Here’s Tumaini Carayol on Roger Federer’s win over Cameron Norrie:
And that, I must reluctantly report, is all from me for today. Thanks for reading – and I’ll leave you with this evening’s feature on SW19’s newest idol:
…and the report from her unforgettable triumph earlier this afternoon:
Barty breaks again, and it’s more exasperation for Siniakova, who undercooks a drop shot and bashes her racket against her foot in anger. She gets a telling off from the umpire, who thinks that she struck the hallowed grass and receives Siniakova’s best “what are you on about?” look. She’s good value, Siniakova – a proper performer (as befitting someone from Bohemia). But sadly for her you don’t get scored on theatrics here. It’s 3-0 Barty.
First set Barty, who asserts herself after some early nerves and takes it 6-3. And she begins the second by breaking Siniakova straight away, showing off her famed forehand and making good on her fourth break point to leave the Czech squealing in frustration.
Updated
And Cilic breaks Medvedev again to take the second set! The Russian double faults at the vital moment but he’s been shocked to the core by Cilic, who is absolutely on fire and will not let up. He’s within touching distance of a major shock, and Medvedev will need to pull something very special out of the bag to stay alive here.
Barty unleashes a wonderful backhand slice that speeds just over the net for the first break of the match – that’s 4-2.
Cilic starts the second set as purposefully as he finished the first, taking Medvedev’s service game – to love, no less – then holding his own through three nerve-jangling deuces. He’s now 3-2 up now, and there’s the hint of a shock on the cards.
Updated
On Centre Court, Barty makes what seems to be a big early statement, winning the game’s first seven points – zipping through her serve and then earning three breaks points on her opponent. But wait … Siniakova claws it back, to deuce, to advantage, and in the ends holds her serve. She pushes Barty to the brink in the next game, too – overhitting a maddeningly simple volley at break point – which the Australian eventually takes after a third deuce. 2-1. This will be no walk in the park for the world No 1.
Cilic, showing no respect to Medvedev’s serve at 6-6, has himself three set points. And he duly sends the Russian scampering to his right, where he can only hang one up to the net. Cilic is already waiting there, and volleys violently into the ground for 7-6. He has been brilliant – smart, aggressive, always looking to approach – and takes the first set in an hour and nine minutes.
Updated
Next up on Centre Court, Ashleigh Barty takes on Katarina Siniakova. The Czech will be no pushover and has and indeed has previous in dethroning the world No1 on showpiece occasions: two years ago she sent Naomi Osaka tumbling out of the French Open with a shock straight-sets win. She’s a 3/1 longshot to come through today’s match – but who knows…
An update from Court No 1, where Marin Cilic is going toe to toe with world No 2 Daniil Medvedev. The Croatian lost his second service game, but broke straight back and both have since held to make it five games each in a hard-fought first set. Cilic reached the final here in 2017 but has not made it past the second round since – although Medvedev has never made it past the third.
And on Court No 3, the women’s 14th seed Barbora Krejcikova did in the end overcome Anastasija Sevastova but boy was she was made to work for it, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 the eventual score.
Some correspondence: “Cam Norrie is going place,” writes Gregory Phillips. “Henman Hill … Murray Mound … Norrie Knoll?”
Federer beats Norrie 6-4 6-4 5-7 6-4
Norrie challenges a serve for 15-0, out of mounting desperation. It fails. But then that faltering backhand levels it at 15-15. Then Federer fails to pound away a winner and Norries furtles it out to go to 30-15 up. Then a low Federer volley makes it 30-30. Then Federer sends Norries scampering into Southfields to set up match point. Norrie hits the net and Federer punches the air, his 104th win at Wimbledon did not come easy.
Updated
Norrie plays the ball into the belly of the beast that remains the Federer forehand, and pays for it. And then does so again to go to 15-30. Then comes a chip, charge and slam dunk Sampras-style. The crowd seems to be roaring both of them on at break point. Norrie saves the first of two, then the second with an open-hand forehand that sends Federer to the floor. Lovely stuff. But then comes an unlucky net cord that bounces out for Norrie. Another break point. And that’s taken by Federer, who will serve for the match.
