World number one Iga Swiatek saved two match points to come through a marathon match with Belinda Bencic and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.

Swiatek looked down and out when the score read 15-40 on her serve at 5-6 in the second set, but she produced her best tennis with two sumptuous winners to turn the tie around.

The four-time grand slam champion continued to be pushed all the way by Olympic gold-medallist Bencic in a tense third set before she eventually prevailed 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2) 6-3 after a three-hour epic on Centre Court.

It sent Swiatek through to the last-eight at the All England Club for the first time and having won the junior title at SW19 previously, she will march on with renewed belief this could be her year on her least favoured surface.

Top seed Swiatek had reached the fourth-round without dropping a set but experienced trouble early on against Bencic, being forced to take a medical time-out after only three games due to a blister.

It did not seem to affect the three-time French Open winner and she remained largely in control until Bencic turned the tables in the tie-break.

Bencic saved two set points in the 10th game before she clinched the first set after 66 minutes.

Swiatek left the court and returned determined to avoid another exit before the second week in England, with a sweet forehand return earning a break after a nine-minute opening game.

There remained a steel about Tokyo 2020 champion Bencic, who broke back to make it 3-3 and then had victory within her grasp when 15-40 up at 6-5.

Faced with losing at Wimbledon in the fourth round again, Swiatek came out swinging, producing equally brilliant forehand and backhand winners before she repeated the trick to take the second tie-break.

If Swiatek thought she had chipped away at Bencic’s armour, she was initially wrong with the Swiss right-hander able to force another break point chance early in the third.

After Swiatek dug deep to hold again, the resistance was finally broken with back-to-back double faults by the 14th seed.

More drama was to follow with Swiatek going 0-30 down when serving for the match, but she responded in style with two passing forehand winners sealing her spot in the last-eight.

Swiatek, who played two tie-breaks in the same match for the first time, said in her on-court interview: “Well, it wasn’t easy obviously.

“She had match point right? So, I don’t know if that ever happen in my career, being back from match point down, but I am really happy.

“I feel I needed that win to believe in myself a little more on this surface.

“Every day my love is getting bigger so hopefully I am going to have as many days as possible to play on this court.”

Earlier, fourth seed Jessica Pegula progressed into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time with a straight-sets win over Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

Pegula raced into a 4-0 lead inside quarter of an hour and wrapped up the first set 6-1.

Tsurenko had come through the longest tie-break in women’s grand slam history on Friday to make the fourth round, but struggled to handle this occasion.

Pegula sealed victory with a superb backhand winner – only awarded after she challenged the out call – and made the last-eight of a grand-slam for the fifth time from her last seven appearances with a 6-1 6-3 win.

“I’m glad I challenged it,” Pegula said on-court. “I was just glad I was able to keep up the momentum.”

Next up for Pegula is a quarter-final clash with Marketa Vondrousova, who dug deep to win the all-Czech encounter with Marie Bouzkova in three sets.

World number 42 Vondrousova had only made it past the fourth round at a major once before, when she won the French Open in 2019, but reached the last-eight with a gusty 2-6 6-4 6-3 victory.

Jamie Murray was forced to do press-ups as a punishment by his hardline partner Taylor Townsend after their mixed doubles win at Wimbledon.

Britain’s Murray and American Townsend needed two tie-breaks, the second a marathon ending 15-13, to beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Jan Zielinski.

Murray had earlier won in the men’s doubles with Australian partner Michael Venus in three sets against Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler.

But that gruelling schedule did not stop Townsend from making the Scot do a forfeit alongside her for not serving well enough.

“It was punishment for me to keep bloody serving in the net,” said Murray.

“I was like blowing it all of the time. She was like, ‘oh my God, we should do some press-ups’.

“She did outlast me. I said to her ‘keep going, I don’t want to fail in front of all of these people’. I was happy to bow out after 10. I don’t like them.”

British pair Joe Salisbury and Heather Watson are also through to the third round after beating Nathaniel Lammons and Giuliana Olmos.

But Katie Boulter and her Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur were sunk in three sets by Joran Vliegen and Xu Yifan.

Seventh seed Andrey Rublev dived into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with an extraordinary shot to bring up match point against Alexander Bublik.

