Category: Tennis

CINCINNATI: Novak Djokovic needed five match points and nearly four hours to pull off a gritty victory over Carlos Alcaraz and claim a third ATP Cincinnati Open title on Sunday.

A titanic struggle between the world’s top two players saw Djokovic — who looked out on his feet in the second set — save a match point before coming through on his own fifth match point for a 5-7, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) triumph.

“It’s crazy, I don’t know what I can say,” said 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who was seen by the doctors early in the second set for heat illness in a battle that lasted three hours and 44 minutes.

“It’s tough to describe. It was the toughest I’ve ever played in my life.

“From start to finish we both went through highs, lows, incredible points, bad games, heatstroke, comebacks.

“Overall this was the toughest and most exciting match I’ve ever been a part of.

“It’s matches like these that I continue to work for.”

It was another epic chapter to the budding rivalry between 20-year-old top-ranked Alcaraz and the 36-year-old Serb star, who avenged his loss to the Spaniard in a five-set Wimbledon final last month.

The two — who have traded the number one ranking six times this year — are now level on two wins apiece in their head-to-head rivalry.

“I feel proud of myself, honestly. I don’t know why I was crying because I fight until the last ball,” Alcaraz said.

“I almost beat one of the greatest of all time in our sport. I left the court really happy with what I did.”

The 20-year-old unleashed everything he had at Djokovic and found it wasn’t enough.

“It was really, really difficult playing. Novak returns five, six, seven balls on every point,” Alcaraz said.

“So fighting and running from one corner to the other one on every point is really tough to deal with for almost the whole match.

“I left everything on court. I’m working very well. But today, it was tough to deal with everything that Novak had.”

Novak Djokovic, who earned a record-extending 39th victory at the elite Masters 1000 level, secured the first break of the opening set at love for a 4-2 lead.

Alcaraz broke back and broke again for a 6-5 lead then held to take the set before Djokovic left the court for a seven-minute change of clothes.

Novak Djokovic, clearly affected by the hot, muggy conditions, was visited by the trainer and doctor in the second set.

He was broken to trail 2-1, Alcaraz grabbing a 4-2 edge with a drop shot that Djokovic couldn’t touch.

But the 23-time Grand Slam winner broke Alcaraz to pull level 4-4 on the way to a tie-breaker.

Djokovic saved a match point at 5-6 and forced a third set when Alcaraz dumped a shot into the net on Djokovic’s second set point.

Novak Djokovic headed off to the locker room for another clothing change while Alcaraz pounded his right hand on his bench in frustration as he sat down.

The Spaniard — who then needed to have a finger taped up — was broken in a nine-minute seventh game that featured five break points.

The back-and-forth battle continued, Djokovic unable to convert serving for the match at 5-4 but putting it away two games later after the longest best-of-three set final in ATP Tour history.

A weary Djokovic dropped to the court in relief, then bounced up and ripped his shirt down the middle as he let out a roar of triumph or agony — or perhaps a bit of both.

“I was never in doubt that I could deliver the match when it mattered the most,” he said, adding that the rivalry with Alcaraz “is just getting better and better.”

“Carlos is an amazing player, I have tons of respect for him,” Djokovic said. “He is so poised at such a young age.”

Alcaraz will remain number one in the world and will be the top seed while defending his title at the US Open, which starts on August 28.

Novak Djokovic, who declined to be vaccinated against Covid-19, was playing his first US tournament in two years.

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Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova halted Caroline Wozniacki’s comeback in its tracks at the WTA Montreal Open on Wednesday, ousting the former world number one in straight sets.

Wozniacki had returned with a bang from a more than three-year layoff on Tuesday, winning 6-2, 6-2 against 115th-ranked Kimberly Birrell.

But the 33-year-old Danish star found Vondrousova a tougher proposition, with the ninth seed claiming a 6-2, 7-5 victory to set up a Montreal Open last-16 clash with Coco Gauff.

Vondrousova looked to be motoring towards a brisk victory after taking a 6-2, 3-0 lead over Wozniacki.

Marketa Vondrousova then had a point for a 4-0 lead but doubled faulted twice to let Wozniacki off the hook.

The veteran then rallied brilliantly to take a 4-3 lead and had a breakpoint in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead.

Marketa Vondrousova however held for 4-4 and then earned a break for a 6-5 lead before serving to love to seal victory.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, world number one Iga Swiatek entered the competition with an opening 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 win over Karolina Pliskova.

The victory left reigning US Open champion Swiatek needing a victory over Karolina Muchova on Thursday to ensure she will hold on to the number one ranking for a 72nd week.

