Serena Williams Retires From Wimbledon With Injury
Follow all the action from day four at Wimbledon with Ashleigh Barty and Roger Federer back in action.
Barty, the world No 1, had her resolve tested by Carla Suarez Navarro but passed with flying colours in a lopsided third set to secure her place in the second round. The Australian now faces Anna Blinkova, who was a finalist in the girl’s singles as a junior on Centre Court.
After that, Roger Federer will face old foe Richard Gasquet after a dramatic first-round match against Adrian Mannarino. The 20-time grand slam champion was taken to five sets in his opener and looked to be on the brink of an exit until a cruel slip forced the Frenchman to retire.
Elsewhere, Britons Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu return after their impressive victories yesterday, while teenager Coco Gauff attempts to emulate her spectacular breakthrough run on grass in 2019. Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, two faces of the men’s next generation, will try to further their claims while Angelique Kerber has a repeat of her 2016 triumph in her sights. Follow all the action below:
WIMBLEDON 2021: NORRIE FACES BOLT ON COURT ONE
Another Briton, Cameron Norrie, will get us under way on Court One this afternoon. The 25-year-old, who is full of confidence after reaching the final at Queen’s, came from a set down to defeat Lucas Pouille and will now take on Australian wildcard Alex Bolt.
“I think a little bit yesterday I wasn’t that calm. I completely donated the set, a couple of set points, I threw in a couple of double faults. Today I made a conscious decision to be a little bit more calm on the court, really enjoy it out there.
“I think it comes with winning a lot of matches, a lot of tight matches, just putting yourself in those scenarios. With the way I play, I’m not going to go out and hit someone off the court or serve someone off the court. I need to keep continuously applying pressure, keep putting people in awkward situations.
“When it’s tough, in those tough moments, that’s when I feel like I feel good and I feel comfortable. I think that’s why I’m doing a little bit better this year, is because I’m executing in those scenarios, in those bigger moments.”
Tom Kershaw1 July 2021 10:45
WIMBLEDON: EVANS ‘STAYING FOCUSED’ AFTER VICTORY
Dan Evans thrashed Dusan Lajovic in straight sets to reach the third round. The Briton has twice fallen short at that stage before and insists he is “staying focused” as he attempts to reach Wimbledon’s second week for the first time in his career.
“I don’t think I played particularly amazing tennis today, but I got through the match with decent concentration,” he said. “I found my tennis when I needed to the longer the match went on. I knew what I had to do, and that was get myself through the match however I played, give myself another good chance in the third round.
“It’s not all about playing perfect tennis all the time. I didn’t serve the game out great at 5-2, but I bounced back at 5-4 after having match points in the game before that. So I was happy with that part today. That gives you confidence. I think I’ve done a great job of getting through. As I said, I’ve not played my best tennis just yet, so hopefully that’s coming.
“I’m working hard. I’m trying to focus hard on finding it. Another day on the practice courts tomorrow, get a bit more feel. Hopefully in the third round I play a bit cleaner out there, serve a little better. Match by match to get a bit better would be good. I’m competing hard and staying focused, which is part of, a big part of the battle really out there is to stay in the match, especially three-out-of-five sets.
Tom Kershaw1 July 2021 10:35
WIMBLEDON 2021: ORDER OF PLAY FOR DAY FOUR
CENTRE COURT (1.30PM)
- Asheligh Barty (Aus) 1 v Anna Blinkova (Rus)
- Elina Vesnina (Rus) v Coco Gauff (USA) 20
- Roger Federer (Sui) 6 v Richard Gasquet (Fra)
COURT 1 – (1.00PM)
- Alex Bolt (Aus) v Cameron Norrie (Gbr) 29
- Carlos Alcaraz (Esp) v Daniil Medvedev (Rus) 2
- Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 12 v Sorana Cirstea (Rou)
COURT 2 – (11.00AM)
- Tennys Sandgren (USA) v Alexander Zverev (Ger) 4
- Elina Svitolina (Ukr) 3 v Magda Linette (Pol)
- Angelique Kerber (Ger) 25 v Sara Sorribes Tormo
- Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can) 16 v Mikael Ymer (Swe)
COURT 3 – (11.00AM)
- Andrea Petkovic (Ger) v Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) 14
- Matteo Berrettini (Ita) 7 v Botic Van de Zandschulp (Ned)
- Daria Kasatkina (Rus) 31 v Jelena Ostapenko (Lat)
- Gianluca Mager (Ita) v Nick Kyrgios (Aus)
