Day Nine at Wimbledon: Time for 'ridiculous' grunting to stop as Maria Sharapova is knocked out

There have been some grunters over the years (Monica Seles anyone?), but can any player be quite as annoying as Maria Sharapova? You have to admire her game, but screaming at every strike of the racquet is just ridiculous. Not only does it put the opponent off (no wonder she does it) it also puts the crowd off - the onlookers unable to get into a game punctuated by so much groaning and yelling.

Women's quarter final day is always a treat but despite the vocals it wasn't enough for Sharapova who lost in three sets to Angelique Kerber. The German was in imperious form as she silenced the American with her constant running and fantastic returns.

There was more grunting on centre when wildcard Nick Kyrgios grunted and groaned his way to a sensational win against world number one Rafa Nadal. In fairiness, there seemed to be just as many oooohs and aaaahs from the crowd as the young Aussie smashed his way to a four set victory against the Spanish beast.

Nadal looked shell shocked in his post match interview but, to his credit, was the first to congratulate the teenager on his entry to the quarters. With more than 30 aces in the match, few will want to face Kyrgios in the last eight.

The clash of the quarters looks set to be Federer against Wawrinka after the pair both swept to three-set victories - Federer yet to lose a set in his march to the latter stages. But all eyes will be on Andy Murray later as he faces his sternest test to date against the Bulgarian Dimitrov, although how many times this tournament have we expected a fit only for Murray to blow them away? Here's hoping....

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