Tennis-Djokovic, Rybakina confident ahead of quarter-finals

LONDON (Reuters) - The quarter-final stage of Wimbledon continues at the All England Club on Wednesday.

Seven-times champion Novak Djokovic is up against ninth seed Alex de Minaur, while Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti will take on American 13th seed Taylor Fritz.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina faces Ukrainian 21st seed Elina Svitolina in the women's draw. Latvian 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko plays 31st seed Barbora Krejcikova.

DJOKOVIC FANCIES HIS CHANCES

Wimbledon has not had a men's singles final without Djokovic since 2017, and the winner of 24 Grand Slams is one championship away from equalling Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon men's titles.

But the 37-year-old is aware of the challenge posed by De Minaur, who has reached the quarter-finals for the first time.

"He's always had that speed ... that incredible defence and really crafty hands on all the surfaces, particularly the quicker ones," Djokovic said about his Australian opponent. 

De Minaur beat Djokovic in January, the 25-year-old's only win in their three head-to-head encounters.

"I'm sure he's going to come out on the court giving his all and believing he can win," Djokovic said. "But I like my chances."

RYBAKINA FACES SVITOLINA

Kazakhstan's Rybakina, champion in 2022, said it felt good to be called the favourite after top seed Iga Swiatek was eliminated.

"I just played two very solid matches. I think I played really well. So it gives more confidence," she said.

Rybakina's opponent Svitolina is coming off three straight-set wins, including one over twice finalist Ons Jabeur in the third round. Rybakina and Svitolina have won twice each in their four head-to-head encounters.

"I think every match I've been improving, playing better and better," Svitolina said. "Played Elena a couple of times already so I know what to expect."

FRITZ BANKING ON EXPERIENCE

Fritz fought back from two sets down to beat fourth seed Alexander Zverev in a thriller, and remains confident that he can carry the momentum into the quarter-finals against Musetti.

"This will be my first quarter-final where I'm the more experienced person in Slam quarter-finals, having played Novak twice and (Rafael Nadal) once," Fritz said.

Musetti lost the first two professional matches he played against Fritz, but won their most recent match-up in April.

"We've (played) here in Wimbledon two years ago ... where he was playing one of his best tennis probably, and I was not mature enough on this surface. So definitely will be a completely different match," Musetti said.

KREJCIKOVA FACES HARD-HITTING OSTAPENKO

Krejcikova has lost five of the seven matches she has played against Ostapenko, and knows she will have an uphill task against the former French Open winner.

"She's just pretty much hitting every single shot very, very hard," Krejcikova said. "I hope I'm going to block her."

Ostapenko said the key to winning was to focus on her own game.

"I think if I play well and do what I have to do, I can be a dangerous player," she said. "I mean, I have the ability to hit the ball hard, so why I shouldn't use it?"

WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON WEDNESDAY

Here is the order of play on the main showcourts on the tenth day of Wimbledon (prefix number denotes seeding):

CENTRE COURT (1230 GMT)

4-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v 21-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)

9-Alex de Minaur (Australia) v 2-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

COURT ONE (1200 GMT)

13-Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) v 31-Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)

25-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v 13-Taylor Fritz (U.S.)

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)