Rublev was in the middle of the baseline when Bublik hit what he, and everyone else on Centre Court, thought was a clean winner down the line.

But the Russian dived forward, got a racket on the ball and somehow floated it over the net.

“That is one of the great shots we’ve seen here in years,” exclaimed John McEnroe on commentary as Bublik scratched his head in disbelief.

Rublev, who had been two sets ahead but was pegged back by his opponent from Kazakhstan, went on to seal a 7-5 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-7 (5) 6-4 win after one of the most entertaining matches of the Championships.

“It was the most lucky shot ever,” said the 25-year-old. “It was luck, nothing else. I don’t think I can do it one more time.”

Rublev, in the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time, was joined by fellow Russian Roman Safiullin, who became the lowest ranked male quarter-finalist here since Nick Kyrgios in 2014.

The world number 92 upset Canada’s 26th seed Dennis Shapovalov 3-6 6-3 6-1 6-3.

He will face Italian sixth seed Jannik Sinner, who beat Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia in straight sets.

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will not let herself get carried away by comparisons with Emma Raducanu’s US Open win in 2021 after she stormed into the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display in a 6-2 7-5 victory against compatriot Anastasia Potapova in round three.

This victory in 95 minutes bettered her debut grand-slam showing of making the third round at Roland Garros last month and made it six wins in a row on grass after she came through qualifying.

Comparisons are already being drawn to Raducanu’s triumph at Flushing Meadow as a qualifier two years ago.

But Andreeva insisted: “Of course, in 2021 she did amazing job. Everyone was impressed. I think she was impressed also to pass the qualies and to win the slam at 18. It’s amazing but me, I just try to not think about it.

“I think it will disturb me, all these thoughts. I just try to play every match and don’t think how far I have gone already or which round I’m playing, against who I’m playing.

“I just try to play every point. Doesn’t matter against who, doesn’t matter which round. I just play my game. I don’t change anything mental-wise, tennis-wise.

“When I played my first match in qualies, I just didn’t have any expectations because it was my first match on grass. I just tried to give it all on the court.

“Since that first match, I actually found the right rhythm. Now it’s working pretty good, I can say. So, honestly, as I said, I did not have any expectations. I just play.

“I always say that it’s a game. The game will decide who will win the match.”

Andreeva lost the Australian Open juniors final in January before she grabbed headlines at the French Open with a fine run, losing in three sets to fellow teenager Coco Gauff.

In her defeat to Gauff, Andreeva put herself at risk of being defaulted when some youthful petulance saw her swipe a ball angrily into the crowd during a tense moment in the tie.

While she got away with a code violation, it appears to be a moment the Krasnoyarsk-born right-hander has learned from and when 4-1 down in the second set against Potapova, she showed impeccable poise to keep calm and book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.

Andreeva, who did allow herself the odd punch to the leg in tense occasions, revealed: “Honestly, after Paris I just had quite a long talk with myself, just me and myself, and that’s it.

“I talked to myself. I just talked. I don’t know, just in my head I realised some things. I took some decisions that I think are now important for me.

“I think I did a good job because now everything is working so far.”

Andreeva’s Wimbledon debut is taking place the year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from the event following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Her exploits in SW19 are being cheered on from her home country, with her grandfather Petr – on his birthday – among those cheering her on from afar.

“Today is the birthday of my grandpa,” the world number 102 said.

“They were watching my match, like 50 people that they invited. Today I received much more support, much more kind messages from my family.

“I spoke to my grandparents already. I said happy birthday. Today, yes, I can say that I received a lot of messages from my family.

“I also feel the support from Krasnoyarsk. A lot of people are supporting me.”

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva continued her dream start to life on grass by storming into the last-16 at Wimbledon with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Anastasia Potapova.

Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, had to wait a day to begin her third-round match but again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display.

Andreeva’s victory in one hour and 35 minutes over her more experienced compatriot means her impressive grand-slam showing of reaching round three at Roland Garros in June has now been bettered.

She had never competed on grass before she started qualifying at Roehampton last week, but was able to chalk up a sixth consecutive win on the English lawn.

Potapova edged their first meeting in three sets last October and despite breaks being exchanged early on, Andreeva took control and won five of the last six games of the first set.

Further breaks were shared at the start of a much closer second set before Potapova moved 4-1 up.

