Hubert Hurkacz was the highest-profile casualty on day four of the Wimbledon men's singles, with the seventh seed forced to retire injured during his clash with Arthur Fils.

The Pole beat Roger Federer on the way to reaching the semi-finals in 2021, while he was runner-up to new world number one Jannik Sinner in Halle last month.

However, when trailing by two sets to one against his French opponent, Hurkacz sustained a knee injury during the tie-break in the fourth.

Despite valiantly attempting to battle on, he aggravated the problem further soon after when diving for a return, and was subsequently unable to continue with Fils advancing to round three.

There, he will play Alex de Minaur after the ninth seed enjoyed a straight-sets victory over Jaume Munar.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev also prevailed in three sets as he continued his rich vein of form. The Italian Open champion, who was also runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, was a commanding 6-1 6-2 6-4 winner over Marcos Giron. 

Next up for him is Cameron Norrie after the 2022 semi-finalist ousted compatriot Jack Draper in a battle of the Brits on No.1 Court.

Eastbourne champion Taylor Fritz overcame Arthur Rinderknech in four sets, as did 15th seed Holger Rune against Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov recovered from two sets down to beat Juncheng Shang in a decider. The 2014 semi-finalist will now play Gael Monfils, who completed a straight-sets victory over fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka.

Although, there was no joy for 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. The two-time major finalist was beaten in four sets by world number 87 Emil Ruusuvuori.

Andrey Rublev suffered a shock early exit at Wimbledon on Tuesday as numerous other seeds progressed through to the second round.

Rublev, a 17-time ATP Tour champion, reached the quarter-finals at this tournament last year but failed to make it past his opener this time after Argentine Francisco Comesana upset the sixth seed.

Comesana triumphed 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-6 (7-5) on No.2 Court, where play was disrupted by heavy downpour, as Rublev became the highest-ranked male player to fall so far at the All England Club.

Unlike Rublev, fourth seed Alexander Zverev coasted past Roberto Carballes Baenai in straight sets on No. 1 Court.

"I want to compete, I want to do well here at Wimbledon. It's the most historic tennis tournament that we have," Zverev said after reaching the second round for the seventh time in eight attempts at this tournament.

"I've struggled over the years here on these beautiful courts, unfortunately, but I feel different this year."

Hubert Hurcakz progressed through his first challenge, though the seventh seed conceded the first set before defeating Radu Albot 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-4, smashing 24 aces in the process.

Alex de Minaur headed into this year's edition as the ninth favourite and his opening performance befitted that status, overcoming fellow Australian James Duckworth 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4).

Stefanos Tsitsipas fought off Taro Daniel with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-5 in just under two-and-a-half hours as the 11th seed aims to go further than his personal-best fourth-round appearances in 2018 and five years later.

It was not so straightforward for British number one Jack Draper, who secured a hard-fought 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory over Elias Ymer under the lights on Centre Court.

Draper is in fine form, having won the Stuttgart Open in June and defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Queen's Club Championship, and will next meet fellow British player Cameron Norrie.

World number 42 Norrie had little trouble in his first-round test, dispatching Facundo Diaz Acosta in straight sets on No.3 Court.

Data Debrief: Comesana on cloud nine as Zverev powers through

Comesana may have expected to compete with Rublev in his first-round encounter, but this was only his second appearance on grass courts of his career at any level, professional or junior.

The world number 122 managed to battle to a hard-fought triumph after a clinical showing, converting four of five break points he earned.

Zverev had no such difficulty in progressing to the second round, powering 18 aces at an event he has never reached the quarter-finals in.

The German is now 12-2 for the year in major action, having reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the showpiece at the French Open before defeat to Alcaraz.

Jack Draper's dream run at the Queen's Club Championships was halted at the quarter-final stage on Friday as Tommy Paul edged a hard-fought contest in three sets.

Having claimed his maiden ATP Tour title in Stuttgart last week, Draper made it seven straight victories with a huge upset of world number two Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday.

However, he could not extend that winning streak as Paul attacked his serve on every opportunity, hitting several excellent groundstrokes as he took the opener.

Draper hit back in the second set, a long forehand seeing him convert his second set point.

However, the new British number one appeared fatigued in the decider, his exertions against Alcaraz taking a toll as Paul kicked on, breaking to love in the seventh game and seeing out a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory.