COURT 4 – (11.00AM)
- Harriet Dart (Gbr) & Heather Watson (Gbr) v Kaia Kanepi (Est) & Shuai Zhang (Chn),
- Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) v Anastasija Sevastova (Lat)
- Tara Moore (Gbr) & Eden Silva (Gbr) v Laura Siegemund (Ger) & Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 11
- Kenneth Skupski (Gbr) & Neal Skupski (Gbr) v Liam Broady (Gbr) & Ryan Peniston (Gbr)
- Jay Clarke (Gbr) & Marius Copil (Rom) v Marcus Daniell (Nzl) & Philipp Oswald (Aut) 15
COURT 5 – (11.00AM)
- Nikola Mektic (Cro) & Mate Pavic (Cro) 1 v Jonathan Erlich (Isr) & Andrei Vasilevski (Blr)
- Maria Sakkari (Gre) 15 v Shelby Rogers (USA)
- Raven Klaasen (Rsa) & Ben McLachlan (Jpn) 14 v Andres Molteni (Arg) & Andrea Vavassori (Ita)
- Leylah Annie Fernandez (Can) & Anastasia Potapova (Rus) v Nadiia Kichenok (Ukr) & Raluca Olaru (Rom) 13
- Darija Jurak (Cro) & Andreja Klepac (Slo) 10 v Petra Martic (Cro) & Shelby Rogers (USA)
COURT 6 – (11.00AM)
- Shuko Aoyama (Jpn) & Ena Shibahara (Jpn) 5 v Gabriela Dabrowski (Can) & Caroline Garcia (Fra)
- Naomi Broady (Gbr) & Jodie Anna Burrage (Gbr) v Viktoria Kuzmova (Svk) & Arantxa Rus (Ned) 15
- Kiki Bertens (Ned) & Lesley Kerkhove (Ned) v Elixane Lechemia (Fra) & Ingrid Neel (USA)
- Madison Brengle (USA) & Lin Zhu (Chn) v Anna Blinkova (Rus) & Anna-Lena Friedsam (Ger)
COURT 7 – (11.00AM)
- Hayley Carter (USA) & Luisa Stefani (Bra) 8 v Aleksandra Krunic (Ser) & Nina Stojanovic (Ser)
- Tim Puetz (Ger) & Michael Venus (Nzl) 12 v Matthew Ebden (Aus) & John-Patrick Smith (Aus)
- Radu Albot (Mol) & Nikoloz Basilashvili (Geo) v Marton Fucsovics (Hun) & Stefano Travaglia (Ita)
- Wesley Koolhof (Ned) & Jean-Julien Rojer (Ned) 10 v Lloyd Glasspool (Gbr) & Harri Heliovaara (Fin)
- Varvara Gracheva (Rus) & Oksana Kalashnikova (Geo) v Naiktha Bains (Gbr) & Samantha Murray (Gbr)
COURT 8 – (11.00AM)
- Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) & Sania Mirza (Ind) v Alexa Guarachi (Chi) & Desirae Krawczyk (USA) 6
- Rohan Bopanna (Ind) & Divij Sharan (Ind) v Henri Kontinen (Fin) & Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) 11
- Dusan Lajovic (Ser) & Ivan Sabanov (Cro) v Marcel Granollers (Spa) & Horacio Zeballos (Arg) 4
- Sander Arends (Ned) & Matwe Middelkoop (Ned) v Andre Begemann (Ger) & Jurgen Melzer (Aut)
- Filip Krajinovic (Ser) & Matej Sabanov (Cro) v Simone Bolelli (Ita) & Maximo Gonzalez (Arg)
COURT 9 – (11.00AM)
- Vivian Heisen (Ger) & Kveta Peschke (Cze) v Sharon Fichman (Can) & Giuliana Olmos (Mex) 9
- Andrey Golubev (Kaz) & Robin Haase (Ned) v Marcelo Demoliner (Bra) & Santiago Gonzalez (Mex)
- Vitalia Diatchenko (Rus) & Galina Voskoboeva (Kaz) v Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe) & Elise Mertens (Bel) 3
- Greet Minnen (Bel) & Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel) v Amanda Anisimova (USA) & Sloane Stephens (USA)
COURT 10 – (11.00AM)
- Alex De Minaur (Aus) & Matt Reid (Aus) v Luke Johnson (Gbr) & Anton Matusevich (Gbr)
- Andre Goransson (Swe) & Casper Ruud (Nor) v Feliciano Lopez (Spa) & Marc Lopez (Spa)
- Misaki Doi (Jpn) & Viktorija Golubic (Swi) v Ekaterina Alexandrova (Rus) & Yafan Wang (Chn)
- Romain Arneodo (Mon) & Igor Zelenay (Svk) v Ricardas Berankis (Lit) & Dominik Koepfer (Ger)
- Salvatore Caruso (Ita) & Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spa) v Kevin Krawietz (Ger) & Horia Tecau (Rom) 9
COURT 11 – (11.00AM)
- Sander Gille (Bel) & Joran Vliegen (Bel) 13 v Oliver Marach (Aut) & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pak)
- Ariel Behar (Uru) & Gonzalo Escobar (Ecu) v Hugo Nys (Mon) & Jonny O’Mara (Gbr)
- Nathaniel Lammons (USA) & Jack Withrow (USA) v Lukasz Kubot (Pol) & Marcelo Melo (Bra) 8
- Sabrina Santamaria (USA) & Tamara Zidansek (Slo) v Lara Arruabarrena (Spa) & Nadia Podoroska (Arg)
- Asia Muhammad (USA) & Jessica Pegula (USA) 14 v Lauren Davis (USA) & Ankita Raina (Ind)
COURT 12 – (11.00AM)
- Kristyna Pliskova (Cze) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) 16
- James Duckworth (Aus) v Sam Querrey (USA)
- Alexander Bublik (Kaz) v Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) 18
COURT 14 – (11.00AM)
- Aljaz Bedene (Slo) v Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn)
- Pedro Martinez Portero (Spa) v Gael Monfils (Fra) 13
- Ajla Tomljanovic (Aus) v Alize Cornet (Fra)
- Stuart Parker (Gbr) & James Ward (Gbr) v Luke Bambridge (Gbr) & Dominic Inglot (Gbr)
COURT 16 – (11.00AM)
- Christian Garin (Chi) 17 v Marc Polmans (Aus)
- Lorenzo Sonego (Ita) 23 v Daniel Elahi Galan (Col)
- Kaja Juvan (Slo) v Clara Burel (Fra)
COURT 17 – (11.00AM)
- Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) v Paula Badosa Gibert (Spa) 30
