tennis

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek have proved they are only human, showing that even the best players in the world have to figure things out on the fly sometimes, as they fought back to claim victories at the US Open.

Wimbledon champion Swiatek embodied the day’s theme of triumph through adversity, clawing her way back from 5-1 down in the opening set against Anna Kalinskaya before grinding out a 7-6(2), 6-4 win in their third-round match on Saturday.

“I’m happy that I came back and kept … figuring out and problem-solving,” Swiatek said. “For sure, it wasn’t an easy match.”

The world number two was far from her sharpest in a scrappy, error-strewn contest – nine breaks and 67 unforced errors by both players combined painted the picture of a match won through sheer bloody-mindedness rather than sublime shot-making.

Yet Swiatek steadied herself at the key moments, saving four set points in the first set and breaking late in the second to notch her 20th major match win of the season and draw level with defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

“It’s not easy sometimes to find the solutions and to find the exact thing that will help you,” she added.

“You need to have your mind open enough to think about what you can do. Today was a pretty good day, I’d say, in terms of that, because, you know, at 5-1 or something, it’s easy to panic, and I didn’t.”

Her reward is a last-16 meeting with 13th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

World number one Sinner showed similar resolve, surrendering the opening set to 27th seed Denis Shapovalov before rallying to prevail 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-3.

The victory extended the 24-year-old Italian’s unbeaten run at hardcourt Grand Slams to 24 matches, a streak built not just on talent but on his ability to problem-solve when his best tennis abandons him.

“I’m not a machine, you know. I also struggle sometimes,” said Sinner, who was beaten by the Canadian in the opening round of the 2021 Australian Open in their only previous meeting.

“Every match is so difficult. Every challenge is so difficult.

“There are players who have more qualities or potential, and he’s one of them. I just tried to stay there mentally.”

Zverev loses control – again

Not all the top seeds found the same winning formula.

World number three Alexander Zverev, still chasing his first Grand Slam title, saw his tournament end in frustration as Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied from a set down to stun the German 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4.

Zverev grew increasingly rattled as the match slipped away, slamming his racquet in frustration as Auger-Aliassime’s fearless shot-making turned the tide.

The extended weekend’s most intriguing battle of wills is yet to come, as Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff set up a fourth-round showdown that will dominate the headlines in the second week of the tournament.

Four-time major champion Osaka overcame a mid-match wobble to overpower 15th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, while last year’s champion Gauff dismissed Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-1 in her most convincing performance of the week.

Organisers could not have scripted it better for US fans: a showdown between two charismatic former champions six years after their memorable first meeting at Flushing Meadows.

In 2019, defending champion Osaka routed a tearful 15-year-old Gauff 6-3, 6-0, then comforted her opponent and urged her to address fans in the stadium, a display of sportsmanship that delighted the crowd.

“It would be a cool kind of deja vu type of situation, but hopefully it will be a different result,” Gauff said.

Six years after their first meeting in NYC, Coco and Naomi meet again in Round 4 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SzSKAbnCFh

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2025

Even the doubles courts reflected the theme of experience and determination, with 45-year-old Venus Williams and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez earning a 7-6(1), 6-1 win over Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi in their first tournament together.

Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev put an end to the fairytale run of Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong in five sets.

There were three more retirements in the men’s draw on Saturday after the injury-induced exit of sixth seed Ben Shelton the day before.

Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti and 435th-ranked Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi all moved on when their opponents threw in the towel.

Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova beat Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, while Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova and Ukrainian 27th seed Marta Kostyuk both won in three sets.

Ostapenko unleashed a verbal volley at her American opponent for being disrespectful during their second-round match.

Jelena Ostapenko accused Taylor Townsend of lacking “class” during a furious on-court confrontation between the two players after their second-round match at the US Open, where the unseeded American defeated the 25th-seeded Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1.

Ostapenko spoke sharply to Townsend during a cold handshake at the net at the end of the match on Wednesday.

Townsend at one point said “I don’t have to do anything” to Ostapenko, who repeatedly pointed at her opponent. The American eventually walked away and shook the chair umpire’s hand and proceeded to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

“She told me I have no education, no class, and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the US,” Townsend told reporters after the match.

“I said, I’m excited, bring it. I’ve never been the one to back down from anything like that. I just thought that it was really interesting.

“There’s no beef. But again, like you guys saw, I didn’t back down because you’re not going to insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect.

“If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well. That’s just the fact of the matter … it was unfortunate, but, you know, it’s something I can put on my TikTok.

“The thing I’m the most proud of is that I let my racket talk. Because ultimately, I’m the one here sitting in front of you guys moving on to the next round, getting the next cheque, moving on … and that’s what’s the most important.

“She’s packed up and she’s gone. I’m here, and that’s the only thing that matters.”

‘Very disrespectful’

Ostapenko said in a post on Instagram that she had been angered by Townsend’s failure to acknowledge a net cord in her favour during the match.

The 28-year-old also accused Townsend of breaching etiquette by starting her pre-match warm-up at the net.

“Today after the match I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry. But her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry,” Ostapenko wrote.

“There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow and it was first time ever that this happened to me on tour.

“If she plays in her homeland it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants.”

Ostapenko’s explanation failed to impress Townsend when she was informed of the Latvian’s remarks.

“I mean, it’s sports,” Townsend said. “I feel like people have gotten a little bit soft. I’m not going to lie. It’s sports. People talk trash. You know, people say things. Whatever, people get mad.

“Everyone has a right to feel how they feel. The problem is, don’t push your expectations on me. If you expect for someone to apologise and they don’t and you get upset about it, that’s your fault, not mine.”

Ostapenko received words of support from world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who revealed after her late-night match that she had spoken with the Latvian following the incident.

“I have to say that she’s nice,” Sabalenka said of Ostapenko. “Just sometimes she can lose control over her emotions, which is pretty tough.

“I’m pretty sure, looking back, she’s not happy with her behaviour.”

Former US Open champion Coco Gauff has stumbled into the second round of the tennis Grand Slam, squeezing past Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in an error-strewn three-hour battle.