Data Debrief: Draper falls short

Playing in his second Queen's quarter-final, Draper could have become the first home player to reach the last four since Cameron Norrie in 2021.

He was unable to stay the course against a fresher opponent, though, as fifth seed Paul improved to 25-10 for the season, reaching his second tour-level semi-final on grass.

Jack Draper earned the biggest win of his career, upsetting defending Queen's Club champion Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets on Thursday.

He followed up his first ATP tour title in Stuttgart with a statement win, beating the French Open winner 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

He did not lose a service game in a dominant display, though Alcaraz did not lose one in the opening set either, forcing a tie-break before his sloppiness allowed Draper to edge in front.

Despite Alcaraz bringing his usual threat, Draper got a vital break to make it 4-2 in the second set, rallying to see out a third victory against top-10 opposition.

Draper will play fifth seed Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals.

Data Debrief: Alcaraz sees streak snapped

Alcaraz had won eight consecutive matches coming into this meeting thanks to his victory at Roland Garros, but could not find a way past Draper.

The British number one impressed, especially in his serves, winning 76 per cent of his service points during the one hour 39 minute contest.

Carlos Alcaraz began his title defence at the Queen's Club Championships with a straight-sets victory over Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday.

Playing his first match since winning the French Open earlier this month, Alcaraz recovered from a second-set slump to win 6-1 7-5.

The Spaniard started strongly in his first meeting with Cerundolo and breezed through the first set, committing just one unforced error.

He quickly found himself 2-5 down after a slow start to the second, but in an impressive turnaround, Alcaraz battled back, winning each of the next five games to ensure he would progress after 82 minutes.

He will meet either Jack Draper or Mariano Navone in the next round.

Data Debrief: Alcaraz makes winning return on grass

Alcaraz did not have it all his own way in London, but he ensured that he extended his winning run on grass to 13 matches.

He saved three set points on his way to levelling things at 5-5 in the second set, giving Cerundolo no way back in.

Jack Draper won his first ATP Tour title by fighting back to beat Matteo Berrettini in the BOSS Open final in Stuttgart, ahead of becoming British number one for the first time on Monday.

Draper had already ensured he will become Britain's top player in the ATP rankings by reaching the showpiece match in Germany with back-to-back wins over Americans Francis Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini took Sunday's opener in just 33 minutes, but Draper fought back in a near-hour-long second set as the momentum shifted.

Draper failed to convert two set points at 5-4 and the first of two in the tiebreak, but he never looked back after levelling things up.

A break in the seventh game was enough to take the decider as Draper triumphed 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, serving a huge ace – his 12th of the contest – on match point.

Data Debrief: Draper follows in Murray's footsteps

Draper will crack the world's top 30 after claiming his maiden title in his third ATP final, having previously lost to Adrian Mannarino at last year's Sofia Open and Jiri Lehecka at January's Adelaide Open.

He will also become his country's top male player at the age of 22 years and 269 days, making him the youngest British number one since Andy Murray in November 2009.

Rafael Nadal’s latest comeback bid came to an end as he was well beaten 7-5 6-1 by fourth seed Alex de Minaur at the Barcelona Open.

The 37-year-old was playing just his second tournament in 15 months after suffering another hip problem at his comeback event in Brisbane in January.

And having intimated that this will be his final year before retirement, Nadal’s defeat was likely to mark his final appearance at a tournament he has won 12 times.

Having overcome Italian Flavio Cobolli in the opening round, Nadal faced a much sterner test against the in-form De Minaur and was sent scampering around the court in a tight opening set which was edged by the Australian.

De Minaur went on to step up a gear, securing a double break over the Spaniard and racing over the line behind a strong service game on which he did not drop a single point in the second set.

Jack Draper made the most of a rain delay to defeat wild card Rudolf Molleker and reach the quarter-finals of the BMW Open in Munich.

German Molleker, ranked 179th, had been the better player in the first set but a brief stoppage ahead of the second set changed the momentum of the contest.

Draper began to assert his powerful game after the resumption and lost only two more games, pulling away to claim a 4-6 6-1 6-1 victory.

In the last eight the British number two, who is ranked 46th, will take on either third seed Taylor Fritz or Spanish qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas.