Her clash with the Czech Republic’s Muchova on Thursday is a rematch of the duo’s three-set battle in the French Open final earlier this year, won by Iga Swiatek.

“It’s nice to have some challenges and overcome them,” Swiatek after Wednesday’s win. “It wasn’t an easy first round, but I’m happy that I stayed solid, and I could close it in the first set.”

Iga Swiatek, who entered the tournament fresh from a victory in Warsaw last month, is now relishing another duel with Muchova.

“We have to be ready for the next match and kind of expect that anything can happen because tennis can be pretty unpredictable,” Swiatek said.

“You know, one player can have a bad day. At the same time, the other one can play the best tennis of their life.”

In other Montreal Open games on Wednesday, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina finally closed out victory over Jennifer Brady in a match that had started on Tuesday before being halted.

Rybakina, seeded three, edged past the returning Brady 6-7(3/7), 7-6(7/5), 6-3 and will now face unseeded Sloane Stephens of the United States in the last 16.

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Former Toronto Masters winners Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev dispatched first-round opponents in windy conditions on Tuesday to power into the second round of the Canadian hardcourt event.

Britain’s Murray worked through a marathon opening set before dominating the second for a 7-6 (7/3), 6-0 victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

The 36-year-old Scotsman, with three Toronto Masters titles on his resume, earned his first victory in the country since his 2015 trophy as he defeated the Italian in two hours, eight minutes in a challenging wind.

Germany’s Zverev, who defeated Roger Federer for the 2017 Toronto Masters title, reached the second round by defeating Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

Third seed Casper Ruud began his US Open run-up after a bye, struggling at the start but wrapping up a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 defeat of Jiri Lehecka for a 199th career ATP match win.

The Norwegian trailed 4-0 in the first-set tiebreaker but found form in his first hardcourt match of the summer to reach the third round.

“I told myself not to give up, just keep holding onto the score,” he said. “I saved a couple of set points.

“It was all about luck and margins and they were on my side. By the end of the second set I was hitting and serving better — I’m happy how I progressed in the match.”

Murray won his only previous encounter with Sonego last February in Doha, saving three match points. Murray, ranked 40th to his opponent’s 39th, also lifted the Toronto Masters trophy here in 2009 and 2010.

Murray’s opening set lasted 90 minutes, with the two-time Wimbledon winner saving set points in the 10th game.

He profitted from Sonego’s 44 unforced errors to sweep into the second round.

“I’m really pleased to have won. Those were blustery conditions,” Murray said. “The wind was changing conditions during the points.

“We knew it would be like this after hitting here this morning. The breeze added a bit of stress.”

Andy Murray said getting through the first set was a challenge.

“It was tight, there were a lot of opportunities on both sides,” he said. “I managed to sneak through the tiebreaker, he probably got disappointed and I relaxed a bit in the second set.

“I hope to build confidence and win a few matches,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion, who exited last week in the Washington third round to Taylor Fritz.

“I had success here but it was a long time ago. Hopefully I can build some momentum.”

Former ATP number two Alexander Zverev, seeded 13th and playing here for the first time in four years, extended his current win streak to six matches after taking his home event in Hamburg last month.

The German battled the wind for an hour and three-quarters to prevail.

He sent down an ace for three match points and won as his opponent missed on a drop shot attempt.

Alexander Zverev ended with 27 winners and 20 unforced errors — the exact reversal of Griekspoor’s 20 and 27.

“It was a win in tough conditions,” Zverev said. “It was very windy.

“I’m just happy to get through. I hope it gets nicer to play tomorrow.”

Britain failed to get two men into the Toronto Masters second round as 11th-seeded Cameron Norrie went down 7-5, 6-4 to weekend Los Cabos finalist Alex de Minaur of Australia.

Britain suffered another blow as Dan Evans, who took his first ATP title in 2 1/2 years on Sunday at Washington, lost to Canadian wild card Gabriel Diallo 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, the local taking his first tour-level match triumph.

Canada lost its number one as Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered his fifth consecutive loss on his 23rd birthday, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Australian qualifier Max Purcell, the world number 78 whose next foe will be Andy Murray.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Ushna Sohail and Sarah Ibrahim guided Pakistan women’s tennis team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over Guam in the Billie Jean King Cup on Monday.

Pakistan’s pair of Ushna and Sarah recovered from a set down to claim a sensational 4-6,6-0,7-6(2) victory in the opening round of the Billie Jean King Cup.