Federer doesn’t look so cool now. The Trevor Howard hairstyle looks a tad ragged, the radar is more off-beam than an ITV Hub Euros broadcast. But Norrie is tempted into some errors. He’s still a wily old bugger, R Fed, and Norrie whacks it long to make it 4-4. The pressure goes back on Norrie’s serve.
Federer’s ability to haul himself from trouble looks much reduced but Norrie does seem to be offering chances up to the great man. But then there is fallibility from Fed as he makes a mistake when Norrie slaps a backhand into his shin. Then a good serve - at last - from Norrie. An exchange of deuces and Norrie digs out a hold. 4-3 up. This is what we didn’t see from Messrs Evans and Murray last night - plucky Britishness.
Norrie yelps in triumph at making it to, er, 15-15. He’s adopting a PMA, but needs a Federer slump. To 30-30 he goes bouncing up and down like a case of terminal morris-dancing, and then hauls himself to deuce. A passing winner seizes advantage and break-back point. He then punches home a double-hander to break back. 3-3.
Federer serves out to make it 2-2, then Norrie puts himself under pressure with a poor service game. He double faults then makes an error to go 0-40 down. Then hits a skimming backhand that means Fed breaks to love. Oh no, Norrie.
The French Open champion, Barbora Krejcikova, is through to the fourth round after beating Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 3-6 7-5. She will play the winner of Ashleigh Barty and Katerina Siniakova.
The dream main draw debut continues...
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2021
Roland-Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova beats Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-5 to set up a fourth round tie against Ash Barty or her doubles partner Katerina Siniakova#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/pkuacVUPb4
Federer’s backhand lets him down to go 30-0 down. Then he again gets a bit lucky with a ball that looks to be going out. In fact, Federer’s backhand rather betrays his age these days, though he rolls back the years to haul it back to deuce. Then muffs a backhand once more to hand Norrie the advantage after a slugging rally. Then, after another Federer save, Norrie aces home. 2-1 to the plucky Brit.
Norrie’s eye is really in, and returning like a demon. Federer challenges what looks like a winner for 0-30 and wins it. Then Norrie has a go back with a challenge of a long hit. It goes to 30-15. Then Federer rather flukes a forehand scrape. Then serves out. There is some relief for the SW19 perennial.
John Brewin here, stepping in while Alex pours himself a pink gin, with cucumbers floating, and smokes a Havana cigar in his straw boater. Norrie, by the way, has just gone 1-0 up in the fourth set, and he seems to be flying. Fed beginning to creak?
But it all goes wrong for Federer in his next service game. A couple of unforced errors, some strong Norrie returns, and then Federer swipes a forehand a hair’s breadth wide – from nowhere, Norrie has four sets points. Federer broken to love! And that’s the third set to Norrie. He couldn’t, could he…?
Updated
Meanwhile, Cam Norrie holds his serve again under real pressure to go 6-5 up in the all-important third set. He’s come alive in the last half-hour or so – and so has the Centre Court crowd.
Zverev and Fritz are in a fourth-set tie-break. 4-4 as it stands …
Norrie battles back from 0-15 down to take his service game in impressive, powerful style. Federer must now serve to stay in the set, and he uncorks a wonderful backhand across court to take the first point. Over on No1 Court, Cilic and Medvedev and out and warming up.
But Norrie’s not done yet – he lands a glorious forehand on the chalk to put himself 4-3 up in the second set. Federer holds for 4-4-4.
Updated
Taylor Fritz is making Alexander Zverev go the distance here. The American has just gone 5-4 up in the fourth set.
And some good panto-drama between Jelena Ostapenko and Ajla Tomljanovic. the former French Open champion called for the physio at 4-0 down in the final set, with Tomljanovic then accusing her of lying about an injury. they clashed after the match and Ostapenko is still not happy. “It was very, very disrespectful from her,” said Ostapenko. “She knows zero about my injury. How can you call me a liar in front of everybody?”
Sevastova has taken the second set, 6-3, to level things up against Krejcikova. Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have lost their doubles match against Andrey Golubev and Robin Haase, 7-6, 3-6, 2-6.