Speaking in an on-court interview, Draper said: “I think Rudy played an amazing level in the first set. The conditions were very rainy and very slow. In the second and third, the sun comes out and I start feeling better. I’m really proud of the way I played.”

Katie Boulter has set her sights on pushing further up the rankings after winning the biggest title of her career.

The British number one defeated five top-40 players to win the San Diego Open, bringing her a first WTA 500 trophy and elevating her ranking to 27.

With Cameron Norrie slipping to 28, it means Boulter is the highest-ranked British singles player of either gender heading into the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which begins on Wednesday.

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The same week a year ago, Boulter was ranked outside the world’s top 150, and she does not have many points to defend until the grass-court tournament in Nottingham in June, where last year she picked up her first WTA title.

“I feel like I’ve started the year very well and I’ve given myself the best opportunity to set myself up for the rest of the year,” said 27-year-old Boulter.

“I’ve got a free swing, I don’t really have too much pressure. I’m just here enjoying myself and working as hard as I possibly can with a great team. You never know what could happen so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

The weekend was made even more special for Boulter by the success of boyfriend Alex De Minaur, who successfully defended his title in Acapulco on Saturday before catching an early morning flight to cheer on the British star.

They join the likes of former couples Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert and Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters in winning titles on the same weekend, and Boulter said: “I think that is very cool.

“I had no idea other people had done it. To share something with my other half is going to be something that we won’t forget.”

While the two titles both earned their recipients 500 ranking points, De Minaur took home around £325,000 and Boulter just £112,000, highlighting the continuing disparity between the ATP and WTA Tour away from the biggest joint events.

Boulter has mixed feelings, saying: “I’m obviously very happy with my first WTA 500 title, not too many players can say that they’ve won a 500 so I feel very special.

“Regarding the prize money, I feel like there’s a lot of equality in our sport in the biggest events. I really hope that the WTA can continue to help bridge the gap between the other events.”

There is parity in Indian Wells, where the tours come together at a big event for the first time since the Australian Open.

Boulter’s elevation to the top 30 comes too late to earn her a seeding and she will be back in action on Wednesday against dangerous Italian Camila Giorgi.

If she can maintain or improve her ranking through to the French Open and Wimbledon, she will earn herself a seeding, meaning she would not face a player in the top 32 until at least the third round.

“It’s definitely an aim of mine,” said Boulter. “I want to make sure that I can get as close to a seeding as possible. At the moment I’m in but it takes time to build more ranking points and to get myself to that place.

“Every single place in the ranking counts and I’ve just got to do my best because obviously it makes a difference as to who you play in the tournaments.”

Boulter is joined in the Indian Wells draw by Emma Raducanu, who has been given a wild card and will take on a qualifier in the first round.

Raducanu enjoyed one of her best weeks in the Californian desert last year, defying the wrist problems that subsequently forced her to go under the knife to reach the fourth round.

Norrie has a bye in the men’s event as the 28th seed while Andy Murray plays a qualifier, Jack Draper meets Christopher O’Connell and Dan Evans plays Roman Safiullin.

Rafael Nadal returns to the tour for the first time since suffering a muscle injury in Brisbane in January and will take on fellow veteran Milos Raonic, while Novak Djokovic makes his first appearance in Indian Wells for five years following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.

Jack Draper cruised into the semi-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco as he beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2 6-2.

The British number three is ranked three places higher than his opponent at world number 50, but the gulf between them on court proved much greater.

Draper broke Kecmanovic in the third game of the opening set and repeated the feat for a 4-1 lead, serving out to take the opening set in 31 minutes.

The start of the opening set proved a tighter tussle, the first four games going with serve as Draper survived a break point to level at 2-2.

Draper took control from that moment, capitalising on his fourth break point to win the fifth set and adding a double break to move 5-2 ahead.

He served out to love in the final game, booking his place in the last four in 80 minutes.

Draper beat both Kecmanovic and American Tommy Paul, who he defeated in his opening match in Acapulco, en route to the final in Adelaide in January.

Jack Draper needed little more than an hour to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco.

The 22-year-old, who beat seventh seed Tommy Paul in the previous round, proved too strong for Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, winning 6-3 6-0 in 68 minutes.

The British number three started strongly, breaking the world number 82 in his opening scoring game and threatening as he opened a 3-0 lead.