Third seed Gauff punched her ticket to the second round on Tuesday, after overcoming a litany of self-inflicted errors to win 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 7-5 in a match that lasted 2hr 57min.

“It was a tough match. Ajla was tough; she was getting so many balls back,” 2023 winner Gauff said after her win.

“It wasn’t the best but I’m happy to get through to the next round.”

Gauff, the reigning French Open champion, had prepared for the US Open by shaking up her coaching team on the eve of the tournament in an effort to fix her shaky service game, replacing coach Matt Daly with Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics specialist.

However , on the evidence of Tuesday night, the 21-year-old American still has plenty to work on if she is to have any realistic chance of mounting a deep run in New York.

Gauff finished with a whopping 59 unforced errors and 10 double faults, and her serve was broken six times. She heads to the second round knowing that a more ruthless opponent than Tomljanovic might have punished those mistakes.

As it was, Tomljanovic had her own problems, suffering eight breaks of serve and making 56 unforced errors before bowing out.

Gauff admitted that her unsettled build-up to the tournament had been draining.

“Honestly it’s been really tough, mentally exhausting,” Gauff said. “But I’m trying. It wasn’t the best today, but it was an improvement on last week [in Cincinnati]; I’m just trying to improve with each match.”

There were no such problems for the reigning Wimbledon champions Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner, though, as they recorded emphatic victories.

World number one Sinner began his bid for back-to-back US Open titles by waltzing to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 win over Czech world number 89 Vit Kopriva, needing just 1hr 38min to advance to the next round.

“It feels great to be back here. Obviously it’s a very special tournament,” said Sinner, who is attempting to become the first man to repeat as US Open champion since Roger Federer won five in a row from 2004-2008.

Sinner, 24, faces Alexei Popyrin in the third round.

“I’m very happy that I’m healthy again,” said the Italian, who was forced to retire from last week’s Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner’s blistering start on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court was matched by Poland’s Swiatek, who was similarly emphatic in a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Colombia’s Emiliana Arango.

The 24-year-old from Poland was always in control against 84th-ranked Arango, overwhelming the Colombian with some powerful groundstrokes mixed with some deft work at the net.

The win makes Swiatek the first woman in history to win 65 consecutive WTA-level first round matches, surpassing Monica Seles’s previous record of 64.

The six-time Grand Slam singles champion – a winner in New York in 2022 – will face the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens in the second round.

IGA SWIATEK WORLD RECORD‼️

Iga Swiatek breaks Monica Seles’ record for most consecutive opening matches won in the Open Era. pic.twitter.com/iS9VFjfSLB

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2025

Meanwhile , two-time former champion Naomi Osaka had no difficulty in dispatching Belgium’s Greet Minnen 6-3, 6-4.

The Japanese former world number one revelled in returning to a venue that she regards as a home from home.

“Whenever I play here the atmosphere feels like home, and it is home for me,” said Osaka, who is seeded 23rd and will next face American Hailey Baptiste.

In other women’s draw results on Tuesday, Ukrainian 27th seed Marta Kostyuk took down Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-4, 6-4. Eighth seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States ousted Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 6-2.

Brazil’s 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Britain’s Sonay Kartal. But there was disappointment for rising French star Lois Boisson. Boisson, who captivated her homeland with a run to the semifinals of the French Open in June, exited in three sets to Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, losing 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

Elsewhere, 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti outlasted big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 6-4 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium and will face Belgian David Goffin.

After Daniil Medvedev’s chaotic exit on Sunday, Marin Cilic became the latest former champion to be knocked out as 23rd seed Alexander Bublik beat the Croat 6-4 6-1 6-4 on Grandstand, while American 14th seed Tommy Paul made short work of Denmark’s Elmer Moller 6-3 6-3 6-1 to book a second-round clash with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

Third seed Alexander Zverev closed out the evening’s action on the main showcourt by beating Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 6-2 7-6(4) 6-4 to set up a meeting with Jacob Fearnley.

NEW YORK — When the court lights flicker on at the U.S. Open, tennis stars shine under illumination designed to cut light pollution.

The wedge-shaped lamps around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows direct light onto the players without spewing it into the surrounding skies.

The stadium complex is the only professional sports venue certified by a group that’s trying to preserve the night sky around the world. Across North America and Canada, schools and local parks have also swapped out their lights on baseball fields, running tracks and other recreation grounds to preserve their view of the stars and protect local wildlife.

Night lights can disrupt bird migration and confuse nocturnal critters like frogs and fireflies. Lights on sports fields are especially bright and cool, and often cast their glare into neighborhoods.

In renovations over the last decade, the U.S. Tennis Assn. swapped metal halide bulbs for shielded LED lights. The complex’s 17 tournament courts — including Arthur Ashe Stadium — and five practice courts were approved as dark sky-friendly last year.

USTA officials wanted the best lighting possible on their courts, which also happened to be friendly to dark skies. Their lighting company suggested striking a balance that would satisfy crowds and TV crews while cutting down spillover into the surrounding environment.

“This is an international event that has an impact on the community,” said the USTA’s managing director of capital projects and engineering, Chuck Jettmar. “Let’s minimize that and make sure that everybody’s happy with it.”

Designing lights for dark skies

U.S. Open qualifying matches last week were punctuated by players grunting, crickets chirping and audiences cheering. Rows of lights stood like sentries above, adorned with flat visors that guided the glow onto the action.

The lights at Flushing Meadows glow at a quarter of their brightness when the courts are rented for play during the year. They’re approved by DarkSky International, a nonprofit that gives similar designations to cities and national parks. The group widened its focus to include sports arenas in recent years and has certified more than 30 venues since 2019 — including high school football fields and youth soccer fields.

“We live in a world where we need to engage with one another in the nighttime environment, and that’s OK,” said DarkSky spokesperson Drew Reagan. “That’s a beautiful thing and there’s a way to do that responsibly.”

The organization typically approves proposals at sports fields before any light fixtures are installed or replaced. Once construction is complete, a representative measures the glow and glare against a set of guidelines that benefit the night.

Renovating a field with dark skies in mind can cost about 5% to 10% more than traditional sports lighting, according to James Brigagliano, who runs DarkSky’s outdoor sports lighting program. Venues may require a few extra fixtures since the light shining from them is more targeted.

