
Britain have a player in both the men’s and women’s quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time since 1973 after Johanna Konta and Andy Murray sealed their places in the last eight.
Defending champion and top seed Murray then beat Frenchman Benoit Paire on Centre Court in straight sets, with Konta earlier beat France’s Caroline Garcia in three sets.
Konta is the first British woman since 1984 to make the last eight and is now rated 4/1 favourite to win the women’s event – but Murray, despite being the returning champion, is only 10/3 third favourite behind Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and that is only because Rafa Nadal went also went out.
?#Wimbledon today…
– Murray and Konta are into the ¼'s
– Federer is the 2nd oldest man to reach the ¼'s
– Nadal is outWhat a #ManicMonday pic.twitter.com/FBOR6ed713
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) July 10, 2017
Konta will play Romanian second seed Simona Halep on Tuesday, while Murray takes on American 24th seed Sam Querrey on Wednesday.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “It’s rare we find ourselves in a position like this, but Serena Williams’ absence has blown the door wide open for a patriotic double for punters.
“Both Murray and Konta have been great so far, and that’s left plenty thinking it could be a record-breaking Wimbledon for Britain.”