Next up on No 1 Court is the men’s 32nd seed Marin Cilic against the No 2 seed Daniil Madvedev. They’ll be playing for a fourth-round meeting with Hubert Burkacz, who saw off Alexander Bublik in straight sets earlier today.
Meanwhile on Centre Court: Roger Federer, fresh from munching a banana, trots back on from the sideline to serve for the second set. And indeed he holds with ease, notching a fourth ace, to edge closer to a what looks like it will be comfortable win.
"I'd challenge that if that was me," Kyrgios says after an Auger Aliassime first serve is called out.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 3, 2021
Auger Aliassime listens, challenges.
Ball was WELL out. Auger Aliassime loses a challenge.
"Sorry," Kyrgios says as they change ends.#Wimbledon
Very much the inverse of this:
Nick Kyrgios retires injured
Auger-Aliassime, suddenly invigorated, clinches the second set 6-1. It’s a finely poised match, but Kyrgios can’t continue. “It’s getting worse and worse – I can’t serve any more,” he tells his trainer. And that’s that: he trudges reluctantly off the court, taking the applause of a grateful crowd. Don’t say he didn’t warn you:
It’s also looking increasingly like Nick Kyrgios won’t be playing tennis beyond the next set. Grimacing, he slopes off to the sideline again to consult with his physio – clearly his injury is only worsening. It seems like he agrees to make a call one way or the other at the end of this set, which he’s losing 4-1.
Cameron Norrie loses his first service game of the second set, with Federer taking full advantage to put himself 3-1 up. It looks increasingly like the Briton will not be playing tennis next week. And Zverev takes the third set 6-3 to go two sets to one ahead against Fritz.
Updated
A ludicrous few seconds on No 1 Court, as Auger-Aliassime hits a well-placed tweener that lands just in front of Kyrgios, who tries to return it in the same style – a completely needless moment of showboating. The ball wafts into the net, and two points later Auger-Aliassime has broken serve.
Auger-Aliassime is in trouble if he doesn’t sort himself out soon. He thrashes a simple-as-you-like volley long, missing by miles, while Kyrgios is all grins. They’re level at 1-1 in the second set.
Kyrgios grunts his way to a successful service game to take the first set in just half an hour. He could spring a real surprise here – but has he got enough in the tank? Krejcikova has taken an 70-minute first set against Sevastova. And a re-energised Zverev has taken the second set 6-4 to draw level with Fritz on No 2 Court.
Updated
Federer holds, as does Norrie, to leave the 40-year-old 5-4 up and serving for the set – which he clinches with minimal fuss.
If Kyrgios is knackered from his busy week, it isn’t showing in his play. He breaks Auger-Aliassime for the second time to steam 5-2 ahead in the first set. He’s 41 ranking behinds his opponent and is playing for the fifth day in row – and he promptly receives a pretty intensive massage on the sideline. In fact, that a medical timeout for him, with what looks like an abdominal issue: one to watch.
Here’s our report from another magical day for Emma Raducanu:
… after which Norrie gives up his serve with ominous unease. A series of unforced errors from the Briton gifts three break points to Federer, who rattles a forehand smash down the line to seal his eighth point in a row.
Kyrgios, who came on to court without his shoes before the match, has broken Auger-Aliassime early on to go 3-1 up. Meanwhile there’s nothing to separate Norrie and Federer just yet – they’re level a 3-3 and not a hint of a break point since that bizarre first game.
Updated
As with Kerber earlier, Zverev looks to have been sparked into life by a first-set shock. He has broken Fritz to go 3-1 up in the second set. Anastasija Sevastova and the 14th seed Barbora Krejcikova have spent their first set trading blows, and are level at 5-5.
Updated
Norrie’s first ever service game on Centre Court is a funny one: he makes three double faults against an all-time great, yet still holds. 1-0.
Updated
Cameron Norrie and Roger Federer limber up on Centre Court ahead of their showdown. Norrie arrives here at his career-best ranking (34) but has never been past the third round in a grand slam. He takes on a man 14 years his senior: Federer is 40 next month yet still ranked eighth in the world. His first Wimbledon title came four months before Emma Raducanu’s first birthday.
