Alexander Zverev rallied his way into the last 16 at Wimbledon despite having multiple treatments on his knee after suffering a tumble halfway through his third round match. 

The fourth seed beat Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(15), to continue his perfect record against the Brit, who he now leads 6-0 in their ATP Tour head-to-head. He has won 21 consecutive matches against last-handed players and is through to the fourth round at SW19 for the third time in his career. Zverev is yet to drop a set in the tournament. 

“Cam is an incredible player, grass is his favourite surface, so I knew I had to play my highest level.” He said afterwards.
“It’s an honour to play on Centre Court, we had so many great guests in the Royal Box today, a football legend in Pep Guardiola. 
“When I saw Pep I got so nervous, so it’s a great privilege and honour to play.”

Coming into the third round encounter, Zverev had only dropped 15 games in the tournament which was almost half the amount of Norrie’s (29). The German first struck seven games into the match by hitting a wide forehand shot to draw an unforced error from Norrie and broke for 4-3. Two games later, he earned his first set point but failed to capitalise before sealing out the opener in less than 40 minutes.

Zverev then faced a new challenge after suffering a nasty fall close to the net and jarring his left knee. Prompting a halt in play as the trainer came out to assess his injury. Immediately afterwards, he was moving gingerly around the court before quickly finding his footing again. A huge relief for the tennis player who previously retired from a major semi-final after suffering a mid-match injury at the 2022 French Open.

On the court, he took the second frame by breaking Norrie once before closing it out with a smash at the net. Then in the third, the home player continued to produce stern resistance and drew cheers from the crowd when he unexpectedly hit an underarm ace to move ahead 6-5. However, Zverev was still able to weather the storm by coming through a marathon 32-point tiebreak that saw him fail to convert five match points and save five set points before sealing victory with the help of a Norrie error. 

“It is what it is, I managed. I do feel restricted, but I will check it out and see what it is.” Zverev later commented on his knee.
“If I’d have dropped my level I’d have had no chance.”

Zverev has won 97 Grand Slam matches so far in his career. He is yet to drop serve at Wimbledon this year. 

“I’m happy that it’s working the way it is,” he said. 
“I’ve spent hours and hours just working purely on my serve.”

Zverev will next play either Alejandro Tabilo or Taylor Fritz. 

An upbeat Jannik Sinner says his Wimbledon run has been ‘pretty good’ so far after sealing his place in the last 16 of the tournament. 

The world No.1 was in clinical form during his latest clash against Miomir Kecmanović who he easily defeated 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, on Friday evening. Sinner has now won 41 matches so far this season which is currently more than any other player on the men’s Tour. According to statistics from the ATP, in his latest match, he spent 27 per cent in attacking positions and produced 35 winners, including 11 aces.

Sinner’s solid win comes after his roller-coaster encounter against former finalist Matteo Berrettini who took a set off him in a closely contested encounter. He also dropped a set in his opening match against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann. 

Nevertheless, the Italian is confident he is on the right track in his bid to win Wimbledon for the first time. 

“Pretty good I’d say,” he told Italian media when asked to evaluate his first three matches.
“Obviously every match is a little different and all three are opponents I’ve played against. All three were different, so today (Friday against Kecmanović) there was a little more pace, and with Matteo there was a little less because he served a little better and changed the game a lot.  With Yannick Hanfmann it was another different story. 
“So I think it has been pretty good so far. The situation on the court.
“I expect a tough challenge, an even different opponent in the next round.”

Sinner is hoping to surpass his result at Wimbledon 12 months ago where he reached the semi-finals before falling to Novak Djokovic. A player who he has beaten in three out of four meetings since then. He is aiming to become the first Italian to win a singles title at Wimbledon. 

The next challenge for Sinner will be either Ben Shaleton or Denis Shapovalov whose match on Friday was suspended due to rain. Both those players have spent time in the top 20 and have reached the last four of a major before. 

“They’re two lefties play against. It’s a little bit different.” He said of the North American duo.
“The big thing (notes from watching the Shelton-Shapovalov match) my team makes, then they talk to me about the key things. But for sure I’m going to watch a little bit. It’s good for me.”

Wimbledon is the fifth Grand Slam in a row that Sinner has reached at least the fourth round stage. 

Emma Raducanu’s offensive at Wimbledon is gaining momentum after she dropped just five games against Maria Sakkari in the third round on Friday. 

The Brit looked as if she was the higher-ranked player on Center court as she stormed to a 6-2, 6-3, win over Sakkari, who was seeded ninth in the draw. It is only the second time she has beaten a player currently ranked in the world’s top 10. Her first triumph was over Jessica Pegula last month, which also occurred on the grass. She has dropped just 17 games in three matches played so far this week. 

“I think I’ve been just tracking nicely,” Raducanu said of her recent form. “I think everything I’ve been doing has just accumulated. Match by match I’ve grown in confidence.
“I was getting to certain shots today (against Sakkari) that I didn’t think I would get to usually. It’s a pleasant surprise.
“I think that everything in general is just a result of all the hard work I’ve been doing.”

Currently playing some of the best tennis of her career, Raducanu’s run is being compared to her triumph at the 2021 US Open when she won the title as a qualifier. Since then, her progression on the Tour has been a roller-coaster experience due to various injury setbacks hampering her progress. Last year, she missed the second half of the season following wrist and ankle surgeries. 

“It was really painful last year coming here (to Wimbledon) and not being able to compete, being on the other side of it. Ithink that feeling has been pulling me through a lot this week,” she explains.
“Just remembering how I felt then, bringing it back to the present.
“I’ve just been having so much fun that I really just want to stay. I don’t want to go home. It’s a good, different type of motivation.”

Heading into the fourth round, Raducanu will be the favourite against Lulu Sun. A 24-year-old qualifier who switched nationalities from Switzerland to New Zealand (where she was born) earlier this year.  At Wimbledon, Sun knocked out world No.8 Zheng Qinwen to claim her first completed victory over a top 100 player! 

The focus of British fans are on Raducanu once again, even though there is another home player left in the women’s draw.Harriet Dart will play her third round match on Saturday. On the men’s side, Cameron Norriw is flying the flag on his own. 

“I love playing on the big courts. For me, I thrive on such occasions,” she states.
“It’s something that I play tennis for. I just love the feeling of it, competing, especially here in front of a home crowd. It is really amazing.”

Raducanu is the second-youngest British woman to beat a top 10 player at a Grand Slam over the past four decades. Theyoungest to do so was Laura Robson who beat Li Na at the 2012 US Open.