Games went on serve as Nishioka fought to stay in touch at 5-3, but Draper served out to win the opening set in 42 minutes.

He was barely troubled after that, again breaking Nishioka to start the second set.

He broke twice more and stayed firm on his own serve to book a place in the last eight.

Cameron Norrie is the only British singles player left in the Australian Open after a five-set win over Giulio Zeppieri in the second round.

British trio Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter all lost while Kazakh third seed Elena Rybakina became the biggest casualty of the tournament so far, losing an epic deciding tie-break against Anna Blinkova.

Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek almost went the same way but recovered to beat Danielle Collins while men’s second seed Carlos Alcaraz also progressed on a day Jessica Pegula and Holger Rune were knocked out.

Picture of the dayTweet of the day

Figures from across the tennis world have been paying tribute to the Daily Mail’s hugely respected tennis correspondent Mike Dickson, who died in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Stat of the dayShots of the dayBrady blow

American Jennifer Brady has been sidelined for the majority of the three years since she reached the Australian Open final in 2021, and she has now announced that she needs more surgery.

Medvedev’s dawn raid

Men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev looked to be heading out as he went two sets down to Emil Ruusuvuori.

But the Russian showed his fighting spirit and ensured it was a very early morning as he battled back to win in five sets, winning 3-6 6-7 (1) 6-4 7-6 (1) 6-0 just before 4am local time, with sunrise two hours away.

Friends reunited

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Fallen seeds

Women: Elena Rybakina (3), Jessica Pegula (5), Daria Kasatkina (14)
Men: Holger Rune (8), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (23), Jan-Lennard Struff (24), Jiri Lehecka (32)

Who’s up next?

Novak Djokovic will attempt to find his form when he takes on dangerous Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round on Friday.

Women’s defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faces Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko while Coco Gauff takes on fellow American Alycia Parks.

Jannik Sinner has been the most impressive of the leading men so far and he meets 26th seed Sebastian Baez.

Jack Draper and Katie Boulter have set their sights on being seeded for Wimbledon after losing in the second round of the Australian Open.

Both found themselves up against highly-ranked opponents and were unable to cause upsets, with Draper losing 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5 to 14th seed Tommy Paul, while Boulter was beaten 6-3 6-3 by 12th seed Zheng Qinwen.

Draper was particularly frustrated having beaten American Paul in both their previous meetings, including last week in Adelaide.

But, although he pulled up well physically from his dramatic first-round match, which he ended vomiting into a bin, the 22-year-old was unable to find his best tennis.

“He definitely came out playing really well,” said Draper. “I think he knew what he was up against. I think I won all four sets against him that I played.

“I definitely feel like I haven’t really got used to conditions this week at all. I just have been struggling to find my level. Obviously when you are playing a top player like that, if they’re playing well, there are very small margins in it. He was the better player today. He deserved to win.”

Draper is impatient to get to the sort of ranking he knows his talent merits, and it appears physically he is becoming more durable.

Being among the seeds at slams means guaranteeing avoiding higher-ranked players in the first two rounds and, having missed much of last season through injury, Draper now has a big opportunity to climb quickly.

He said: “I feel fit. I’m ready to keep going. I’m very motivated to keep getting better.

“So hopefully, by grass, if I keep my form up, if I stay fit, keep giving myself the opportunities to compete, then I’m going to be hopefully seeded for Wimbledon. And that’s kind of my goal now.”

It is the same for Boulter, who was disappointed to lose to Zheng but showed again that she can mix it with the top players.

The 21-year-old Chinese player is one of the game’s up-and-coming stars but the contest was closer than the score suggested.

Boulter will leave Australia with the best win of her career under her belt against Jessica Pegula at the United Cup earlier this month and a lot of belief in her prospects for the rest of the season.

“This trip has been great,” she said. “For me it’s about week in, week out playing these girls, trying to get big wins against the best players in the world. I gave myself opportunities to do that this week. I found myself winning a couple of matches a few weeks ago as well.

“For me, it is a massive step in the right direction. I’m going to keep working very, very hard. I know my game is there. Today it just wasn’t quite there.

“I would much rather play (her) in the third round, the fourth round to get myself into the tournament more and more and be playing on the bigger courts, which ultimately is more about the tennis than the conditions.