Most arenas make the change during scheduled maintenance and renovation, working with sports lighting company Musco. The company lights more than 3,000 venues a year, including college football stadiums, tennis courts and rail yards.

At Superstition Shadows Park in Apache Junction, Ariz., kids play T-ball and baseball in the evenings, when the darkness offers a brief respite from the summer heat. The city’s parks and recreation department replaced its already-aging lights with shielded, dark sky-friendly fixtures last year with federal and local government funding.

People venture to Apache Junction partly because “they can get out of the city and still see stars,” said the city’s parks and recreation director, Liz Langenbach. The city is at the edge of the Phoenix metro area, bordered by rolling mountains and sweeping deserts.

“The choices we make on lighting, I think, affect all of that,” Langenbach said.

At Université Sainte-Anne in Canada, students run on a new track and soccer field outfitted with lights that DarkSky approved last year. Researchers at the university study native, nocturnal animals like the northern saw-whet owl.

The lights are “good for everyone,” said university spokesperson Rachelle LeBlanc. “For tourism, for our students, for our neighbors, for the animals that we share our campus with.”

How to cut light pollution

Night lights harm the surrounding environment no matter how shielded they are. DarkSky-approved fields still allow a small fraction of their light to be pointed up because it’s necessary to keep track of flying balls.

“You can have the absolute best, most carefully designed stadium lighting in the world, and you’re still creating light pollution,” said Travis Longcore, an urban light pollution expert at UCLA.

The U.S. Open courts are side-by-side with bright lights from Manhattan and Queens — so they can only darken a slice of the sky. But DarkSky says every light fixture makes a difference, and one professional arena can influence others.

“I’m not saying we as humans have to turn all the lights off,” said Longcore. “I think you have to make improvements from where you are.”

Ramakrishnan writes for the Associated Press. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Djokovic, who hasn’t won a Grand Slam title in two years, was far from his best against Learner Tien in the opening round at Flushing Meadows.

Novak Djokovic delivered a lesson in Grand Slam tenacity to Learner Tien in the first round of the US Open, as he battled past the American teenager 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 and launched his latest quest for a record 25th major title.

Competing in his first singles match since reaching the Wimbledon semifinals last month, and swapping the whites for a sleek all-black outfit, the 38-year-old Serb fought through physical issues on Sunday to secure his 80th win at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Victory also meant Djokovic became the first player since the sport turned professional in 1968 to win 75 straight opening-round matches at the Grand Slams, with 55 of those wins coming in straight sets.

“It was a strange kind of match,” said Djokovic, who looked to be struggling with an injury midway through the match.

“The first set was 20 minutes, and then the second one was one hour and 20, quite the opposite sets we played. It was key for me to hold my nerve in the second set and clinch it in a tie-break.

“After that, I started feeling better. I can always do better, but it’s a great way to start this year’s campaign.”

The seventh seed shrugged off a time violation to consolidate an early break at the start of the contest, and a heated debate with the chair umpire shortly afterwards spurred him on to wrap up the opening set in double-quick time.

The 19-year-old Tien, on a near-impossible mission to hand Djokovic his first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open, had his chances to draw level during a draining second set but crumbled in the tie-break.

After treatment for a right foot blister, Djokovic produced heavy groundstrokes from the baseline to break for a 3-1 lead in the third set. The four-time New York champion never looked back from there, booking a match-up with American Zachary Svajda.

“Good thing is that I have two days off. It’s slightly a concern. I don’t have an injury or anything. I just struggled to stay in long exchanges and recover after points,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam title since the 2023 US Open.

Ex-US Open champ suffers meltdown in a third-set flashpoint after an errant photographer’s action caused a point replay.

France’s Benjamin Bonzi sent 13th seed Daniil Medvedev crashing out of the US Open in a stormy late-night thriller that boiled over into chaos following an extraordinary third-set meltdown by the Russian.

Bonzi advanced to the second round after holding his nerve to win 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 0-6, 6-4 in three hours and 45 minutes on Sunday night at Flushing Meadows in New York.

The match exploded into drama in the third set as Bonzi served at advantage on match point, leading 5-4 after winning the opening two sets.

After faulting on his first serve, Bonzi prepared to serve again when chair umpire Greg Allensworth suddenly halted play after a photographer mistakenly walked onto the court.

Allensworth called for time after shouting, “Not now, get off the court, please”, before awarding a new first serve to Bonzi on the grounds of a “delay caused by outside interference”.

That prompted an incandescent reaction from Medvedev, who sprinted across the court to remonstrate angrily with Allensworth, accusing the umpire of seeking to end the match early.

“Are you a man? Are you a man?” the 2021 US Open champion asked Allensworth, before shouting into a courtside microphone: “He wants to go home, guys. He doesn’t like to be here; he gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”

Medvedev then turned to the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd, waving his arms wildly to encourage them to voice their displeasure.

As deafening catcalls and jeers rained down, play was held up for more than six minutes before Bonzi finally got the opportunity to serve for the match once again.

With the Frenchman clearly rattled, Medvedev saved match point and then went on to force a third-set tie-break, which he duly won to keep the match alive.

Medvedev recovers, then falls at the final hurdle

Bonzi appeared to wilt in the fourth set, Medvedev winning 6-0 to send it to a decider.

But Bonzi showed great resolve in the fifth set, twice recovering from going a break down before breaking Medvedev’s serve to seal victory.

“It was crazy. I may have got some new fans but also some new non-fans,” Bonzi said afterwards.

“The energy was wild. Thanks to all those who were booing that gave me energy in the fifth.”

Bonzi admitted he had lost composure during Medvedev’s third-set antics.

“I never experienced something like that. Maybe we wait five minutes before the match point, and it was so difficult to play,” he said.

“I tried to stay calm and stay in the match, but it was not easy.”

Medvedev, meanwhile, slumped to his seat after the defeat, smashing a racquet violently in frustration.

Medvedev becomes the first former champion to exit this year’s tournament, leaving Flushing Meadows after a disappointing year at the majors, during which he managed to reach the second round just once.

