Jannik Sinner battled his way into the Wimbledon third round after overcoming Matteo Berrettini in an all-Italian classic on Wednesday.
Centre Court was treated to a hard-fought spectacle between the pair as the world number one triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-4).
The victory marked somewhat of a changing of the guard between the Italian duo, with Sinner rising to the top after a fine year that has also brought Australian Open glory.
Berrettini is no stranger to the SW19 stage, reaching the final of the grass-court major in 2021 and taking the first set before falling to Novak Djokovic, and proved a tough opponent for Sinner in an enthralling clash.
The 14-time ATP Tour champion struggled to assert his dominance early on, failing to snatch a set point in the first before eventually triumphing in a tie-breaker with a thumping backhand.
Sinner repeated the same dose in the second set, trading breaks to leave the clash level at 4-4 before the top seed's forehand exposed Berrettini in another tie-break decider.
Berrettini responded by breaking twice to take a 4-1 lead in the third, though, striking back to halve the arrears and offering his countryman a stark reminder of his quality on this surface.
The pair once again exchanged a break apiece in the fourth set before Sinner squandered a glorious match-point chance when 6-5 ahead.
Yet, as was the case in the first two sets, Berrettini skewed a forehand into the net as Sinner sealed victory on his third match point with another tie-break success, just before the curfew at Wimbledon.
Data Debrief: Super Sinner downs another Italian
Sinner, who reached the semi-finals at this tournament last year, is now 14-0 against fellow Italians.
The 22-year-old is just the third player in the Open Era to win his first 14 ATP matches against compatriots, after Australia's Bob Hewitt and Argentina's Guillermo Vilas.
Sinner hit 32 winners and committed 25 unforced errors en route to his 40th tour-level win of the season, teeing up a third-round meeting with Miomir Kecmanovic, who overcame Tallon Griekspoor.
Wimbledon: Murray has played last match as Raducanu withdraws from mixed doubles
Andy Murray's Wimbledon career came to an early end after Emma Raducanu pulled out of their planned appearance in the mixed doubles.
The pair were due to team up on Saturday in what would have been Murray's final event appearance at Wimbledon ahead of his retirement.
However, Raducanu has withdrawn from the event due to stiffness in her right wrist.
The 21-year-old booked her place in the women’s singles fourth round on Friday with another commanding win, beating Maria Sakkart in straight sets.
"I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles," Raducanu said.
"I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy, but I've got to take care."
Murray, a two-time singles champion at Wimbledon, had already pulled out of the men's event after having minor surgery on his back in the build-up to the tournament.
It means the 37-year-old played his last game at All England Club on Thursday when he and older brother Jamie were knocked out of the men's doubles in the first round.
Murray is set to finish his career at the Paris Olympics later this month, competing in both the singles and the doubles, alongside Dan Evans.
Wimbledon: 'Unbelievable' Gauff a step too far for qualifier Kartal
World number two Coco Gauff proved far too strong for qualifier Sonay Kartal as she eased into the last 16 at Wimbledon on Friday.
Kartal, the first female British qualifier to reach the third round at the All England Club since 1997, had eliminated Sorana Cirstea and Clara Burel to reach this stage.
But Gauff represented a clear step up and, after a slightly testing first set, accelerated to a 6-4 6-0 win.
The US Open champion has never been beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon but will get the opportunity to do so against Emma Navarro on Sunday.
"I've never come out with someone like Coco before," said 298th-ranked Kartal. "There's a reason why she is where she is, number two in the world.
"She played some unbelievable tennis in that second set."
Data Debrief: Gauff's glass ceiling?
Gauff's breakout main-draw run at a major came at Wimbledon in 2019 when she reached the fourth round, but she has since surpassed that performance at each of the other three grand slams, most notably triumphing at Flushing Meadows.
Crucially, however, the 20-year-old has plenty of time on her side as she seeks to make strides at the grass-court major.
Indeed, not since Agnieszka Radwanska, in 2009, has a younger women's player reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for a third time. Gauff will hope it is third time lucky.
Wimbledon: 'Be kind to the grass, and it'll be kind to you', quips Sinner
To win on grass, you have to be kind to the court, so quipped Jannik Sinner after his win over Miomir Kecmanovic at Wimbledon.
Sinner breezed past Kecmanovic on Friday to claim his place in round four with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory.
The world number one continued his record of having never lost to Kecmanovic in what was the duo's fourth meeting.
After going four sets in rounds one and two against Yannick Hanfmann and Matteo Berrettini respectively, Sinner wrapped up this encounter in just one hour and 36 minutes.
The Australian Open champion reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, and explained what he has learned from playing on the surface over the years.
"To make friendship with the grass! Be very kind to the grass and something positive will happen," Sinner said with a smile.
"In the beginning, I was struggling a lot but every year I feel like I am improving so let's see what I can do this year but being happy on the court is the most important."
Sinner will now face the winner of Denis Shapovalov and Ben Shelton, with that tie among several that was interrupted by rain earlier in the day.
Data Debrief: Sinner's stroll in the park
Sinner's triumph on Centre Court was his 41st at ATP level this year, taking him beyond Casper Ruud (40) for the most outright wins of any player in 2024.
The Italian's dominance was demonstrated by the statistics, with Sinner winning 36 of his 42 first-serve points, striking 11 aces, 35 winners and converting five break points while offering up just one in return, which he saved.
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