Arthur Fils has broken new ground at Wimbledon but he did so in unfortunate circumstances. 

The 20-year-old Frenchman is through to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career after his opponent Hubert Hurkacz was forced to call it quits. Fils was leading the match 7-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-6, when his Polish opponent took a tumble on the ground and suffered what appeared to be a knee injury. As a result, Hurkacz had to retire from the match which is something he hasn’t done since the 2021 Italian Open. 

“It was the first time I had this situation, so I didn’t really know how to handle it,” Fils commented during his press conference.
“I think that I did pretty good. I didn’t know if I had to do one kick serve and just make him play.
“Hallelujah, I passed the first serve. I mean, I played two great points because it wasn’t that easy. Then he stopped. Of course, it’s a sad end, but I’m happy about how I deal with those two points.”

When Hurkacz suffered his fall, he went over the net to check on his peer and help him get back up. 

“I saw a friend. He was in pain and he couldn’t move. I didn’t care about the score. I was just hoping that the guy is well and he can still walk and everything.” Fils commented. 

Fils, who beat Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker in his opening match, is the youngest Frenchman to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon since Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils in 2005. His breakthrough comes during what has been an encouraging season where he reached the semi-finals in Auckland the quarter-finals at four other events. Last year he recorded wins over top 10 players Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

Whilst he is heading in the right direction, Fils admits there is plenty of room for improvement in his game. Especiallywhen it comes to the grass.

“It’s only my second year on grass. Okay, I’m playing better than last year, but I still have so much to improve.” He said. 
“Sometimes my movement, I don’t know how to move on it (the grass). I don’t know if I’m too powerful but I’m always slipping.”

Fils will play Roman Safiullin in the next round. 

Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title by overcoming a spirited performance from wild card Jacob Fearnley in the second round. 

The third seed was pushed harder than expected by the Brit but battled his way to a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, win at The All England Club. He has now won 372 matches at Grand Slam tournaments which is more than any other male player with 94 of them occuring at Wimbledon. 

“First and foremost, huge congratulations to Jacob for a great match today. Huge effort.”  Djokovic said during his on-court interview.
“I hadn’t had a chance to see him play. Actually two days ago, I saw him for first time. Obviously there’s always an element of surprise.
“Most of the British players grow up being exposed to grass courts, quick surfaces, so they know exactly how to play.
“I thought he served very well, it was very difficult to break his serve. I was probably a bit lucky in the fourth set to not goa break down.
“Maybe the match deserved to go to a fifth set… but I’m glad I didn’t!
“I was not really comfortable in my own skin, particularly in third and fourth.
“I’m not sure I had a champion’s mindset today.”

Throughout the match, Djokovic was put through his paces by the world No.377 who recently won his maiden Challenger title in Nottingham and was playing in only his second Tour-level event. Nevertheless, he still managed to come out on top with the help of 34 winners (which was eight less than his opponent) and he won 80% of his first service points.

“I was feeling ok,” Djokovic replied when asked about his knee. 
“I don’t wanna be looking for any excuses of the performance today. Credit to Jacob. 
“On my side, I should’ve done things better in the 3rd when I was a break up. Very swirly conditions today.. physically I felt well. Can I be playing better and moving better? Absolutely. I hope as the tournament progresses I’ll be feeling better each day.”

Djokovic has now won 32 out of 33 matches against home players at major events. The only defeat was to Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final 11 years ago. Murray will be taking to the court later today in what is expected to be his last appearance at The All England Club before retiring. 

The world No.3 will next play Alexei Popyrin on Saturday. 

Jannik Sinner has kept his hopes of claiming his first Wimbledon title alive by coming through a roller-coaster battle against former finalist Matteo Berrettini. 

The world No.1 was put through his paces during his late-night 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6, victory on Center Court that didn’t conclude until 10:32pm. He has now won 52 matches in Grand Slams, which is more than any other active player from Italy, and extends his season win-loss record to 40-3. It is also the third time Sinner has reached the last 32 or better at SW19 out of four appearances. 

“We are very good friends. We play the Davis Cup together. We practice together. It’s very tough we had to face (each other) in round two,” Sinner said afterwards.
“Today was a high-level match. We both played really well. In three tiebreaks I sometimes got a bit lucky (but) I’ll take it.”

Sinner initially had the edge during a tense first two sets where there were just two breaks of serve in 24 games, one for each player. However, Berrettini illustrated once again why he is a danger on the grass by surging through the third set with the help of a series of costly errors coming from across the court.

Proceedings looked to be heading into a fifth set after Berrettini stuck once again early in the fourth frame to break. However, Sinner responded instantly in the cat-and-mouse tussle but his frustration started to grow. When leading 5-4, he threw his racket at a ball after being outmanoeuvred by his compatriot. A rare sight to see from the 22-year-old. 

In a match of fine margins, a Berrettini double fault handed the top seed match point but he failed to convert as a third tiebreaker beckoned. Then another mistake from the world No.59, this time from the forehand side, handed Sinner the pivotal break as he went on to convert his third match point opportunity. 

“I knew I had to raise my level here, he is a grass-court specialist,” Sinner commented on his rival.
“He made the final here. I looked forward to it. It was a challenge but I am happy with how I managed it.”

Playing as the top seed at Wimbledon for the first time, Sinner paid a touching tribute to the tournament.  

“For me, it’s a big honour to play here in such an incredible venue.” He said.
“I had my first match on Centre court. It’s really special. The support has been amazing.”

Sinner will play Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round.