Sunday’s incident was reminiscent of Medvedev’s 2019 match on the same court, when fans booed him for his antics and he later taunted the crowd in his post-match interview, saying the jeers gave him energy. Medvedev had snatched the towel from a ball person during the match and was given a code violation by umpire Damien Dumusois. He then threw his racket in the direction of Dumusois, barked something at him and later flashed his middle finger next to his forehead as he walked past the umpire’s chair, actions that led to him being fined $9,000 for that match.

The defending champ pulls out with illness, raising questions about his preparations before next Sunday’s US Open.

Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open after top seed Jannik Sinner retired as he was feeling unwell, raising concerns about the Italian’s fitness just days before he is due to begin the defence of his US Open title in New York.

The Spanish second seed snapped the world number one’s 26-match winning streak on hardcourts when his ailing rival signalled he could no longer continue while trailing 5-0 in the first set of the final on Monday.

“This is not the way that I want to win trophies, I just have to say sorry, I can understand how you must feel now,” Alcaraz told Sinner during the presentation ceremony after capturing his third Masters 1000 crown of the season following his success in Monte Carlo and Rome.

“As I said many times, you are a true champion and I am sure from these situations, you are going to come back even stronger, as you always do. That’s what true champions do.”

Sinner had been bidding to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2015 to win back-to-back Cincinnati titles, but he looked uncomfortable early on in the sweltering conditions.

He called it quits after 23 minutes of play.

“I’m super, super sorry to disappoint you,” Sinner told the crowd. “Yesterday I didn’t feel great. I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse.

“I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more, so I’m very sorry.”

US Open concerns for Sinner

It was also unclear whether Sinner would be fit enough to partner with Katerina Siniakova in the revamped mixed doubles event at Flushing Meadows, which is due to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Singles action at the hardcourt major begins on Sunday.

Monday’s clash had been expected to be a dress rehearsal before a potential final showdown between the world’s two best players in New York, with the duo having faced off in the title match at the last two majors.

Alcaraz came from two sets down and saved three championship points to triumph at Roland Garros, while Sinner emerged victorious at Wimbledon.

Monday’s result extended Alcaraz’s head-to-head record over Sinner to 9–5, including a 6–2 edge on hardcourts.

Venus and Serena Williams were a pretty decent doubles team over the years.

The sisters from Compton won 14 majors and three Olympic gold medals as a duo.

But it turns out that the older sister was being held back by her younger sibling — at least that’s what Venus Williams joked on Monday after winning her first match with new doubles partner Hailey Baptiste during the first round of the D.C. Open.

“I think, from the first point, I could see that we were going to be a good team,” Williams said during her on-court interview following the American duo’s 6-3, 6-1 victory against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue. “We just should have started playing earlier, years ago, right? I think Serena was just in the way.”

After the capacity crowd of around 3,000 roared with laughter at the quip, Williams smiled and waved to the camera: “Sorry, Serena.”

Williams, 45, had every right to be giddy after a successful return to the court following a 16-month hiatus, during which she underwent a medical procedure to remove fibroids from her uterus last July.

“It’s just nice to be able to play,” Williams said during her postmatch news conference with Baptiste. “Where I am at this year is so much different than where I was at last year. It’s night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago.”

She added: “Tennis is a game. It’s our life. It’s literally our obsession. … But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if your health is not there. So it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.”

Williams’ comeback is just getting started. The seven-time major winner and one-time Olympic gold medalist is scheduled to face Peyton Stearns of the United States in the first round of the women’s singles tournament at 4:30 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

Later this week, Williams and Baptiste will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Cristina Bucsa/Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Taylor Townsend/Shuai Zhang in the women’s doubles quarterfinals.

As for Serena Williams, the 23-time major singles champion hasn’t played since “evolving away from tennis” following the 2022 U.S. Open, where she and Venus lost in the first round in doubles and she advanced to the third round in singles before losing to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in her final match.

“I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here,” Venus Williams said of her sister while speaking to reporters Sunday. “Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

First Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final to take break from tennis as tours take their toll.

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur is taking a break from competitive tennis, the 30-year-old said in a social media post.

Tunisia’s Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, has struggled with her form in recent months, failing to get past the third round of a major this year.

The two-time Wimbledon finalist’s campaign came to a disappointing end at the All England Club last month as she retired from her first-round clash against Viktoriya Tomova, unable to continue after a long medical timeout.

The former world number two suffers from asthma and experienced breathing difficulties at this year’s Australian Open.

Jabeur, often called the “minister of happiness” for her cheerful personality, said she was not feeling truly happy on the court.

“For the past two years, I’ve been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges. But deep down, I haven’t truly felt happy on the court for some time now,” she said in a statement.

“Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it’s time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living.”

Jabeur, married to former fencer Karim Kamoun, has also been open about her wish to start a family.

“Thank you to all my fans for understanding. Your support and love mean the world to me. I carry it with me always,” she added.

The British player said she had suffered “19 months of lost time and emotional distress”, and that her reputation had been damaged as a result of the case.

She returned to the tour in April 2024 and has played mostly on the ITF World Tour since.

Earnings for doubles players are meagre, although Moore did make it into the main draw for Wimbledon and the US Open last year, as well as for the Australian Open this January.

But following a hearing in March, this ruling from Cas means she will not be free to play again until the start of the 2028 season.

“After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the Cas panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat,” Cas said in a media release.

“The panel concluded that Ms Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (Anti-Doping Rule Violation) was not intentional. The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld and the decision rendered by the Independent Tribunal is set aside.”

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash considers how the future of men’s tennis could look after Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz to win the grass-court Grand Slam title.

WATCH MORE: Sinner storms to first Wimbledon title against Alcaraz – highlights

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Top seed Sinner defeats Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final to win his first Wimbledon and fourth Grand Slam title.

Wimbledon, United Kingdom – It has taken Jannik Sinner just five weeks to exact revenge against Carlos Alcaraz in their blockbuster tennis rivalry and win the men’s singles final at Wimbledon 2025.

The top-seeded Italian overcame the emotional and physical toll of losing the French Open final to Alcaraz by defeating the Spaniard 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Sunday.