Losing the first set by 4-6, the national pair hit back in style by winning the second without dropping a point.

The third and decider frame went right down to the wire but Ushna and Sarah displayed nerves of steel to claim a narrow victory.

Ushna Sohail was equally impressive in the single’s competition as she outclassed Guam’s Sydney Packbier with a straight-set victory.

Meanwhile, Sarah Ibrahim failed to produce an alike result in her singles clash with Fremont Gibson, losing 3-6,4-6.

Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) president Senator Salim Saifullah Khan lauded the national team for their initial success in the tournament while also expressing hope for a much better for the rest of the tournament.

“The President of PTF, Senator Salim Saifullah Khan and the Executive Committee of PTF extended their felicitation for their initial success, with the hope that the team would display much better results with full zeal and enthusiasm in the next upcoming matches,” said PTF in a statement.

“Moreover, the President wishes them all the very best for the rest of the tournament,” it added.

It is worth mentioning here that the Pakistan women’s Tennis team reached here on Sunday to participate in the ongoing Billie Jean King Cup, being held from 22nd July to 28th July 2023.

The national team features non-playing captain Sara Mansoor, Sara Ibrahim Khan, Ushna Sohail, Amna Ali Qayum and Meheq Khokhar.

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Carlos Alcaraz defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic to claim his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, shattering the Serb’s dream of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz recovered from dropping the first set and saving a set point in the second to win 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after four hours and 42 minutes on Centre Court.

It was a second major for Carlos Alcaraz following his US Open title last year as he became Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s champion.

The result will also spark feverish speculation over the start of a generational shift, with 36-year-old Novak Djokovic carrying the torch of the ‘Big Three’ now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal is sidelined, perhaps permanently.

Australian Open and French Open champion Djokovic had been bidding to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles, match Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 Slams and become the All England Club’s oldest men’s champion.

When he won his first major at the Australian Open in 2008, Carlos Alcaraz was still three months shy of his fifth birthday.

“You inspire me a lot,” Alcaraz told Djokovic after becoming the third Spanish winner of the title, following in the footsteps of Manuel Santana in 1966 and Nadal in 2008 and 2010.

“I started playing tennis watching you. Since I was born you were already winning tournaments. It is amazing,” he added with a smile after firing 66 winners past the Serb, off-setting his 45 unforced errors.

“I fall in love with grass right now. It’s amazing.”

Nadal took to Twitter to salute Alcaraz, praising him for bringing “immense joy” to Spanish tennis and telling him to “enjoy the moment”.

Novak Djokovic was playing in his ninth final at Wimbledon and 35th at the majors, while for Carlos Alcaraz it was just a second in the Slams following his US Open triumph.

“What a quality at the end of the match when you had to serve it out,” said Djokovic, who had been chasing a fifth successive Wimbledon crown.

“You came up with some big plays in the big situation and you absolutely deserve it. Amazing.

“As for me, you never like to lose matches like these but I guess when all the emotions are settled I’ll have to be very grateful.”

The Serb, who was on a 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon, went into the final not having lost on Centre Court since his 2013 defeat to Andy Murray in the title match.

Alcaraz, who had been crippled by body cramping in his loss to Djokovic in the French Open semi-final in June, was unable to settle in the first set and let a break point slip away in the seven-minute opening game.

Novak Djokovic took advantage and raced into a 5-0 lead on the back of a double break before the Spaniard got on the board.

It was too little, too late as Djokovic claimed the opening set with a smash.

But Alcaraz finally freed himself of his shackles and broke for 2-1 in the second set.

Djokovic hit straight back in the third game before saving a break point in the fourth, coming out on top of a 29-shot rally.

The Serb was hit with a time violation in the tie-break before seeing a set point saved.

Carlos Alcaraz needed no second invitation when he carved out and converted a set point to level the contest with a backhand winner.

The marathon set had taken 85 minutes as Djokovic’s run of 15 tie-breaks won in a row at the majors ended.

Alcaraz broke in the opening game of the third set and again after an exhausting 26-minute fifth game, which went to 13 deuces and saw Djokovic save six break points before he cracked on the seventh.

Carlos Alcaraz backed it up with a rapid-fire service game which took just two minutes in comparison and broke again against the dispirited defending champion to move two sets to one ahead.

Djokovic broke twice in the fourth set, levelling the match courtesy of Alcaraz’s seventh double fault of the final.

But Djokovic wasted a golden chance to break for 2-0 in the decider with a wild smash and Alcaraz made him pay, breaking for 2-1.

A frustrated Djokovic collected another code violation for destroying his racquet against the net post before he slipped 3-1 down.

