RAFA Nadal proves he still has what it takes to win Wimbledon. He also proves he is rubbish at predicting the outcome of football matches. World Cup hysteria reached its zenith here just after 9pm on Wednesday night, when a Mallorcan tennis player coming off a tennis court in London is informed that a football match between England and Croatia taking place in Russia is locked at 1-1 in extra time and asked to call the outcome. “Football is maybe coming home, no?” is his bewildered response. The literal translation of this apparently is ‘football is maybe not coming home’.

TOUCHING scenes at the end of Wednesday’s draining five-hour quarter final between Rafa Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentinian fell on match point, only for the Mallorcan to come over and give him a big hug. It was a nice touch, even if it deprived a drained Delpo the chance of a good night’s kip. “I wanted to stay there all night long,” he said.

SO how is the big Argentinian’s schedule looking going forward? “I play Los Cabos in Mexico, the beach,” said Del Potro, breaking into a smile. In other words, he’s going on his holidays.

SURPRISE semi-finalist John Isner’s 6ft 8in body takes some fuelling. Has he been doing anything differently with his diet this year? “I just had a Kit Kat before I came in here,” he said. “That’s the truth. I had a little bit of a sugar craving. I think after each win throughout these 10 days, I’ve had a Kit Kat. I’m not going to change that now.” You could call it a break in his usual routine.