A minor surprise on Court Two, as Taylor Fritz steals the first set from Alexander Zverev, the men’s fourth seed, on a tie-break. Watch this space. Next up on Centre Court is Federer v Norris, while Kyrgios and Auger-Aliassime have just emerged from the tunnel on No1 Court for what should be a very decent contest indeed.
Updates. Ilya Ivashka has seen off Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a fourth-round meeting with Matteo Berrettini, who won by exactly the same score today. Karolina Muchova has beaten the French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3. And the men’s 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego has beaten Duckworth 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Raducanu, by the way, will face the world No 75 Ajla Tomljanovic in the fourth round on Tuesday.
Gauff beats Juvan, 6-3, 6-3
It wasn’t the prettiest win of Gauff’s career (four double faults) but she showed real spirit and no little class to ease past the Slovenian and into the fourth round. A mouthwatering semi-final with Ashleigh Barty awaits – but she’ll have to overcome Angelique Kerber first, who looked formidable today.
Updated
Raducanu beats Cirstea! 6-3, 7-5
And in scintillating style, holding her nerve throughout a prolonged knife-edge rally, gasps galore from the crowd. She sinks to her knees in drained triumph before rising to take in the acclaim of the adoring spectators, grinning from ear to ear. She has been sensational today. She’s into the fourth round of Wimbledon having played her first WTA Tour match last month. What a story.
Updated
Deuce again, as the teenager’s drop-shot lands millimetres wide. And a no-nonsense point from Cirstea gives her the advantage. But Raducanu delivers another of those mighty backhand swipes to draw it back level. And Cirstea hits a forehand long, her hat coming off in the process, to concede a third match point.
But she hits the next return long, and her appeal is in vain. But wait – then she digs out a wonderful cross-court forehand to earn a second match point!
Match point Raducanu! She’s 40-30 up in Cirstea’s service game. 6-5 in the second set.
Updated
Berrettini beats Bedene, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
A pleasingly uniform scoreline in that one, and the Italian will play Ilya Ivashka or Jordan Thompson in the fourth round. Over on No1 Court, Cristea holds her serve as expected to make it 5-5 before hitting a wild backhand miles wide to leave Raducanu 6-5 up. She now serves to stay in the tournament, and wallops a perfectly placed 93mph ace to get things going.
Raducanu is a game away from the fourth round. Only problem is, it’s Cirstea’s service game and she doesn’t fancy giving it up, blasting her way to a 40-15 lead. Gauff toils to a 3-1 lead against Juvan, with flashes of improvisational brilliance from the American mixed with a few signs of anxiety and rushed shots.
Updated
With Kerber having vacated No1 court, the men’s fourth seed Alexander Zverev is now playing the American Taylor Fritz (31). Berrettini is 5-4 up against Bedene and serving for the second set. And Hurkacz has beaten Bublik, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The hint of a wobble from Gauff, who wavers on a couple of serves and needs a second set point against Juvan, but she awakens to wallop an ace past her opponent and take the first set 6-3.
Raducanu sends Cirstea play out an epic 15-minute game. First the teenager send her opponent scuttling around the baseline on her own service game, drawing it to a second deuce, before the Romanian returns the favour, but she can’t claim the next point. Eventually, after a ninth deuce and some sensational play from both – including one majestic cross-court forehand from the teenager – and the finest of fine-margin Hawkeye calls in Cirstea’s favour, the Romanian holds her nerve to draw it back to 4-4 in the second set.
A series of smooth groundstrokes take Raducanu 4-3 up in the second set. She is playing with plenty of wit and absolutely no fear, winning the crowd over. And Kaja Juvan is refusing to merely make up the numbers, working her way through a steady service game to peg Gauff back to 5-3 before unleashing a smart drop shot to take herself 30-15 up in the next game.
Kerber beats Sasnovich 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
If it’s the mark of a champion to stay cool when the proverbial hits the fan, then Angelique Kerber has just given a superb demonstration of exactly that. She came roaring back from a disastrous first set against the unseeded world No 100 Aliaksandra Sasnovich to assert her authority and wrapping up the win with, in the end, minimal fuss.