Andreeva showed impeccable poise to keep calm and fought back to break in the seventh and 11th games of the second set to book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.

An emotional Andreeva, who has made no secret of her affection for two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, said on-court: “Of course I am really happy I managed to win this match.

“It was an amazing battle, she played really well and congrats to her and her team because they did a good job.

“I did everything I could. I gave my all and I come back in the second set from 1-4 so of course I feel great.

“I have been working on (my emotions) really hard with my coaches, with my parents, we talked a lot. Now I know it is easier or better to control my emotions on court.

“But today honestly even if I wanted to show some emotions, I couldn’t because I was out of breath on every point!

“I do enjoy the atmosphere, it is just amazing here. You see all the pro players, you see (Novak) Djokovic, you see Murray… yes the atmosphere is great and I hope next year I will be in a different locker room (for seeds) that is the level above!”

Matteo Berrettini would have “signed with my blood” to have the Wimbledon run he is putting together.

The 2021 finalist has been struggling with a recurring abdominal problem that forced him to miss the defence of his Queen’s Club title but is through to the fourth round after convincing victories over Alex De Minaur and Alexander Zverev.

Berrettini, who was forced out of Wimbledon last year by Covid, said on court after his third-round victory that he had spent many days crying in his bed as he fought to get healthy again.

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“If they told me a few weeks ago you’re going to play five days in a row in Wimbledon, I would have signed with my blood,” the Italian said later.

“I really spent days in bed thinking about the tournaments that I missed, the injuries that I had, sadness that I was feeling. I was like, ‘I have to come back and feel alive when I play’.

“That’s the energy I have right now. It doesn’t matter how tired I am. In the morning, go there, enjoy. I find that extra energy that maybe a few years ago I took for granted.”

Berrettini is unseeded with his ranking having dropped to 38 and he revealed he arrived in London with serious fears he may have to miss Wimbledon for a second year in a row.

“I wasn’t sure even if I was going to play,” he said. “I flew here and I said maybe the atmosphere is going to help me a little bit.

“I was really not sure about it. Not because I didn’t want to. In order to play a slam, you have to be ready physically, emotionally, mentally. There are many things.

“The will is not enough. But then I have to say I did a great job with my team. We worked really hard. They let me decide. A few days before, I thought, ‘I’m not ready’.

“But then I missed too many events in the last years. I couldn’t leave this place without trying. That’s what I said to myself. I think this place has something special. I feel a kind of energy I don’t feel anywhere else.”

Berrettini is one of the best grass-court players in the draw and he will next try to upset top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who is yet to go beyond the fourth round at the All England Club.

The Italian, who beat Alcaraz over five sets at the Australian Open last year, is looking forward to the challenge, saying: “In a way it’s what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world.

“Playing against Carlos, it’s always been a pleasure, a great fight. He’s the best player in the world. It’s going to be a great challenge. But I’m so glad that I have this opportunity right now.

“I remember watching him play at Roland Garros from my TV. Now it’s going to be me against him. I’m really happy for that. I think this is going to help me to go there and enjoy and find that extra energy that I was talking about.”

Zverev certainly would not be surprised to see Berrettini come out on top, with the German saying: “I told him that he can win the tournament if he plays like this.

“Of course there are other players that are great. He’s playing Alcaraz next. I think he’s a great player as well. But, if he plays like this, he has chances against anybody.”

Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka go head to head on Court One as Wimbledon hosts scheduled play on the middle Sunday for just the second year.

Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek headline the action on Centre Court as the singles competitions continue without the presence of any Britons.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day seven’s action.

Svitolina set for Azarenka battle

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Elina Svitolina had planned to watch Harry Styles in Vienna this weekend. Instead, the Ukrainian will once again be under the spotlight for taking on a player from Belarus.

Svitolina beat two Russian players at the French Open before falling to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. But she was booed in Paris for sticking to the Ukrainian position of not shaking hands with opponents from the two countries due to the ongoing war.

On Sunday, she faces Victoria Azarenka in the first Wimbledon match between someone from Ukraine and one from either Russia and Belarus since the war started.

Svitolina is well aware of the significance of the clash, saying: “A lot of Ukrainians will be watching, will be supporting me. I will go out there and put the fighting spirit on and just really fight for every single point.”

