Teenager Mirra Andreeva will continue to work on her attitude after being given a point penalty for throwing her racket during a fourth-round loss to Madison Keys at Wimbledon.

The 16-year-old Russian, who has been a crowd favourite on her debut at the All England Club, looked set to become the youngest player since Anna Kournikova in 1997 to make the quarter-finals here when she led by a set and 4-1.

But Keys fought back and Andreeva was given her first warning by umpire Louise Azemar Engzell after flinging her racket across the grass when she lost the second-set tie-break.

She then appeared to slam her racket to the ground when Keys forced deuce at 2-5 in the deciding set, earning a second warning and an automatic point penalty, which gave her opponent a match point.

Andreeva argued her case with Azemar Engzell, saying: “Do you understand what you are doing? I didn’t throw the racket. I slid. It’s the wrong decision. I slid and then I fell.”

But the decision stood and Keys won the next point to clinch a 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory, with Andreeva heading to the net to briefly shake hands with her opponent but walking straight past the umpire.

The Russian said afterwards: “She’s the umpire. She’s the one who makes the decision. But, honestly, I didn’t have any intention to throw the racket. I slid. I thought that I will fall forward. Maybe it did look like I threw the racket.”

She was unrepentant about not shaking Azemar Engzell’s hand, adding: “For me, she didn’t do a right decision. That’s why I didn’t want to shake hands with her.”

Andreeva had feared being defaulted after whacking a ball angrily into the crowd at the French Open and teenage petulance is something she will clearly need to grow out of, but there is no doubt she is a special talent.

She is working through the issue by talking to herself in bed every night, and has taken encouragement from the way the likes of Roger Federer overcame teenage tantrums.

“I knew that Federer was struggling with emotions when he was teenager,” she said. “Actually when I was younger, I saw that, ‘Well, he was struggling also. I’m not the only one who also struggles’.

“I thought that I just need to wait a little bit and it will go away. But it doesn’t work like this. You just have to work on yourself. The faster you’ll do it, then the results will come also faster, I think. I started to work on myself just with myself. I think it works pretty good now.”

Andreeva had not played on grass until the qualifying tournament two weeks ago but she has learned quickly on the surface and is already an impressively complete player.

Keys, who was looking to make the quarter-finals here for the first time in eight years, helped her young opponent with a slew of errors but she changed her tactics midway through the second set to follow her big groundstrokes to the net and even broke serve with a left-handed forehand winner.

By the time the second-set tie-break came around, it was Keys who had the momentum, and the American kept her young opponent at arm’s length during the decider to set up a last-eight clash with second seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Keys, who won the warm-up tournament in Eastbourne, admitted she felt the pressure of the occasion, saying: “It’s tough being on the other side of the net of a 16-year-old who is really playing with nothing to lose and you’re the one that’s supposed to beat her.

“I think she’s a really great player on top of all of that. I think she moves incredibly well. I was very impressed with her serve. Overall I think she has a very solid game. It’s obviously going to improve with time.”

Now 28, Keys was once a teenage prodigy, and, asked what advice she would give Andreeva, she said: “I would say ignore everyone, and everything that they say, unless you actually care about their opinion.”

Andreeva is limited in the amount of senior tournaments she can play because of her age but she will be ranked close to the top 60 next week, which is more than high enough for entry to the US Open.

She relished her Wimbledon debut, saying: “For me, it was an amazing experience. Amazing matches I’ve played here. First time on grass. I’m happy with my result, but also at the same time I’m sad and disappointed a little bit. Next year I hope, and I will do my best, to do better.”

Ons Jabeur set up a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon final after booking a quarter-final date with Elena Rybakina.

Jabeur, the sixth seed, was beaten in the showpiece match as Rybakina won her first grand slam title 12 months ago but she will be out for revenge when they meet in the last-eight on Wednesday.

She got there with a demolition of two-time champion Petra Kvitova on Centre Court, dishing out a 6-0 6-3 hammering in little over an hour.

The Tunisian brought her best game to the proceedings, delighting fans with drop shots, passing winners on the run and thunderbolts from the baseline as she made herself a real contender once again.