Updated
Raducanu, spectacularly good so far, plays her best tennis of the match, racing into a ridiculous 40-0 lead in Cirstea’s service game. But the Romanian reacts superbly, clawing herself level and taking the game with an ace. She’s not done here yet.
And Gauff breaks again to go 4-1 up against Juvan.
Elsewhere: Karolina Muchova (19th seed) has taken the first set 7-5 against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (16). Men’s 14th seed Hubert Herkacz is two sets to the good against Alexander Bublik. and Berrettini makes the second set a repeat performance of his first: he wins it 6-4, recording seven aces in the process.
Updated
There’s no stopping Raducanu now. She wins herself two breaks point before hammering a two-handed backhand down the line to claim her seventh game in a row. 2-0. Also not messing about is Coco Gauff, who breaks Juvan’s serve at the first time of asking to double her lead in the first set. Oh, and while I was typing that, Raducanu won her service game to love in the blink of an eye. Make that eight in a row.
Jonathan McDonald writes: “Alex, good morning from Vancouver, where I’m still half-asleep and just catching up. Tennis in the movies … I always think of The Royal Tenenbaums and the great on-court meltdown of Richie Tenenbaum following his 72nd unforced error. Bizarre and hilarious!”
Raducanu takes the first set
And she makes it 6-4 in spectacular fashion, stooping low to dig out a spectacular lob that Cirstea can only watch sail over her head and land just inside the line. Wonderful stuff. That was a hugely impressive first set from the 18-year-old: four aces, three unforced errors, and just one point lost on her first serve.
Meanwhile Angelique Kerber has stormed back into the fore, taking the second set without dropping a game to level it up at 1-1. Berrettini has put himself 4-2 up against Bedene. And Coco Gauff wins her first service game against Kaja Juvan to love. 1-0.
Updated
Raducanu holds her serve – she’s barely given up a point when serving so far – and goes 0-30 up with a gem of a forehand return before taking the next point. Two set points!
And she holds her serve to love in a matter of minutes with a real display of power, a couple of aces in the mix. Kerber has belatedly woken up, 5-0 ahead in the second set against Sasnovich. And Raducanu breaks Cirstea for the second games in a row! She’s 4-3 up, and retires to the sideline for a drink before a huge service game.
Berrettini has broken Bedene early in the second set to go 2-1 up.
Again Raducanu takes Cirstea’s service game to the brink, fighting her way to deuce with a delicious backhand swipe – before Cirstea hits a simple forehand long! 3-2, and a break apiece. And now it’s raining again. Or is it? The umpire has ordered play to carry on, for now… And Raducanu kicks off her service game with an ace.
Berrettini has upped his game to take the first set against Bedene rounding making it 6-4 with his seventh ace of the afternoon so far. And Coco Gauff is about to emerge from the tunnel on Centre Court.
But she can’t carry that form into her own service game. Some powerful play by Cirstea earns her two breaks points and the Romanian batters a backhand down the line to go 3-1 up.
Updated
Raducanu takes her opponent’s second service game to deuce before being foiled by a fine 107mph serve. Berrettini is still at an impasse against Bedene, that’s level at 4-4 with neither player having broken. And the ice-cool Sanovich holds her serve against Kerber to go 1-0 up in the second set.
A flawless first service game from Raducanu, who wins the game to love before rattling a glorious backhand return across the court to take the next game’s first point.
Sasnovich has picked up where she left off against Kerber, taking the first set 6-2.
Updated
Raducanu gives Cirstea a run for her money in the first service game, attacking the second serves well and earning herself a break point – and the adoration of the crowd – before the Romanian reasserts herself to take the game.
And Jim Green emails in with this tennis scene from Blow-Up, surely the tennis scene, he reckons. A very good shout – one for the cinephiles. (But is Blow-Up on par with The Passenger in the Antonioni oeuvre? I would say not quite)
The players are out on Court No 1 – Sorana Cirstea, the 31-year-old Romanian ranked 45th in the world, and Emma Raducanu, 18-year-old from London, ranked 338th in the world and about to play by far the biggest game of her career. She calls the toss: tails. It’s heads.
And the players on all the other courts – Berrettini, Kerber and co – have also re-emerged and are getting warmed back up, ready to get going again.
