32 consecutive sets at the tournament and held serve 81 games in a row, was asked whether he paused for even a moment to wonder why he wasn't being given more of a test.

"Not really," said Federer, the No. 1 seed. "I'm telling myself, `Why didn't I break the first game of the second?'"

His mastery was only the beginning of things for those who spent 120 pounds (about $160) to be at Center Court and were afforded the rare treat of watching three of the greatest to ever lift a tennis racket.

Federer has won eight Wimbledon titles and 20 Grand Slam titles, both of which are men’s records.

Federer was followed by Serena Williams, she of the seven Wimbledon trophies among her 23 majors, who was hardly challenged in a 6-2, 6-2 win against 120th-ranked qualifier Evgeniya Rodina of Russia. And Williams was followed by Rafael Nadal -- two titles at Wimbledon, 17 at all Slams -- who dispatched 93rd-ranked Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

The only other Wimbledon champion left in either bracket, Novak Djokovic, beat 40th-ranked Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 on No. 1 Court, then said he'd like to get as much time on Centre Court as Federer and Nadal do.

The women's quarterfinals are Tuesday, with Williams vs. Camila Giorgi, two-time major champion Angelique Kerber vs. No. 14 Daria Kasatkina, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko vs. Dominika Cibulkova, and No. 13 Julia Goerges vs. No. 20 Kiki Bertens.

On Wednesday, Federer will play No. 8 Kevin Anderson, a South African who was the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up and advanced with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 5-7, 7-6 (4) victory over Gael Monfils.

"I mean, I'm definitely going to have to look at it the right way. I think the right way of looking at it is: It's an opportunity to test myself against a player of Roger's caliber," said Anderson, who is 0-4 against Federer. "These are the matches we work so hard for, me and my whole team."

The other matchup on the top half of the draw is No. 9 Isner against No. 13 Raonic, who beat Federer in the 2016 semifinals before losing in the final.

On the bottom half of the bracket, it'll be 12-time major champion Djokovic against 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori, and No. 2 seed Nadal against either 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro or Gilles Simon. Del Potro was leading Simon two sets to one when their match was suspended because of darkness Monday night.

Anderson, Isner and Nishikori all reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.

For Nadal, this marks a return. He hadn't been this far at the All England Club since 2011, losing to men ranked 100th or worse on four of his past five appearances.

"It's true, it has been a while," Nadal said. "But when I come here, I come here thinking that I can do a good result, no?"

A native of Greensboro, N.C., Isner was a four-time All-American at Georgia from 2004-07, and helped lead the Bulldogs to a perfect 32-0 record and a national title as a senior. He holds the school record for career singles (138), doubles (138), and combined (276) wins.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.