Alex de Minaur has sealed his place in the last 16 at Wimbledon for the second time in his career in unfortunate circumstances. 

The world No.9 was set to take to the court on Saturday to play qualifier and former top 10 player Lucas Pouille. However, the Frenchman has been forced to pull out of the tournament due to an abdominal injury. Making it the first time in this year’s tournament that a singles player has won a match without playing a point as the result of a walkover. 

Fears about Pouille’s fitness started earlier in the week when he received medical treatment during his second round meeting against Thanasi Kokkinakis, who coincidentally retired from the third set of that encounter after slipping and injuring his knee. 

“I called the physiotherapist, he put two tapes on me. I told him to put on the thing that holds the most,” Pouille said after his match against Kokkinakis on Thursday. 
“I don’t know what I have, we’re going to do the exams and treatments to give ourselves a chance to be as good as possible and, above all, on the court on Saturday.” 

Sadly for Pouille, he wasn’t able to get fit enough in time for today’s match. 

Meanwhile, de Minaur has become the third active male player from Australia to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon on multiple occasions after Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic. Coming into this year’s draw he has experienced mixed results on the grass after winning his ninth ATP title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch before losing in the first round at Queen’s. 

“What’s driving me this Wimbledon is that I need to put up a decent performance here on the grass because I don’t want to be classified as a clay court specialist,” joked de Minaur who reached the quarter-finals of the French Open earlier this year.
“So I’m pushing hard. I’m trying to keep on going. Hopefully I can have a better result.”

The ninth seed will next play either Arthur Fils or Roman Safiullin. 

Carlos Alcaraz has kept his hopes of winning a second straight Wimbledon title alive by surviving a roller-coaster five-set battle against an inspired Frances Tiafoe on Friday.

The third seed was at one point just two games away from defeat before fighting his way to a 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1, victory. Inflicting another heartbreak on Tiafoe who previously lost a five-set battle against Alcaraz in the semifinals of the US Open two years ago.

“It is always a big challenge playing against Frances. He is a really talented player and really tough to face,” said Alcaraz.
“He deserves to be at the top and he deserves to be fighting for big things.
“It was really difficult for me to adapt my game and to find solutions but I’m happy to get the win.”

Heading into Wimbledon Tiafoe had far from ideal preparation after suffering an  MCL sprain, which is a sprain that can be caused by direct trauma to the knee. Despite this, the American was a stern competitor against reigning champion Alcaraz with the first set alone lasting 55 minutes. The Spaniard first broke in the seventh game before immediately losing his advantage. Then at 4-4, he fended off a trio of break points to hold.

However, Tiafoe kept coming after returning a 128 mph Alcaraz serve deep to the baseline to break again for a 6-5 lead before sealing the 7-5 lead. In the final game, one of his serves was registered at a blistering speed of 135 mph.

Alcaraz regained momentum in the second frame by increasing his intensity to put the match back on even turns. During the closing stages of this set, there was a warm embrace between the two players after Tiafoe slipped over on the grass during a rally. Prompting Alcaraz to walk over to the other side of the court and help him up. That moment happened two points before the third seed hit a blistering passing shot to clinch the second set.

Tiafoe hit back in the third and looked to be the one who had more momentum in the fourth before an Alcaraz attack in the tiebreaker devastated him. The world No.3 won five consecutive points en route to taking proceedings into a decider that he dominated. It was during the tiebreaker when Tiafoe aggravated his knee by slipping over which resulted in a noticeable dip in his form.

“A lot of difficult moments during the fourth (set). All I was thinking was to fight one more ball and think about the next point. In the tiebresk I told myself I had to go for it.” Alcaraz reflected.

Alcaraz is the seventh Spanish man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon on three or more occasions.

Andy Murray was welcomed by an eruption of cheers throughout his eagerly awaited return to Wimbledon on Thursday evening where he and his brother Jamie lost their first round doubles match. 

The British duo fell 7-6(5), 6-4, to John Peers and Rinky Hijikata. An accomplished doubles pairing from Australia who have each won a Grand Slam title in the discipline during their careers. 

Amid speculation that 2024 could be the last year Murray plays at his home Grand Slam, organisers put the match on their premier court. Something that hadn’t happened to a first round doubles match for 29 years. 

“Yeah it was obviously really special. We never got the chance to do it before. There was a chance this year,” Murray said of playing with his brother.
“Jamie’s usual partner was playing with Neal Skupski so he asked me. “Obviously it was a bit of a race against time to try and get out here and physically it wasn’t easy today but I’m glad we were able to get out here and do this one time together.”

Three games into the match concerns started after Murray was seen holding his back and walking gingerly after attempting to return a shot. Coming into this year’s tournament, he has undergone surgery to treat a cyst on his spinal cord which also affected his right leg. It was this procedure that ruled him out of the singles draw earlier this week. 

Fortunately for Murray and those watching him play on Center Court, the scare was only brief as he continued fighting. The opening set was a 48-minute nail-biter with little to distinguish between both pairs. The Murray’s had a set point when leading 6-5 in the tiebreak but failed to convert. Opening the door for their rivals who clinched the set with back-to-back forehand winners. 

The rollercoaster continued into the second frame with the home team breaking for a 2-0 lead before getting pegged back. Then to make it worse, a second break in the Australian’s favour placed them within touching distance of victory. Despite the hopes of the crowd, there was no Murray triumph as Hijikata sealed the match for his team by hitting a backhand volley.

“I think everyone wants to come and support Andy wherever he is at the moment. I don’t know where he’s gone. Today was all about Andy,” Hijikata said afterwards.

Despite the loss, the night was all about two-time champion Murray with an array of stars coming to court for a special presentation conducted by veteran broadcaster and former French Open champion Sue Barker. John McEnroe, Conchita Martinez, Tim Henman, Novak Djokovic and Matina Navratilova were among those in attendance. 

A touching video tribute to the tennis star was then played which featured scenes of his career with words from Roger Federer, Djokovic, Serena Williams and others.

“We’ve been against you and with you,” said Federer and Djokovic; “We were proud to play against you,” Nadal added.

Murray’s loss doesn’t bring an end to his Wimbledon hurrah. He will soon take part in the mixed doubles event with Emma Raducanu in what will be the first time he has played in the tournament since partnering up with Serena Williams in 2019. 

“I would like to keep playing but physically I can’t,” Murray admits about his upcoming retirement.
“I don’t want to stop, it’s hard.”