Middle Sunday action

For just the second time in its long history, Wimbledon will host scheduled action on the middle Sunday.

Up until last year it was always a day of rest, leading to ‘Manic Monday’ when all 16 fourth-round matches were played on one day.

This year’s play will be particularly welcome as the tournament is still playing catch up from indifferent weather in the first week.

There are some third-round matches still to be completed while a host of doubles and junior matches were cancelled on Saturday.

Match of the day

Hubert Hurkacz is the man who ended Roger Federer’s Wimbledon career when he won their quarter-final in 2021.

The Pole was then beaten by Matteo Berrettini in the semi-final, but he gets the chance to take down another big gun when he faces Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian is seemingly invincible on Centre Court so Hurkacz is going to have to channel that performance against Federer if he has any hope of prevailing and ending Djokovic’s reign.

Order of playCentre Court

Andrey Rublev v Alexander Bublik

Iga Swiatek v Belinda Bencic

Hubert Hurkacz v Novak Djokovic

Court One

Jessica Pegula v Lesia Tsurenko

Jannick Sinner v Daniel Galan

Victoria Azarenka v Elina Svitolina

Weather

Early thunderstorms will give way to more settled conditions

Katie Boulter conceded she was beaten by the “much better player” as her Wimbledon run came to an end with a crushing loss to defending champion Elena Rybakina.

Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last-32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.

Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering that ends home singles hopes at Wimbledon.

“Obviously a really tough match against a tough competitor,” said the 26-year-old. “I gave it my best today. I wouldn’t say I really felt like I got into the match fully.

“She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason, and I learned a lot today and that’s what I’m going to have to take from today’s match.”

After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.

Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.

Rybakina had not been convincing in the first two rounds after coming into the tournament under-cooked because of illness but she hit her stride straight away and the match quickly got away from Boulter.

The Kazakh possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she lost only nine points on serve throughout the match while hitting 20 winners.

Boulter admitted she has never faced a ball-strike quite like Rybakina’s before, saying: “Obviously it’s a lot quicker and the majority of girls, they don’t quite hit the ball like that. It’s quite flat. You don’t really see where she’s going. She disguises it very well.

“I struggled with it a lot today. It felt like I got into it a little bit at times and I started to pick up her ball but she was relentless at the end of the day. She was the much better player.”

Having to wait until so late to go on court after two long matches and a rain delay probably did not help Boulter, who nevertheless insisted she enjoyed the occasion.

“It was quite late,” she said. “Obviously it was my first match playing under lights. It was a little bit different and it took time for me to adjust on serve especially. I don’t think I quite found it.

“I will always reflect back on something positive. The crowd are incredible. I wanted to give them a bit more today, but unfortunately I couldn’t do that. But I appreciated them every single second I was out there.”

There are certainly positives to take from the grass-court season for Boulter, who won her first WTA Tour event in Nottingham last month, while she will be at a career-high ranking just outside the top 70 a week on Monday.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough night but I’m going to sit here tomorrow morning and tell you that I’m at a career high,” she said.

“I’ve had some seriously positive weeks. I’ve come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues.

“I’ve got a great rest of the year ahead of me. I’ve got not many points to defend. It’s a really good opportunity for me to keep pushing my ranking up and really make a statement and play many more matches like today. They’re the matches that I want to be playing.”

It is not the end of Boulter’s Wimbledon, meanwhile, with the Leicestershire player due to contest her second-round mixed doubles match alongside boyfriend Alex De Minaur on Sunday.

“I’m sure tonight Alex will be giving me some words of wisdom,” she said. “I’m going to be ready to go tomorrow and enjoying myself and having fun. It will be a great way to end Wimbledon, for sure.”

Rybakina was delighted with her performance and she moves on to a fourth-round clash against 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

British interest in the Wimbledon singles is over after Katie Boulter’s chastening defeat to Elena Rybakina.

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev both got through to the fourth round in four sets while Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka were winners in the women’s draw.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day six unfolded.

Alcaraz’s four-hour escape

Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, is generally regarded as the most likely contender to stop Novak Djokovic, but his title credentials came under real scrutiny in his third-round match with Nicolas Jarry.