Sinner turned the tables on the defending champion by overcoming a loss in the first set – and some early nerves – to win his fourth Grand Slam trophy and first on the famous Centre Court at SW19.

Two-time champion Alcaraz began the final with a strong service game, pouncing on Sinner’s nervous start in his first appearance in a Wimbledon final. The 22-year-old went on to break the world number one’s serve and wrap up the first set in 45 minutes, deploying a serve-and-volley style strategy to win the crucial points.

Sinner dug deep in the second set and was back to his ice-cool self as he applied the brakes on Alcaraz’s attempt for a three-peat of titles at Wimbledon.

The quality of tennis went up a notch as the 23-year-old matched Alcaraz shot for shot and left the crowd gasping at every other point.

Sinner didn’t waste much time in breaking back against the defending champion by deploying an excellent service game to keep Alcaraz at bay, altering his speed and delivery to ensure his opponent scurried for every point. He was soon on level terms.

The third set was, by far, the highlight of the final as both players threw everything at each other with sensational court coverage, scintillating aces, sublime drop shots and even a “tweener”.

It was end-to-end action up until the eighth game, when Alcaraz slipped up by the barest of margins but ended up having his serve broken. Sinner wasted no time to bring out his ruthless streak and finish off Alcaraz’s chances in the set.

Leading the final two sets to one, Sinner stepped on the gas in the fourth and ensured there would be no late Alcaraz comeback as so memorably occurred in the French Open final on June 8.

He broke Alcaraz in the third game, and the stoic Italian showed a glimpse of emotion as he looked towards his team in the stands.

Crowd favourite Alcaraz had most of the capacity crowd on Centre Court behind him, including King Felipe of Spain, but it was not enough to help him stay in the final for one more set as Sinner sealed the trophy with a faultless service game.

‘Dream of a dream’

With joy and disbelief etched on his face, and with the match now over, Sinner raised both arms with a jolt before squatting down on the court to pat the grass with the other hand, all the while hiding the emotions on his face.

Not only did he avenge his French Open final loss with a fourth major trophy, Sinner also moved to within one Grand Slam title of his great contemporary Alcaraz.

The two-time Australian Open champion has become the first man from Italy to win the Wimbledon title, a feat he described as akin to “a dream of a dream”.

“I had never thought of being in this position [to win Wimbledon] growing up so far away from here,” an unusually emotional Sinner said on court after the match.

“I had a very tough loss in Paris, but I tried to understand what I did wrong and kept working [hard].”

Sinner has now won Grand Slam titles on two of the three surfaces and said he was happy to have held his nerve while serving for the championship in the fourth set. Alcaraz, ever the gracious opponent in defeat as in victory, kept up his applause for Sinner even after returning to his chair after losing the match. But he said it was a difficult loss.

“I love playing here and I’m going to be back for sure,” the Spaniard told his fans on Centre Court.

Both players walked off to a loud round of applause after providing yet another enthralling glimpse into another “golden era” of tennis.

Sinner and Alcaraz have won all seven Grand Slam finals since the beginning of 2024, and it will only be a matter of eight weeks until tennis fans can hope to see the next instalment of their flourishing rivalry at the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.

Wimbledon, United Kingdom – Expectations will run high, and so will the temperatures in southwest London, when Carlos Alcaraz steps on Centre Court to defend his Wimbledon title against Jannik Sinner on Sunday.

The next instalment of an enthralling rivalry between the top two players in men’s tennis will come under the limelight once again at one of the biggest stages in the game – the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – on a hot afternoon in the United Kingdom’s capital.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Alcaraz expects to be pushed to the limit by world number one Sinner in a meeting that has already drawn comparisons with the great Wimbledon finals of the modern era.

“I expect to be on the limit, to be on the line [in the final],” Alcaraz said while speaking to the media moments after Sinner’s near-faultless semifinal 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic on Friday.

A few hours earlier, the Spaniard had booked a spot in his third consecutive Wimbledon final with a resilient performance against Taylor Fritz, which brought him a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win.

It will be the 13th on-court meeting between the two, and their second Grand Slam final in the space of five weeks.

Their duel in the French Open final lasted five hours and 29 minutes and added fuel to the fiery-yet-friendly rivalry between the young tennis stars.

🚨 THE REMATCH IS HAPPENING 🚨@janniksin will face @carlosalcaraz in the Wimbledon final on Sunday!@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JedFZHXoZL

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 11, 2025

A French Open final repeat on the cards?

Alcaraz knows his opponent all too well and expects nothing short of another spectacle.

“Whatever Jannik has is because he has learned from everything – he just gets better after every match, every day,” Alcaraz said of the top seed.

The Spaniard said he expected Sinner to be in better shape mentally and physically for the Wimbledon final, but that he was not looking forward to another hours-long match.

“I just hope not to be five and a half hours on court again. But if I have to, I will.”

Meanwhile, Sinner – the tall, stoic and speedy Italian who stands between Alcaraz and a chance to become only the fifth man to win three straight Wimbledon titles – believes beating the holder will be “very tough”.

“I’m very happy to share the court with Carlos once again. It’s going to be difficult, I know that,” Sinner said on Friday.

The Australian Open champion said he loves playing Grand Slam finals – Sunday’s will be his fifth in two years.

“I always try to put myself in these kinds of situations that I really love. Sundays at every tournament are very special.”

The 23-year-old from northern Italy termed Alcaraz as the favourite, given his record at the tournament and on grass courts.

“He is the favourite. He won here the last two times. He’s again in the final. It’s very tough to beat him on grass, but I like these challenges.”

‘Fire vs ice’

Out of the 12 occasions that both players have met, four have been at Grand Slams, but this is only their second meeting in the final.

The pair’s only other meeting at Wimbledon came in the fourth round in 2022, when Sinner won 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3. Alcaraz, however, brushed aside the reference by saying that both men are changed players from what they were three years ago.

“We’re completely different players on grass and on all surfaces.”

The 22-year-old from Murcia, in southeastern Spain, will be buoyed by his 5-0 record against Sinner in the past two years.

