Yesterday, the entire round of 16 was played for both men and women. Today, it was only the women playing their quarterfinal matches.

Most had predicted the Williams sisters would be plowing their way to the final. The only other names that were generally given (other than, say, Azarenka) were Dinara Safina, the number 1 seed, and Elena Dementieva. In that respect, the semifinals are mostly as many had predicted.

Despite numerous double faults, Safina won in three sets over the hard-hitting German, Sabine Lisicki. This is as far as Lisicki has ever gone in a major, so she was naturally thrilled with her progress, despite her loss. Safina felt she fought hard despite giving away so many points on double faults.

Venus Williams, not surprisingly, overpowered Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1, 6-2. She had tape on her legs, and is apparently somewhat injured but fighting through it because it’s Wimbledon. Serena has a similarly easy time against a player that has given her trouble, namely, Belarus’s Victoria Azarenka. Score: 6-2, 6-3.

Elena Dementieva had an easy time beating Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, 6-2, 6-2. Dementieva feels confident that she can give Serena a difficult time. She said she had been improving her game overall.

Tomorrow, all four men’s quarterfinals are played. Roger Federer plays Ivo Karlovic on Centre Court, followed by Andy Murray vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero. On Court 1, Tommy Haas plays Novak Djokovic, followed by Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andy Roddick.

A preview.

Karlovic has never reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam before. You would think he would have had success on grass, up to now, but just as he beats players by getting them to tiebreaks, he can also lose to them. At age 30, he’s actually the second oldest player remaining in the draw (Fabrice Santoro is in his mid 30s, and would be the oldest player left) behind Tommy Haas. Federer has to be very careful. Karlovic will likely give Federer few opportunities to break. Federer has, at least, played a hard server in Ivo Karlovic, and had success against players like Andy Roddick, but Karlovic is in a league of his own. Still, it’s hard to deny Federer. He must play the tiebreaks well when they come and not play loose games on his own serve.

Andy Murray has only met Juan Carlos Ferrero once. Alas, it was only two weeks ago at Queen’s where he dismissed him handily. The one advantage Ferrero has is the ease of his win in the round of 16. While Murray was pushed to five sets by hitting partner Stan Wawrinka, and appearing to suffer from fatigue, Murray has apparently been recovering, eating food, getting hydrated, and back to his routine. We’ll see how quick Murray recovers. Still, given his general level of fitness, expect Murray to advance.

Djokovic has only lost one set so far, and that was the very first set he played against Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, and that, in a tiebreak, 10-8. Since then, he has won 12 consecutive sets. His toughest opponent so far has been Mardy Fish. He now faces Tommy Haas. The two just met a little over a week before Wimbledon in the finals of Halle. Haas won in three sets taking the third set, 6-1. Haas and Djokovic have always played close matches, and if there’s an upset, this is probably the most likely one. However, Djokovic feels he has a lot to prove, given his poor French performance. I expect him to pull through in four sets.

Finally, Lleyton Hewitt plays Andy Roddick. These two also played recently. Roddick beat Hewitt at Queen’s in two close tiebreak sets. This means Hewitt can keep even with Roddick. Like Murray, Hewitt was also pushed to five sets against Radek Stepanek. Unlike Murray, his final three sets were pretty easy. If there’s an upset possible, Hewitt might be the guy to do it. Roddick should be favored slightly.