The Chilean is currently enjoying a career-best ranking, but had only won one match at Wimbledon before this year, so it is perhaps no surprise that he did not know which side of Centre Court the players’ chairs were when walking out.

However, Jarry made Alcaraz work hard as he levelled at one set all and then was a break up in the fourth set, looking primed to take it to a decider.

But the Spaniard showed all of his battling skills as he won five of the last six games to seal a 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-5 success in just short of four hours.

Celebrity cornerFokina’s late gift

When Alejandro Davidovich Fokina goes to bed tonight he will probably have nightmares.

Only he knows what possessed him to produce an underarm serve at 8-8 in his match-deciding tie-break against Holger Rune, which the Dane gleefully ran on to with ease and despatched a winner that gave him match point.

The sixth seed, who described the Spaniard’s serve as “crazy” and “unexpected”, duly obliged to book his fourth-round spot.

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Home interest in the singles is over for another year after Katie Boulter’s Centre Court demise.

The British number one was the last Briton standing after Cameron Norrie, Andy Murray and Liam Broady all went out within 90 minutes of each other on Friday, but she was dismantled by defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina on Saturday night.

Boulter, who won at Nottingham in the build-up, matched her best performance at this tournament but was outclassed by Rybakina, who won 6-1 6-1.

Katie Boulter was blown away by defending champion Elena Rybakina as British singles interest at Wimbledon came to an end in the third round.

Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last 32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.

Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court following two lengthy matches and a rain delay, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering.

After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.

Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.

She handled her status as favourite well to see off Daria Saville and Viktoriya Tomova in the first two rounds and was looking forward to having a crack at the defending champion.

Rybakina was a significant step up but the Kazakh had been shaky at times in her opening two rounds having come into the tournament under prepared because of illness.

She possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, though, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she hit her stride straight away.

Boulter has been working on adding more variety to her flat-hitting game but with options can come indecision and a couple of ill-advised drop shots cost her a break of serve for 3-1.

First-strike tennis usually favours Boulter but the power coming from Rybakina’s racket, particularly on her serve, was on another level.

The third seed, who remarkably is the first women’s defending champion to reach the fourth round here since Williams back in 2016, broke again for 5-1 and wrapped up the first set in 26 minutes.

Boulter’s support camp, including boyfriend Alex De Minaur, tried to lift her, and she halted the run of games against her at seven by holding for 1-2 in the second set.

That was as good as it got, though, with the score the same as last year’s third round, when Boulter lost to Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.

It has nevertheless been a positive fortnight and a transformative grass-court season for Boulter, who will be ranked just outside the top 70 on Monday and now has the chance to really push on.

Aryna Sabalenka acknowledged there would only be a “little celebration” for making the second week at Wimbledon this time with her eyes firmly set on another grand slam title.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka marched into the fourth round at the All England Club on Saturday with a routine 6-2 6-3 victory over Moscow-born Anna Blinkova, hitting 30 winners in an 81-minute breeze on Court One.

Second seed Sabalenka is at the top of her game having made it to at least the semi-final stage of her last three grand slams, but it was at Wimbledon two summers ago where she made her big breakthrough at a major.

A run to the last four for the current world number two in 2021 was the first time she made the second week at a grand slam and the Belarusian has not looked back since and is focused on lasting the distance on grass this time.

“Yeah, I have really great memories from here. It was my first breakthrough,” Sabalenka said, having missed last year’s tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing due to the war in Ukraine.

“I was very happy two years ago to be able to get to the second week. Yeah, since that I kind of had more belief in myself in the grand slams.

“I don’t think anymore about the second week of the grand slam, you know? I kind of felt a little relief after that breakthrough.

“I’m still happy. It’s still a little celebration because of making the second week, but the goal is to go as far as I can. I’m trying to stay focused.”

Back-to-back aces booked Sabalenka her place in the last-16, after surviving an entertaining 14-minute seventh game of the second set to hold.

The 25-year-old will face another Russian next after Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, was the first female winner on day six with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Dalma Galfi on Court 18.

Last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur survived a scare and a lengthy stoppage due to a wet Centre Court surface to progress into the fourth round with a battling 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Bianca Andreescu.

After Jabeur hit back from losing the first set to level, the Tunisian found herself 3-1 down in the decider, but crucially broke back against the former US Open winner before heavy rain arrived at 7.36pm.