Despite Alcaraz’s success against his nemesis, it is Sinner who has consistently topped the men’s rankings by racking up regular wins and points on the ATP circuit.

All things considered, there is not much that separates the two ahead of their highly anticipated match.

Just ask Djokovic.

While the 24-time Grand Slam champion picked Alcaraz due to his past success at Wimbledon, Djokovic predicted “a very close match-up, like they had in Paris” when asked to choose a winner.

“I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos because of the two titles he’s won here and the way he’s playing and the confidence he has right now, but it’s just a slight advantage, because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well.”

It is not just their contrasting styles of play – Sinner relies on his baseline game and shot speed, while Alcaraz likes to cover the court with his nimble footwork and excellent coverage – but also their on-court personalities that set the two apart while making them an engaging pair to watch.

Before the French Open final, Alcaraz said in an interview that a “fire vs ice” analogy fits them perfectly.

“I guess you can say I am like fire because of the way I react on court and show emotions, while Jannik remains calm,” the Spaniard said with his trademark smile.

In the shadow of the greats

For the fans, though, the pair offer another chance to pick sides and look forward to tennis tournaments that could pit the two against each other.

“It’s a dream final,” Catherine Shaw, a tennis fan who watched both the men’s semifinals on Centre Court, told Al Jazeera.

“They are the next big thing when it comes to tennis rivalries, so it’s exciting times for tennis fans.”

Stepping out in the shadows of some of the greatest players and rivals – Stefan Edberg vs Ivan Lendl, Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe, Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer – the young players will have big shoes to fill.

Both are aware of the weight their match-up carries but refuse to be compared with their heroes just yet.

“I think the things that we are doing right now are great for tennis,” Alcaraz said ahead of the final.

“We just fight to engage more people to watch tennis. We’re fighting for tennis to be bigger, as all the tennis players are doing.

“For me, it’s sharing the big tournaments with Jannik, or just playing in the finals of the tournaments… We’re still really young.

“I hope to keep doing the right things for the next five to 10 years, so our rivalry is on the same table as those players.”

Swiatek, a former world No.1, did not drop a game in the women’s singles final to claim her sixth Grand Slam title.

Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the most one-sided women’s Wimbledon final for 114 years to seal her sixth Grand Slam.

The Polish eighth seed, who has now won all six major finals in which she has competed, was in charge from the first point and wrapped up victory in just 57 minutes on Saturday.

It is the first time a woman has won a final at Wimbledon without dropping a game since 1911.

And Swiatek, 24, is just the second player in the Open era to win a major title without losing a game in the final after Steffi Graf beat Natalia Zvereva at the 1988 French Open.

Swiatek, who reached the final of the grass-court tournament at Bad Homburg two weeks ago, has looked increasingly strong while the top seeds tumbled at the All England Club.

She lost just one set in her run to the final.

But US 13th-seed Anisimova was expected to prove a stern test after ousting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.

Anisimova made a nervous start in hot conditions on Centre Court.

She was broken in the first game, soon slipping 2-0 behind, and the signs looked ominous.

She appeared to have found her feet in her next service game, but the tenacious Swiatek refused to give ground and recovered to move 3-0 ahead when Anisimova double-faulted.

At 4-0 down, Anisimova was facing a first-set wipe-out, but she was powerless to halt the rampant Swiatek, who sealed the first set 6-0 in just 25 minutes.

The American won just six points on her serve in the first set and committed 14 unforced errors.

An increasingly desperate Anisimova could not stem the tide in the second set, double-faulting again in the third game to give her opponent game point and then netting a backhand.

The crowd got behind her, but to no avail as Swiatek kept up her level, serving out to win and celebrating before consoling her devastated opponent.

The distraught Anisimova left the court briefly before returning for the trophy presentation.

Swiatek is Wimbledon’s eighth consecutive first-time women’s champion since Serena Williams won her seventh and final title at the All England Club in 2016.

Who: Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
What: Wimbledon 2025 men’s singles final
Where: Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom
When: Sunday, July 13, starting at not before 4pm local (15:00 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 1:30pm local (12:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.

For Italy’s Jannik Sinner, Sunday’s Wimbledon final offers a chance of redemption; for Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, it is an opportunity to join an elite club of men who have won the title three years in succession.

There are many other plot lines, but above all, the showdown will help to cement a rivalry that could dominate tennis for a decade.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the final.

Who did Alcaraz and Sinner beat in their semifinals?

The Spaniard overcame American Taylor Fritz in a four-set win in the first semifinal on Friday.

Sinner then overcame Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the second last-four clash.

When did Alcaraz and Sinner last meet?

The pair met in a mesmeric clash last month in the longest-ever French Open final. The match, which 22-year-old Alcaraz won at Roland-Garros, is being touted as one of the greatest of all time.

Between them, Alcaraz and Sinner, a year older than his Spanish opponent, have shared the last six Grand Slam titles.

What happened in the French Open final between Alcaraz and Sinner?

The Spaniard came back from two sets down and saved three match points on his way to a fifth Grand Slam title, in the process taking his head-to-head record over Sinner to 8-4, including winning all of the last four.

It was a painful defeat for world number one Sinner, but he has not had to wait long to try to set the record straight.

2 – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are just the second pair in the Open Era to meet in the Men’s Singles final at Wimbledon and Roland Garros in a season, after Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (2006-08). Rivalry. #Wimbledon | @Wimbledon @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/NsfMc7Tw2Y

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 11, 2025

What titles has Sinner won?

Sinner’s three Grand Slam titles have all come on hard courts, two in Melbourne and one in New York.

What titles has Alcaraz won?

Alcaraz’s major titles have come on all the sport’s surfaces, suggesting a more complete game.

The Spaniard, who is on a 24-match winning streak, has claimed both the Wimbledon and French Open titles twice, while also lifting the winner’s trophy at the US Open.

What chance does Sinner have against Alcaraz on grass?

Sinner’s performances against Ben Shelton in the quarters and Djokovic in the semis show just how suited his game is to grass.

His laser-like ground strokes, powerful serve and his ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye were all on display, and Alcaraz knows he faces a challenge every bit as tough as Roland-Garros on Centre Court on Sunday.