Kvitova, winner here in 2011 and 2014, was a shadow of her former self and struggled to cope with Jabeur’s variety, sending down 22 unforced errors.

“I don’t know who played today,” Jabeur joked. “It’s amazing, I love how Petra plays.

“I respect what she has done for women’s tennis, for me to be able to win against her is huge.

“(The quarter-final) will be a difficult match, I am going for my revenge, it was a difficult final last year, it is going to bring a lot of memories, I am hoping to play like today and get the win, it will be a difficult match.”


Rybakina will go into the rematch fresh after she was on court for just 21 minutes before her last-16 opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia retired through injury.

 

The Brazilian was enjoying her best run at Wimbledon, having never previously got past the second round, but hopes of a first quarter-final appearance were taken away from her when she suffered an injury early in the first set.

She had a lengthy medical timeout trailing 3-1 and tried to carry on but after being unable to move during a Rybakina service game it was clear that she could not continue.

She said: “I’m very upset now because I didn’t have the chance to, well, keep playing.

“Especially my first time on Centre Court here in Wimbledon, which is my favourite tournament.”

Aryna Sabalenka’s victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova ensured all of the women’s ‘big three’ made it to the last-eight.

The Belarusian is enjoying every minute of being back at this year’s tournament and did not waste much time in getting the better of the 21st seed, winning 6-4 6-0 on Court One.

She now plays Maddison Keys in the last-eight, in what will a mouth-watering encounter, and her eyes will be firmly fixed on a possible semi-final clash with Rybakina.

The first set was even and on serve until Sabalenka struck at 5-4 to take the lead and that gave her the platform for a dominant second set, which saw her bagel the Russian in 27 minutes.

American Chris Eubanks stunned world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with the biggest knockout of his career.

The towering 27-year-old twice came from a set down to continue his fine run in south-west London with a thrilling 3-6 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory in just over three hours.

His impressive win over two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas follows success over British number one Cameron Norrie and sets up a last-eight meeting with third seed Daniil Medvedev.

“I feel like I’m living a dream right now,” said Eubanks. “This is absolutely insane.

“When you paint all of the context – I’ve tried so much to block everything out and just focus on the next match – it’s surreal, it’s unbelievable.

“This has been a dream come true.”

Eubanks, ranked 43rd in the world, had only won two grand slam matches prior to arriving at SW19.

He made an unconvincing start to the contest on Court Two but battled back and floored Tsitsipas – conqueror of Andy Murray – with 53 winners, including 13 aces.

Eubanks recently said he hated playing on grass but is currently enjoying a nine-match winning streak on the surface.

“Those words will never come out of my mouth (again) for the rest of my career,” he said.

“The grass and I, we’ve had a very strenuous relationship over the years but right now I think it’s my best friend.”

Earlier, world number three Medvedev eased into his maiden Wimbledon quarter-final after Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire injured.

The 27-year-old Russian was in control on Court One and had just gone two sets ahead at 6-4 6-2 when his Czech opponent pulled out.

Lehecka received treatment during a medical timeout at the end of the opening set but initially battled on in some discomfort before opting for a premature departure.

“I honestly did not (realise) until he retired,” he said of Lehecka’s injury.

“I saw that maybe his movement is a little bit restricted but the way he was throwing the ball I thought that it was not causing him enough trouble but then when he retired, I was like, ‘OK, I see it different’.

“I feel sorry for Jiri. Hopefully he can recover fast and he has a lot more grand slams to come ahead of him.”

Lehecka showed some touches of class but his performance was undermined by a series of errors and, ultimately, his fitness issue.

“This is not the way how I wanted to finish the match,” the 21-year-old said.

“Of course all the credit to Daniil, because he played another solid match, but for me still I felt that if I was able to show my maximum level, then it would have been a much more better match than it was today.

“But unfortunately the injury got much, much worse during the match, and I wasn’t able to compete on the highest level.”

Lehecka struggled to deal with the power of Medvedev, with one of his returns of serve flying off court and landing in a spectator’s drink.

Both players were then forced to sit down during the sixth game of the second set due to a medical emergency in the crowd.

