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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Ed Elliot

Wimbledon diary: Roger Federer in the Royal Box and Sonay Kartal picks a tattoo

Roger Federer was among the guests in the Royal Box on day eight of Wimbledon (Mike Egerton/PA) - (PA Wire)

Roger Federer watched on as his former rival Novak Djokovic survived a scare on day eight of Wimbledon.

Djokovic, who is bidding to emulate Federer’s record of eight men’s singles titles in SW19, recovered from a dismal opening set to defeat Alex De Minaur 1-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, Michael and Carole Middleton – parents of the Princess of Wales – and King Frederik X of Denmark joined Federer to take in the round-four action from the Royal Box.

Joe Root in the Royal Box on day eight of Wimbledon (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Cricketers Joe Root and Sir James Anderson and comedians Michael McIntyre and Sir Lenny Henry were other notable Centre Court guests.

***Nick Kyrgios will be commentating at Wimbledon after all.

The controversial Australian, who worked for the BBC in 2024 but was not selected for this year’s Championships, has been announced as a co-commentator for TNT Sport’s coverage of the men’s and women’s finals.

Former British number one Dan Evans will also offer insight and analysis as part of the team.

TNT Sports insists it is not looking to compete with the BBC but offer subscribers an “alternative viewing experience”.

***

Sonay Kartal has settled on a tattoo design to commemorate her memorable run to the Wimbledon fourth round.

But the 23-year-old Briton, who was beaten by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Sunday, gave no inkling as to what the skin art will feature.

Kartal already has 14 tattoos and was repeatedly asked about plans to add to her collection.

“Tattoo design has been chosen… Who wants to do the ink?,” she posted on her Instagram story.

***

Jack Draper is already turning his thoughts to the rest of the season after his second-round exit – and the British number one has a lucrative date in his diary.

By elevating himself into the world’s top six, Draper has earned an invite to the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia in October.

The inaugural edition last year saw Jannik Sinner emerge victorious, earning himself six million US dollars (approximately £4.4m) – the biggest prize in tennis history – while each of the six participants received 1.5m dollars (approximately £1.1m).

Draper will be joined by Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz.

Quote of the day

“I mean this is probably the first time he is watching me where I have won the match! The last couple of times I lost, so it’s good to break the curse.” – Djokovic on playing in front of Federer.

Picture of the day

Comedian Michael McIntyre, left, meets eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in the Royal Box as Lenny Henry, right, looks on (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Wire)

Tuesday’s match of the day

British interest in the singles draws rests solely on the shoulders of Cameron Norrie.

Carlos Alcaraz, pictured, hit the practice courts on Monday ahead of his quarter-final showdown with Britain’s Cameron Norrie (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

The world number 61 faces back-to-back champion Carlos Alcaraz in a mouthwatering match up on Centre Court.

Norrie is seeking to reach the semi-finals in SW19 for a second time after taking a set off seven-time champion Djokovic in a last-four loss in 2022.

Alcaraz is the heavy favourite but did not look infallible during the opening week, dropping four sets across his four matches.

Weather watch

Sunny with highs of 25C on Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

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