Have Alcaraz and Sinner met on grass before?

The only other time they have met on grass was at Wimbledon in 2022 when Sinner won their last-16 clash in four sets.

Who else has won a Wimbledon three-peat?

Should Alcaraz prevail, he would join Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic as the only men to win the Wimbledon title three years in a row, and he would also surpass Nadal’s two Wimbledon crowns.

How have Alcaraz and Sinner fared at Wimbledon 2025

Alcaraz flirted with a shock first-round defeat against Italian Fabio Fognini, needing five sets. Sinner trailed by two sets against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round after hurting his elbow, but was given a reprieve when the Bulgarian retired injured.

Sinner, the third Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final after Matteo Berrettini in 2021 and Jasmine Paolini last year, has looked unhindered by his elbow despite wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm in his last two matches.

“I think we are handling this small problem at the moment very well,” he said.

Stat attack – Alcaraz

Alcaraz, at 22 years 56 days, has become the third-youngest player in the Open Era to reach consecutive men’s singles finals at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros, after Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal (22 years 20 days).

Stat attack – Sinner

Only three players in the Open Era have conceded fewer games en route to a men’s singles final at Wimbledon than Sinner (56) – Roger Federer (52, 2006), Jimmy Connors (54, 1975) and John McEnroe (54, 1982).

How much will the Wimbledon men’s singles winner be paid?

This year’s winner will take home $4.05m, and the runner-up will leave with $2.05m. Last year’s prize was $3.64m.

What time does the men’s singles final start?

The start time for the final on Sunday will be fluid depending on the duration of matches earlier in the day.

The organisers, however, issued the advisory that the match will not start before 4pm at Wimbledon (15:00 GMT).

Jannik Sinner has crushed Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals to set up the latest installment of his gripping rivalry with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final.

The world number one is through to his fourth successive Grand Slam title match – and his first at the All England  Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – after a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 demolition on Centre Court on Friday.

The 23-year-old will be desperate to avenge his painful French Open defeat against world number two Alcaraz after squandering three championship points in last month’s epic Roland-Garros final.

Sinner and Alcaraz are the undisputed new kings of men’s tennis, claiming the past six majors between them.

Defeat on a baking Centre Court means seven-time champion Djokovic, who was apparently not 100 percent fit, must wait for another shot at a record 25th Grand Slam title.

It is the first time he has failed to reach the Wimbledon final since 2017, and he has come up short in his bid to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles.

“It’s a tournament I always watched when I was young on the television, and I would have never imagined that I can play here, you know in the finals, so it was amazing,” said Sinner.

“From my side, I served very well today. I felt great on court; I was moving really well today.

“We saw in the third set that he was a bit injured. He’s been in a very difficult situation, but I tried to stay calm, to play the best tennis I can.”

Italy’s Sinner was still wearing a white protective sleeve after injuring his elbow in a nasty fall during a fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov.

Djokovic also came into the contest, watched by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, with questions over his fitness after tumbling to the turf late in his quarterfinal victory against Flavio Cobolli.

Top seed Sinner broke Djokovic in the third game, unleashing a barrage of relentlessly accurate groundstrokes to wear the sixth seed down.

The Serb, 38, wilted under the onslaught in the ninth game as Sinner converted his third set point.

Sinner did not let up at the start of the second set, breaking for a 2-0 lead to tighten his grip on the match.

Djokovic was struggling to gain a foothold but held for 3-1 to roars from the crowd, desperate to witness a classic battle.

Chants of “Nole” rang around the stadium as fans tried to lift Djokovic. But he was powerless to prevent Sinner from opening up a 5-2 lead.

He saved a set point on his own serve, but that merely delayed the inevitable as Sinner wrapped up the set with only 69 minutes on the clock.

Djokovic received treatment from the trainer between sets on the upper part of his left leg, apparently on the area he hurt in the match against Cobolli.

He broke for the first time in the match as he suddenly found a new gear, but was pegged back to 3-2 and roared in frustration at the changeover.

Struggling physically, Djokovic was broken again as Sinner sealed victory with his fourth match point.

Sinner, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion, returned from a doping ban in May, losing the Italian Open final to Alcaraz before his collapse in the Roland-Garros showpiece.

Now he has a chance for revenge against the man who has won the past two Wimbledon titles and is the current top dog on grass.

“It is a huge honour for me to share the court once again with Carlos,” he said. “We try to push ourselves to the limit. He is for sure one of the players I look up to.

“I love watching him. I think you all guys agree on that, what kind of talent he is. But hopefully, it’s going to be a good match like the last one.”

Sinner trails 8-4 in their head-to-head meetings, losing the past five matches.

The Italian can take heart from beating Alcaraz in the Wimbledon fourth round in 2022, his rival’s last defeat at the All England Club.

The world number 12 reaches maiden Grand Slam final with a tough three-set win over top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.

An inspired Amanda Anisimova has torn up the script and soared into her maiden Wimbledon final by outclassing world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 with a display of fierce determination and fearless shot-making.

Anisimova’s victory on Thursday extended her win-loss record over her equally big-hitting rival to 6-3 and kept alive American hopes of a third women’s Grand Slam champion this year after Madison Keys won the Australian Open and Coco Gauff the French Open.

“This doesn’t feel real right now, honestly,” a beaming Anisimova said in an on-court interview.

“Aryna is such a tough competitor, and I was absolutely dying out there. Yeah, I don’t know how I pulled it off. I mean, she’s such an incredible competitor, and she’s an inspiration to me and I’m sure so many other people.

“We’ve had so many tough battles. To come out on top today and be in the final of Wimbledon is so incredibly special. The atmosphere was incredible. I know she’s the number one, but a lot of people were cheering for me. Huge thanks to everyone.”

On a Centre Court where the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), Sabalenka twice rushed to the aid of ill fans by supplying bottles of cold water and an ice pack before she cracked under pressure from her opponent in the 10th game.

The 23-year-old Anisimova, playing in her first major semifinal since her 2019 French Open run as a gifted teenager, made her opponent sweat for every point and wrapped up the opening set when Sabalenka produced a double fault.