The affected spectator eventually walked out of the arena with the aid of medics following a delay of around 10 minutes.

Novak Djokovic belatedly reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals after polishing off Hubert Hurkacz.

The seven-time champion’s plans for a day off were scuppered by the strict 11pm curfew in SW19, meaning the match was halted on Sunday evening with Djokovic two sets to the good.

Upon returning to Centre Court, Djokovic was inconvenienced further when Polish 17th seed Hurkacz stole the third set.

But the 36-year-old hit back to register a 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6) 5-7 6-4 victory and book a 14th quarter-final at the Championships.

He said: “Big credit for Hubert for playing an amazing match, tough luck for him. he put up a great performance.

“Honestly, I don’t recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games, due to his incredibly accurate and powerful serve.

“He’s got one of the best serves in the world and it’s so difficult to read it. Playing on the quickest surface it really favours the big servers so it was not really an enjoyable match for me.

“But I guess in the important moments last night I was fortunate to win the first set. This match could definitely have gone a different way but I held my nerve and I’m happy to win.”

Djokovic had not faced so much as a break point in his previous 53 service games, so a third tie-break seemed inevitable until Hurkacz forced two at 6-5 and the Serbian dumped the second into the net.

Hurkacz fended off two break points – the first he had faced since the second set, some 17 hours ago – at 3-3 in the fourth but when he slipped on the baseline at deuce, Djokovic converted the third.

It was the first time Hurkacz had dropped serve at these Championships and it proved enough to see the 23-time grand slam champion through to a meeting with Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the last eight.

“He’s a different player to Hurkacz, for sure,” added Djokovic. “He’s got very powerful, quick groundstrokes, stays close to the line and has one of the best forehands in the game, loves to dictate… I’m not going to talk too much about tactics.

“I have to be ready. The matches are only going to get harder. It’s tough to say it’s going to get harder than what I experienced yesterday and today, but I have to be ready for that.

“Rublev has been a top-10 player for many years and he’s looking for his first semi-finals at a grand slam. Hopefully it’s not gonna happen.”

Tension will be replaced by appreciation when Elina Svitolina takes on Iga Swiatek for a place in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Tuesday.

The All England Club can have barely heard a reaction like the chorus of booing that accompanied Victoria Azarenka off Court One following her narrow defeat by Svitolina on Sunday evening.

Ukrainian players refuse to shake hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents at the end of matches as a result of the invasion of their country and there has been significant locker room rancour about how the issue has affected tennis.

 

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The WTA has been criticised for not offering enough support to its Ukrainian members, who feel the rights of their Russian and Belarusian counterparts have been prioritised.

An exception to that has been Swiatek, with the Pole using her voice and platform to speak up for Ukraine and organising a charity exhibition event last summer.

“She’s a great champion, also a great person,” said Svitolina. “I’m really thankful for her support of Ukrainians, Ukraine, doing everything what is in her power, being vocal about that.”

Swiatek wears a blue and yellow ribbon to show she is still thinking about Ukraine, and she said of Svitolina: “For sure we respect each other. We like each other. It’s all pretty positive.

“It’s good to have these kind of players on tour that are nice and they have good values, I think. I’m happy that she’s back after becoming a mother. I don’t know how tough it is, but I’m sure it’s really tough.

“I’m happy that she’s playing a solid game. I think it’s going to be interesting.”

Svitolina has now reached back-to-back grand slam quarter-finals having only returned to the tour in April following the birth of daughter Skai in October.

The former world number three has made two grand slam semi-finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, while Swiatek, who saved match points against Belinda Bencic in round four, is having her best run here.

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 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.

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.

Andy Murray has "done it all" and should be acclaimed in the same vein as greats Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, according to Mark Philippoussis.

Friday marked the 10-year anniversary of Murray capturing the first of his two Wimbledon titles, with the Scot beating Djokovic in straight sets to win the 2013 final.

Murray's return of three major titles fails to compare to those of the 'Big Three', with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer boasting 23, 22 and 20 grand slam singles triumphs respectively.

However, Murray can also count two Olympic gold medals – won in 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro – among his achievements. 