With the Centre Court roof open, the grass surface briefly took a hammering of rain and a 50-minute delay occurred while it was left to dry.

But once play resumed, Jabeur showed her mettle on her first return to the venue since last year’s final.

Two break points were held by the world number six in her first service game after the resumption before she broke to love in the ninth game and sealed her place in round four with an ace.

“I felt like I didn’t play my best today, I wanted to be more aggressive and play my game but I am playing against a grand slam champion,” Jabeur said before admitting to almost asking spectator Billie Jean King for advice mid-match.

“You have to do what you do and Billie was watching so I was going to ask her what should I do. I swear I was going to turn to her.

“Very emotional coming back here after a great final last year. It is one of, if not my favourite court. I love the grass, love the energy and hopefully I can come back and play more matches here.”

The wet weather disrupted some of the early play on Saturday but Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the rain to down Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 on Court Three before a suspension meant there was no time for an on-court interview.

When play did resume in SW19, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova finished the run of qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in straight sets.

Madison Keys, who won the Rothesay International in Eastbourne last week, continued her fine form with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina insisted he had no regrets despite an ill-advised underarm serve virtually handing victory to Holger Rune in their third-round clash at Wimbledon.

The Spaniard had let an 8-5 lead slip in the deciding first-to-10-point tie-break when, at 8-8, he decided to pull out an underarm serve, which sixth seed Rune easily put away before clinching a 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-4 7-6 (8) win on the next point.

Davidovich Fokina was unrepentant, though, calling the shot simply “another serve”. Asked if he would make the same decision again, he added: “Why not?”

The 24-year-old, who is ranked 34, insisted he would look back on the match positively, saying: “I won’t regret anything.

“I’m happy for this match that I did because I was struggling on grass and how I played today I convinced myself that I have a lot of things in myself.”

It is the third time in his last five matches at Wimbledon that Davidovich Fokina has shot himself in the foot with highly questionable decisions.

In a first-round meeting with Hubert Hurkacz 12 months ago, he was 40-0 up serving for the match in the third set when he tried an unnecessary tweener.

Davidovich Fokina did eventually come through that one in a deciding fifth-set tie-break only to lose to Jiri Vesely in another tie-break in the second round when he smashed a ball out of the court while match point down and was given a point penalty.

Rune has had plenty of dramatic moments in grand slams himself this season and has now played a match tie-break at each event – losing to Andrey Rublev in Australia before beating Francisco Cerundolo in Paris.

He certainly was not complaining about Davidovich Fokina’s moment of madness, saying: “I was not expecting for sure that that was going to come.

“Actually it was nice because he was serving unbelievable so I was like, ‘OK’, it was a chance to get a match point. I had to be fast with the feet. Wow, what a match.”

Rune next faces either Frances Tiafoe or Grigor Dimitrov, who was leading by two sets to love when rain forced an early end to the day’s play on the outside courts.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka marched into the fourth round at Wimbledon with a routine 6-2 6-3 victory over Anna Blinkova.

Australian Open winner Sabalenka needed three sets to overcome Varvara Gracheva in a trick tie on Friday but 24 hours later remained in total control against her Moscow-born opponent.

Sabalenka, part of the unofficial ‘big three’ in women’s tennis alongside defending champion Elena Rybakina and world number one Iga Swiatek, finished the match with consecutive aces and hit 30 winners to stay on course to reach the last-four of a fourth successive grand slam.

Both players missed Wimbledon last year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned due to the Ukraine war, but Sabalenka had shown her potential on grass in 2021 with a semi-final showing and quickly set about making the last-16.

There were aces and backhand winners aplenty for the world number two during a first set on Court One that lasted 31 minutes and contained three breaks for the right-hander.

Blinkova had struggled with her serve, but the harsh reality was she could not handle Sabalenka’s relentless hitting.

An early break for the Russian in the second was wiped out instantly with a crunching forehand return by Sabalenka, who had to be at her best to hold during a 14-minute seventh game.

Victory in 81 minutes was sealed with back-to-back aces to send the 25-year-old into the second week of Wimbledon once again.

“I think it was definitely better tennis than yesterday the first set,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

“It was tough, she played really well, tough end to the match and super happy with this win.