- Coco Vandeweghe (USA) v Katerina Siniakova (Cze)
- Taylor Harry Fritz (USA) 31 v Steve Johnson (USA)
- Nao Hibino (Jpn) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Blr)
COURT 18 – (11.00AM)
- Karolina Muchova (Cze) 19 v Camila Giorgi (Ita)
- Kei Nishikori (Jpn) v Jordan Thompson (Aus)
- Marin Cilic (Cro) 32 v Benjamin Bonzi (Fra)
- Emma Raducanu (Gbr) v Marketa Vondrousova (Cze)
Tom Kershaw1 July 2021 10:25
WIMBLEDON 2021: GAUFF RETURNS TO CENTRE COURT
After her spectacular breakthrough run in 2019, Coco Gauff returns to Centre Court this afternoon, where she’ll take on doubles specialist Elena Vesnina. If that feels a long time ago now, here’s a reminder of the teenager’s first-round match, when she defeated one of her idols growing up, Venus Williams.
Tom Kershaw1 July 2021 10:15
Muscle memory for Murray
There was something familiar about Murray’s backhand-lobbed winner against Oscar Otte at Wimbledon yesterday. It’s a trademark shot for Murray, of course, and one he also pulled off to perfection when Great Britain defeated Belgium to win the Davis Cup in 2016.
That was the striking thing about watching Murray on Centre Court last night. Despite everything he has been through since he last Wimbledon appearance in 2017, blink and you’d think that he had travelled back in time. His attitude and technique is the same as it was was when he was World No 1 – and it’s truly remarkable to watch.
Jamie Braidwood1 July 2021 10:05
Murray: There’s life in the old dog yet
Murray also explained how he ended up selecting a few people in the Centre Court crowd to “stare and scream at” as he mounted his comeback. The former World No 1 said there was a fan in a Scotland rugby shirt who caught his attention and was directly on the receiving end of some of his outbursts. “I hope they don’t think it’s weird,” he added – I’m sure the fan absolutely loved it.
“I picked a few people in the crowd and was basically staring at them pretty much after every point and trying to just engage with them,” Murray said. “The crowd created a great atmosphere, but I think I was also engaging them and we were feeding off each other a lot at the end.
“They were just really loud and it was quite close to where I was getting my towel and stuff, and they were always sort of standing up. Then there was the other guy that was down at near where the radio booths were. He was just standing up all the time and getting pumped and he just caught my eye.
“Each time I won a point, and even when I lost points [I] just [was] looking at him. The crowd feels that I guess and feel like you’re feeding off them and stuff. It was nice. It helps. It’s something I have done a number of times over the years in certain matches.
“I hope the fans like it and don’t think that it’s a bit weird that I’m sort of staring at them and screaming at them for like an hour, but they seem to enjoy it, as well.”
Jamie Braidwood1 July 2021 09:40
Murray reacts to sensational win over Otte
Murray thanked the Wimbledon crowd for “firing him up” as he reacted to coming through his five-set epic. The two-time Wimbledon champion said he needed “everyone’s help” to get him over the line on Centre Court.
“I enjoyed the end, the middle part not so much. What an atmosphere to play in at the end. I needed everyone’s help tonight. I played some great shots at the end to finish it but it was a tough match.
“I had to do something differently. I started going for my shots more, started dictating more of the points. I think I played the right way the last couple of sets. The first set and a half was really good, it’s just the bits in the middle I’d like to change.
“I’m obviously tired. I fell over a couple of times, pretty slick courts. Considering everything, I feel all right. Hopefully I come out on Friday and play in another atmosphere like this and hopefully perform well.”
Jamie Braidwood1 July 2021 09:18
Barty, the world No 1, had her resolve tested by Carla Suarez Navarro but passed with flying colours in a lopsided third set to secure her place in the second round. The Australian now faces Anna Blinkova, who was a finalist in the girl’s singles as a junior on Centre Court.
Elsewhere, Britons Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu return after their impressive victories yesterday, while teenager Coco Gauff attempts to emulate her spectacular breakthrough run on grass in 2019. Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, two faces of the men’s next generation, will try to further their claims while Angelique Kerber has a repeat of her 2016 triumph in her sights.
Lawrence Ostlere1 July 2021 09:08