Carlos Alcaraz was not to be denied and he claimed a famous victory when Djokovic buried a forehand in the net.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic set up a potentially era-defining Wimbledon title showdown after cruising through their semi-finals on Friday with the Serb superstar promising a “feast” of tennis in the championship match.

World number one and US Open winner Carlos Alcaraz, playing only his fourth grass-court tournament, defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open and French Open champion, reached his ninth Wimbledon final at the All England Club and record 35th at the Grand Slams by seeing off Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

On Sunday, the 36-year-old world number two will attempt to equal Roger Federer‘s mark of eight Wimbledon titles and Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors.

Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals in June with the Spaniard admitting the stress of facing the Serb had caused severe body cramps that undermined his performance.

“I believe I can beat Djokovic,” said 20-year-old Alcaraz, who was still three months shy of his fifth birthday when Djokovic won his first Slam title in Australia in 2008.

“Everyone knows the legend he is. I will fight. I will believe in myself. There’s no time to be afraid, no time to be tired.”

Djokovic believes his experience in Slam finals will be a key factor but remains wary of the flamboyant shotmaker.

“He’s in great shape. He’s very motivated. He’s young. He’s hungry. I’m hungry, too, so let’s have a feast,” he said.

Alcaraz only won seven games when he suffered a straight sets loss to Medvedev at Wimbledon just two years ago.

Back then, however, he was 75 in the world while Medvedev was number two in the rankings.

On Friday, serve dominated the opener until Alcaraz converted a break point for a 5-3 lead which he backed-up with a love service game.

Medvedev had his only break point snuffed out in the second game of the second set and US Open champion Alcaraz pounced again in the third on his way to a convincing lead.

Alcaraz was a break to the good for a 2-0 lead in the third set before four successive breaks gave the finale a sloppy appearance.

The Spaniard, however, steadied himself, moving into his first Wimbledon final with a spectacular running forehand, his 27th winner of the match.

Djokovic’s victory over Sinner was tinged with controversy when he was penalised for hindrance and warned for slow play in the same game during the second set.

Djokovic, playing in his 12th Wimbledon semi-final, fought off three break points in the first set while only needing one of his own in the second game to secure the opener.

The 36-year-old had declared himself favourite for the title on the eve of the semi-final and he backed up that confidence with another break of the Italian for a 2-1 lead in the second set.

Seven-time champion Djokovic stretched to a 3-1 lead in a bizarre fourth game.

Firstly, he was docked a point for hindrance following a loud grunt which accompanied a down the line backhand.

Umpire Richard Haigh then handed him a code violation for taking too long between points.

“The hindrance early on in the match could have changed the course of the match. I felt nervous after that call, but I managed to re-group,” said Djokovic, the first player, man or woman, to reach 35 finals at the Slams.

“It’s probably the first time it’s happened to me, I don’t normally have extended grunts. Maybe it was an echo in the roof. It was a call that I have to respect.”

Despite that double blow, Djokovic still claimed the set courtesy of his seventh ace of the contest against a player who took a two-sets lead against him in the quarter-finals last year before the champion pulled through in five.

Djokovic squandered three break points in the third game of the third set, then saved two set points in the 10th game.

He turned on his tormentors in the crowd, who were loudly supporting Sinner, by feigning mock tears after he dashed their hopes of a breakthrough for the Italian.

Djokovic then dominated the tie-break to preserve his 10-year undefeated record on Centre Court. He has won 34 matches in a row at the event.

“I feel 36 is the new 26, it feels pretty good. I feel a lot of motivation,” he said.

Sinner warned Alcaraz not to be intimidated by Djokovic in Sunday’s final.

“If you think how big he is, you struggle,” he said.

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Novak Djokovic was standing on the brink of his 35th Grand Slam final and ninth at Wimbledon on Friday as Carlos Alcaraz aimed to book his spot in a blockbuster championship showdown.

Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling eighth title at the All England Club and 24th major, tackles beanpole Italian Jannik Sinner in the day’s opening semi-final on Centre Court.

World number one Alcaraz faces mercurial Daniil Medvedev as the 20-year-old US Open winner eyes a place in his first Wimbledon final.

A win over Sinner would hand Djokovic another record in a career packed with landmarks as it would make him the only player to feature in 35 Grand Slam finals.

“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but of course I would consider myself favourite,” said the 36-year-old.

Djokovic is very much the senior citizen of the semi-finals.

He is nine years older than Medvedev, 15 years the senior of Sinner and he has a 16-year head-start on Alcaraz.