With her back against the wall, Sabalenka roared back like a tiger, the animal that has become her totem, and broke for a 4-3 lead en route to levelling up the match at one set apiece after some sloppy errors from 13th-seeded Anisimova.

Having matched each other’s decibel levels in a cacophony of grunting, the duo swapped breaks at the start of the decider, but Anisimova pounced again when Sabalenka sent a shot long and went on to book the final with either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic.

Anisimova, who took a mental health break in 2023, expressed disbelief in making the final of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon.

“It’s been a year turnaround since coming back and to be in this spot, … I mean, it’s not easy, and so many people dream of competing on this incredible court,” Anisimova added.

“It’s been such a privilege to compete here, and to be in the final is just indescribable.”

Watching Thursday’s second semifinal, which will determine her next opponent, was very much on Anisimova’s mind despite her nearly three-hour battle in testing conditions.

“It’s going to be an incredible match, and whoever comes out on top, it’s going to be a battle in the final,” she said.

Sabalenka, who was beaten in the title match of the Australian Open and French Open, was left to lick her wounds after missing the chance to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014-2015 to reach four straight major finals.

BBC Sport’s Tracy Austin discusses whether 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva is tennis’ next big star after she becomes the the youngest player to reach a Wimbledon quarter-final since 2007.

WATCH MORE: How Djokovic advice helped shape Sinner’s game

Watch live coverage from every court on BBC iPlayer.

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Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and the end of London’s tropical heatwave have ensured that a sense of normality has returned to the lawns of Wimbledon on day three of the tournament after two sweat-soaked days of shocks.

A stream of big names – including Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev – have crashed and burned in the oven-like temperatures of the first round.

So when Alcaraz walked onto Centre Court on Wednesday in his quest for a third successive title against British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, the thought surely lurked somewhere in his mind that he could be the fall guy in the tournament’s greatest upset.

The 21-year-old second seed was not at his best, but after saving three break points in a nervy opening service game against a college student ranked 733rd in the world, he asserted his authority to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Sabalenka tops Bouzkova

Earlier on Centre Court, the women’s top seed, Sabalenka, battled to a 7-6(4), 6-4 win against Czech Marie Bouzkova.

“Honestly, it is sad to see so many upsets in the tournament in both draws, women’s and men’s,” Sabalenka, who is bidding for her first Wimbledon title, said.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to focus on myself.”

Australian Open champion Madison Keys, the sixth seed, also made it safely into round three, beating Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 while unseeded four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka eased past Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-2.

Lower temperatures did not mean an end to the surprises entirely, though, as American world number 12 Frances Tiafoe became the 14th of the 32 men’s seeds to depart, going down 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 to Cameron Norrie, one of seven British players in second-round singles action on day three.

Sonay Kartal led the home charge by beating Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 6-2 to book her place in the last 32 for the second year in succession.

There was disappointment, though, for Britain’s Katie Boulter, who served 14 double faults as she went down 6-7(9), 6-2, 6-1 to 101st-ranked Solana Sierra, the Argentinian who lost in qualifying but has seized her lucky loser spot with both hands.

Alcaraz congratulates Tarvet

Alcaraz, bidding to do the French Open-Wimbledon double for the second successive year, needed five sets to get past Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in the first round and set up an intriguing clash with Tarvet.

Tarvet, who plays on the United States collegiate circuit for the University of San Diego, said he believed he could beat anyone, even Alcaraz, after winning his Grand Slam debut match against fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi of Switzerland on Monday.

He was clearly not overawed at sharing a court with a five-time Grand Slam champion, and had he taken any of the eight break points he earned in the first set, it could have been closer.

Alcaraz proved to be the better player on Wednesday, though, as he moved through the gears when required to keep an eager Tarvet under control.

Just as the Spaniard did in his first round when going to the aid of a female spectator suffering in the heat, Alcaraz again endeared himself to the Centre Court crowd.

“First of all, I have to give a big congratulations to Oliver. It’s his second match on the tour. I just loved his game to be honest, the level he played,” Alcaraz said.

Play on the courts without roofs was delayed for two hours by light morning rain, but once the clouds rolled away, the place to be for those without show-court tickets was Court 12 for Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca’s second-round match against American Jenson Brooksby.

The 18-year-old is widely tipped as a future challenger to Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and he showed exactly why during a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win that was celebrated by a large contingent of exuberant Brazilians.

Raducanu sets up Sabalenka tie

Facing a rival who has already experienced the joys of winning Wimbledon did not faze Emma Raducanu as the Briton rode out the “crazy pressure” heaped on her slender shoulders to defeat Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.

In a battle between two Grand Slam champions, both unseeded after years of trials and tribulations, Czech Vondrousova would have fancied her chances of knocking out Britain’s big hope.

After all, the 2023 champion had arrived at the All England Club fresh from winning the grass-court title in Berlin with victories over Australian Open champion Madison Keys and world number one Sabalenka en route.

However, it was Raducanu whose game sparkled on Centre Court as she produced the kind of carefree, yet potent shots that had carried her to the US Open title in 2021.

“Today I played really, really well. There were some points that I have no idea how I turned around,” a delighted Raducanu told the crowd.

“I knew playing Marketa was going to be an incredibly difficult match. She has won this tournament, which is a huge achievement. I’m really pleased with how I played my game the whole way through.”

An eye-popping running backhand passing shot winner handed her the break for a 4-2 lead in the first set.

Although a sloppy service game gave Vondrousova the break back in the next game, the British number one wasted little time in regaining the advantage for a 5-3 lead after a forehand error from the Czech.

Moments later, thundering roars from the Centre Court crowd could be heard around the All England Club and beyond as Vondrousova surrendered the set with yet another miscued forehand.

Clearly unsettled, the errors started piling up for Vondrousova, who had previously admitted that she did not envy the “crazy pressure” Raducanu had to deal with day in and day out after becoming the first British woman to win a major in 44 years.

Yet another forehand slapped long by Vondrousova handed Raducanu a break for 2-1, and from then on, there was no stopping the Briton. She sealed a third-round meeting with Sabalenka after her opponent swiped a backhand wide.