A bit more from Andy Murray, speaking on the BBC about yesterday’s second-round exit: “The negatives? My tennis, really. I didn’t play to the level that I would like. Some of that is understandable due to my lack of matches. But that’s what I’m disappointed with. I think I could have done better. I was 5-1 up in the third set of my first match and didn’t see that through, I was a set and a break up in my second match and let that slip as well. Tennis-wise, there is a lot I need to work on.”
And it looks like we’re all set for a 1pm restart, with the sun shining (or at least visible) over SW19. Which means Emma Raducanu will take to Court No 1 as scheduled. Coco Gauff then gets going on Centre Court half an hour later.
The pick of the third-round matches in the men’s draw is almost certainly Kyrgios v Auger-Aliassim, in which the Australian will take to the Wimbledon court for the fifth consecutive day. He beat Gianluca Mager in the first round before his five-set, two-day epic against Ugo Humbert – and yesterday found the time to squeeze in a mixed-doubled victory alongside Venus Williams. Has he had too much of a good thing? We’ll soon see.
Play has now been pushed back to 1pm. Brollies up.
Updated
With the covers still up on the outside courts, here’s our DVD critic Guy Lodge on the best tennis movies, which includes Match Point – arguably the best of the bad Woody Allen films. As for tennis scenes in films, I would put forward the opening scene from The Squid and the Whale, and this scene from the timeless teen masterwork Clueless. Any more for any more?
Updated
The All England Club has announced that there will be no play on the outside courts before 12:30 BST – but things seem to be brightening up. Keep the faith.
Nor is Raducanu the only multitalented player to make it into the third round this year
Fancy footwork, @Ons_Jabeur ⚽️#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hjJueNqujp
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2021
Updated
Raducanu is a relative old-timer compared with the still-absurdly-young Coco Gauff, who eased past the Briton Francesca Jones and then Elena Vesnina to set up today’s meeting with world No 102 Kaja Juvan. A win this afternoon keeps her on course for a possible semi-final with No1 seed Ashleigh Barty, who is also in action on Centre Court today, against Katerina Siniakova.
And here’s a triffic profile of Emma Raducanu, the ballerina-turned-tap-dancer-turned-go-karter-turned-tennis-sensation who is currently awaiting her A-level results and making us all feel deeply inadequate. Her win on Thursday earned her £115,000 – not bad eh?
In the meantime, here’s some reading to take you through the hiatus: the estimable Andy Bull on Andy Murray, who has raged against the dying of the light but yesterday’s found himself beaten by a young upstart and asking “Is all the hard work worth it”?
I did say “weather permitting”. And right now the weather is unpermitting. Light showers have shooed the players off the courts for the time being – which is just as well for Kerber, who was floundering badly against the world No 100 Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The Belarusian was 5-1 up in the first set and cruising.
Berrettini meanwhile had found little joy in the early stages against 64th-ranked Aljaz Bedene, both men holding their serves at 3-3.
For now, the brollies are up in SW19, although the rain is not predicted to last long. Here’s hoping.
Preamble
We’re not even a week into Wimbledon and the drama has come thick, fast and slippery. We’ve had a Murray epic, a Murray downfall, a Serena slip-up, a Kyrgios rant, a masterclass apiece from Djokovic and Federer, and the gloriously unannounced arrival of a new superstar.
Things ramp up another gear on the last day of week one, with aforementioned superstar Emma Raducanu taking her place alongside fellow teen sensation Coco Gauff in the afternoon’s first matches. Raducanu pits her wits against Sorana Cirstea on No1 Court while Gauff faces off against Kaja Juvan in the main arena. After that Roger Federer takes on Cameron Norrie – the last of the British men’s hopes – and Nick Kyrgios test his mettle against the talented Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. And at the end of it all, Daniel Medvedev and Ashleigh Barty, second and first seeds respectively in their draws, continue their pursuit of the title.
But before all that, our curtain-raiser comes in the form of Matteo Berrettini against the grizzled Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, while Angelique Kerber – equally grizzled – takes on the Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
And that’s just the headline acts. We’ll also have the latest from all the other matches played in SW19 today, weather permitting, as well as pointers to all our latest coverage. Stay tuned!