“So my next step for me is to challenge myself to get to 32 and push on from there.”

Jack Draper’s eventful Australian Open ended with a second-round loss to 14th seed Tommy Paul.

The 22-year-old had struggled physically in his opening match against Marcos Giron, escaping in five sets and then rushing to a courtside bin to vomit.

He looked to have recovered reasonably well going into the clash against American Paul, but fell to a 6-2 3-6 6-3 7-5 defeat.

Draper took confidence from having beaten Paul in both of their previous meetings, including comfortably last week in Adelaide, but the 26-year-old – a semi-finalist here last year – was sharp from the start.

The match was delayed by blustery showers in Melbourne and, when it did get under way, Draper came out of the blocks slowly, dropping serve three times in the opening set.

He hit back well in the second, beginning to trouble Paul with his power game, but it was the American on top again in the third set.

The conditions certainly did not make things easy and Draper looked hugely frustrated by his inability to time the ball as consistently as he would have liked.

Paul looked on his way to victory when he broke serve again to start the fourth set, but Draper fought back well to force two set points with a nervous Paul serving at 4-5.

He could not take either, though, and a missed forehand in the next game gave Paul the chance to serve for the match, which he took.

Jack Draper vomited into a courtside bin after overcoming struggles with the Melbourne heat to defeat Marcos Giron at the Australian Open in his first ever five-set match.

It is a measure of how inexperienced the 22-year-old still is at the highest level that he had never previously played a match that went the distance, and he looked in serious trouble at two sets to one down against American Giron.

But Draper has been working hard on his physical conditioning and it paid off as he fought back to win 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-0 6-2 after three hours and 20 minutes.

As soon as he had shaken hands with Giron after a final gruelling rally he ran to the bin to be sick, and it was several minutes before he was able to walk off the court.

He will now have to try to recover for a second-round match, against 14th seed Tommy Paul, on Thursday, when temperatures are at least forecast to be much lower.

It was early afternoon when Draper and Giron took to a baking Court Eight under a cloudless sky.

The British number four only arrived in Melbourne on Saturday night after reaching his second ATP Tour final in Adelaide, meaning he was full of confidence but also potentially jaded.

The match was dominated by punishing rallies from the start, with Draper getting the better of five straight breaks of serve and narrowly hanging on to his advantage.

But the momentum began to swing Giron’s way in the second set as the physicality of the match took its toll on Draper.

After Giron levelled the match, the 22-year-old called the trainer to have his pulse taken and blood pressure checked.

He carried on but was unable to chase down the sort of shots he had got to in the first set and his race looked run when Giron opened up a two sets to one lead.

He took another off-court break to change his clothes and came out for the fourth set with a game plan to up the aggression and shorten the points.

It worked superbly, a mixture of thumping groundstokes and feathered drop shots taking California’s Giron, who had appeared untroubled by the heat, out of his comfort zone.

Draper raced through the set, putting him into uncharted territory, but, with shade finally creeping across the court, both his game and his body just about held up to carry him through to his first victory at Melbourne Park.

Jack Draper will bid for a first ATP Tour title at the Adelaide International after beating Alexander Bublik in the semi-finals.

The British number four saw off the eccentric Kazakh 7-6 (2) 6-4 to go one better than last year when he fell in the last four.

It represents a second straight ATP Tour final for the 22-year-old, who was beaten by Adrian Mannarino in the trophy decider at the Sofia Open in November.

Draper was twice a break up in the opening set against Bublik, who is one of the most unconventional players on tour.

He dragged Draper around the court with repeated drop shots and one game in the second set featured a rally where both players played lobs between their legs before Bublik sent over an underarm serve and won the point with a volley played with his racket handle.

But there were also nine double faults and a host of unforced errors and Draper maintained his high level to set up a final meeting with Czech Jiri Lehecka.

“It was a really tricky match,” said Draper. “Alexander’s a great player and someone who’s a very unorthodox player. It’s always tricky to play against him.

“He’s actually a really good guy and a good friend as well. We have a lot of fun when we’re competing against each other. I was really happy that I was able to come through and get the win today and be in another final.”

Victory for Draper on Saturday would elevate his ranking back into the top 50 ahead of his Australian Open opener next week.