While Nadal won gold in the singles tournament at the 2008 Games, the now-retired Federer only captured gold in the doubles event, alongside Stan Wawrinka in 2008.

Djokovic, meanwhile, took singles bronze in Beijing but is yet to win gold, and Philippoussis feels Murray's record across various tournaments means he should be considered among the greats.

Asked about Murray's accomplishments, two-time grand slam finalist Philippoussis told Stats Perform: "If you look at the numbers, as far as what he's won, he's actually one of the only guys to win everything. 

"He's won [a] grand slam, he's won the Davis Cup, he's won an Olympic gold. 

"He's done it all, and when you talk about the greats like Djokovic, Federer and Rafa, they haven't all won every single thing. 

"I think Roger has won the Davis Cup and he's won gold, but I think he won it in doubles, not singles, if I'm not mistaken. 

"He [Murray] is one of the only ones who have done that, and to win your home slam as a Brit at Wimbledon – the biggest one – the pressure must have been incredible, then to have done it at home with the Olympic gold as well."

Murray was unable to mark the anniversary of his maiden Wimbledon triumph with a win, as he slipped to a 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 4-6 defeat to fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a delayed second-round contest on Centre Court.

Paula Badosa had to awkwardly inform a reporter she had lost her second-round match after a back injury ended her Wimbledon campaign.

The Spaniard was forced to retire when trailing 6-2 1-0 to Marta Kostyuk after her troublesome stress fracture flared up and she revealed she will not be able to play the mixed doubles with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas.

To add insult to injury, news of her fitness struggles on Court 18 had clearly not reached an international reporter, who opened her post-match press conference by congratulating her on her victory, prompting a toe-curling exchange.

Responding to the opening comment, Badosa simply replied: “I lost.”

The reporter did not acknowledge her answer and asked her to talk about her fitness and confidence level, to which she replied: “For your information, I just lost. I didn’t win. So, yeah.”

The moderator then again informed the journalist Badosa had lost, which was received by surprise.

Once the result had been established in the room, Badosa went on to say that she will be withdrawing from the mixed doubles due to the problem, robbing fans of a on-court love story.

Asked whether she would be able to compete: “No, no, I won’t be able. The injury is the same as I have been struggling the past weeks.

“It’s the stress fracture. I tried my best to try to play here, but yesterday when I woke up I already, after my first-round match, felt it again. It’s a little bit worse.

“So I will need a few days off and talk to my team and see what I do in the next days and the next weeks.

“The first match I was pretty happy because I felt OK. After the match I spoke with my team, and I was, like, it wasn’t very bad.

“But yesterday, as I said when I woke up, I was worse. Today was worse. I wanted to give it a try in the match, but I think the smartest thing was to stop.”

Kostyuk will play 25th seed Maddison Keys after the American beat Viktorija Golubic 7-5 6-3 while two-time champion Petra Kvitova beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-2 to reach the third round.

Andy Murray reached the “pinnacle of tennis” on this day in 2013 as he became the first British player to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title for 77 years.

Murray raised a standing ovation on Centre Court, where crowds bellowed their support as he sealed a thrilling victory over world number one Novak Djokovic in straight sets – 6-4 7-5 6-4.

The Scot broke down in tears of joy as he claimed the title that had eluded him for so long as a wave of celebration reverberated across the country.

In the players’ box, his mother Judy Murray wept freely while his girlfriend Kim Sears appeared to fight back tears as the British number one kissed his well-earned trophy. Fred Perry had been the last British men’s singles winner at Wimbledon in 1936.

Murray said: “Winning Wimbledon I think is the pinnacle of tennis.

“The last game almost increased that feeling. I worked so hard in that last game. It’s the hardest few points I’ve had to play in my life.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t get my head around that.

“It was different to last year’s final (against Roger Federer) for sure, and then (at) the end of the match, that was incredibly loud, very noisy.

“I’ve been saying it all week, but it does make a difference. It really helps when the crowd is like that, the atmosphere is like that.”

Murray won the Wimbledon crown again in 2016, beating Canadian Milos Raonic and giving him a third grand slam title following his 2012 US Open success.

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