“It was like a nightmare that (seventh) game. Somehow I managed to finish that game with a win, but yeah it was crazy.

“A crazy game. Super happy I was able to handle myself in that situation.”

Sabalenka will face another Russian in round four after 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was the first female winner on day six with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Dalma Galfi on Court 18.

The wet weather disrupted some of the early play on Saturday but Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the rain to down Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 on Court Three before a suspension meant there was no time for an on-court interview.

When play did resume in SW19, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova finished the run of qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in straight sets.

Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to meet Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final – but the seven-time champion will not be having sleepless nights just yet.

World number one Alcaraz, touted as the only realistic challenger to Djokovic this fortnight, joined the Serbian in the fourth round after beating Nicolas Jarry.

But it took the Spaniard four sets and almost four hours to get past a player who had not played at Wimbledon for four years and before this week had only won one match here.

Chilean Jarry is a player on an upward curve, however, having risen from 152 in the world at the start of the year to a career-high 28.

Nevertheless, it looked like being plain sailing when Alcaraz won his 17th consecutive set with a solitary break.

But in the second-set tie-break, Alcaraz dumped a forehand into the net to drop a set for the first time since he played Arthur Rinderknech in the first round at Queen’s last month.

Alcaraz regained the initiative to take the third with a solitary break while Jarry hit the roof – literally – with one particularly wild swing.

Yet the indefatigable Jarry found a second wind and broke again at the start of the fourth, before an incorrect challenge from Alcaraz – who stopped playing only to discover Jarry’s return had clipped the baseline – left him on his haunches in annoyance with himself.

But Alcaraz steadied himself to hit back for 3-4 and then showed why he is the player at the top of the tree with an unstoppable backhand return to break before serving out for a hard-earned 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-5 victory.

“It has been really tough, Nicolas is a really great player, he’s playing really well,” said Alcaraz. “I’m just really happy with the level I played to get through this tough round.

“I had to stay focused. I knew I would have my chances. I would say the key is to believe and stay focused all the time.”

Third seed Daniil Medvedev also dropped a set but hit back to beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.

Katie Boulter will fly the British flag on her own on day six at Wimbledon as she plays Elena Rybakina.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz opens Centre Court for the second successive day as he takes on Chilean Nicolas Jarry.

Elsewhere, last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur will face former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu and second seed Aryna Sabalenka will be in action.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at Saturday’s action.

It was just two years ago that Matteo Berrettini made the final at Wimbledon, but injuries have seen him slide down the rankings.

As a result he was not seeded for this tournament and it meant the prospect of a tricky draw.

And having beaten 15th seed Alex De Minaur in the second round, he now squares off with 19th seed Alexander Zverev.

The German, too, is feeling his way back from a serious injury and in days gone by this match-up would not have been out of place in the latter part of the second week.

With Berrettini serving brilliantly against De Minaur and Zverev not traditionally an outstanding performer at SW19, the Italian could send another seed packing.

Two entertainers will meet on Centre Court as Ons Jabeur takes on Bianca Andreescu in a third-round clash.

Jabeur, last year’s beaten finalist, regularly practises with her Canadian opponent and recently taught her how to play the tweener.

Andreescu is a former US Open champion, but will be playing her third match in three days as she has had to play catch-up with the weather, while Jabeur is well rested after a trouble-free first three matches.

There will be slices, drop shots and possibly tweeners galore as both women eye a place in the second week.

After a chastening afternoon for the British men on Friday, when Cameron Norrie, Andy Murray and Liam Broady all lost within 90 minutes of each other, Katie Boulter is flying the flag for home players in the singles.

She has one of the toughest tests possible as she plays defending champion Elena Rybakina on Centre Court.

The third seed has not exactly been too convincing in her opening two rounds and Boulter will try and feed off a partisan home crowd as she looks to reach the fourth round for the first time.

Centre Court
Carlos Alcaraz v Nicolas Jarry
Ons Jabeur v Bianca Andreescu
Katie Boulter v Elena Rybakina

Court One
Daniil Medvedev v Martin Fucsovics
Aryna Sabalenka v Anna Blinkova
Alexander Zverev v Matteo Berrettini

Hot and humid with the chance of thundery showers.