When Djokovic won the first of his 23 majors at the Australian Open in 2008, the Spaniard was still three months shy of his fifth birthday.

Twelve months ago, Sinner was two sets up on Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals before the Serb came through in five.

During his current 33-match win streak at the tournament, only two other men have taken him to five sets — Rafael Nadal in the 2018 semi-finals and Roger Federer in the epic 2019 final.

When asked how he was planning to defeat Djokovic for the first time, the eighth-ranked Sinner said: “First of all, you have to go up two sets to love.

“It’s going to be a completely different match than last year. He knows me better, as I know him better also.”

Although Djokovic and Alcaraz are still a match away from a Sunday title clash, there is already tension in the air.

Djokovic called for more privacy at the tournament in response to being filmed by Alcaraz’s father during a training session.

The Spanish star laughed off any hint of tennis espionage.

“My father is a huge fan of tennis,” he said after his impressive straight sets win over Holger Rune in the quarter-finals.

“He doesn’t only watch my matches. I think he gets into the club at 11:00 am, gets out at 10:00 pm, watching matches, watching practice from everyone.

“Being able to watch Djokovic in real life, yeah, probably it is true he’s filmed the sessions.”

However, he added: “I have a lot of videos from Djokovic on every platform. I think it’s not an advantage for me.”

Alcaraz managed just seven games in a straight sets loss to Medvedev when they met in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021.

Both men are in the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time and they have captured a season-leading five titles each in 2023.

The 27-year-old Medvedev hasn’t faced a seeded opponent at this year’s Wimbledon, a welcome relief for a man who had never previously gotten past the last 16.

He didn’t get the chance to improve on that in 2022 as all Russian players were banned from Wimbledon in response to the war in Ukraine.

“I always said I want to be here, I want to play. Wimbledon is an amazing tournament,” said former US Open champion Medvedev.

“I wanted to do well because it was my worst Grand Slam. Never managed to get into the flow here to make it click.

“So I was just disappointed last year that I didn’t have this opportunity to try to prove to myself that I can go far in Wimbledon.”

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Novak Djokovic reached a 12th Wimbledon semi-final and record-equalling 46th at the Grand Slams on Tuesday as Elina Svitolina stunned world number one Iga Swiatek, delivering an emotional boost for her war-torn Ukraine homeland.

Novak Djokovic, chasing an eighth Wimbledon title at the All England Club and 24th career major, defeated Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and will face Italy’s Jannik Sinner for a place in the final.

The Serb has now reached as many semi-finals at the Slams as the retired Roger Federer.

The 36-year-old, playing in his 400th Grand Slam match, insisted he was enjoying being the man to beat.

“I love it. Any player wants to be in the position where all the other players want to beat you,” he said after preserving his record of not losing on Centre Court since 2013.

“The pressure never goes away every time I come on court.

“They want to get a scalp and the win — but it ain’t happening!”

After dropping the first set, a fired-up Novak Djokovic only allowed Rublev six points in the first five games of the second set.

The champion then needed five set points to claim the third while saving three break points in the same game.

Rublev’s spirit drained away and Novak Djokovic claimed victory with his 42nd winner of the tie.

The Russian world number seven has now lost all eight quarter-finals he has played at the majors.

“I had these little chances but I didn’t make them. He made them. That’s why he’s Novak, one of the greatest players in history,” he said.

Elina Svitolina, the world number 76, who gave birth last October and only returned to the tour in April, stunned US Open and French Open champion Iga Swiatek in her Wimbledon quarter-final 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2.

Svitolina, already a semi-finalist in 2019, will take on Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic for a place in Saturday’s championship match.

Unseeded Vondrousova made the last four by seeing off fourth-ranked Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Elina Svitolina, playing on a wild card, has reached the semi-finals by seeing off a quartet of Grand Slam title winners in Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka, in a stormy last-16 clash, and now Swiatek.

She said she intended to “enjoy the moment and have a beer”.

“If you had told me before the tournament I would get to the semi-finals, I’d say you were crazy,” said Svitolina, who also made the last eight at the French Open last month.

She could have had the match wrapped up in straight sets when she led 4/1 in the second-set tiebreaker before Iga Swiatek hit back.

However, the 28-year-old Ukrainian composed herself, racing away to a double break in the decider.

“I told Elina at the net that I am rooting for her. I want to see her win the title,” said Swiatek, who was playing in her first quarter-final at the All England Club.

Svitolina’s win kept alive the prospect of a politically charged final between her and Belarusian world number two Aryna Sabalenka.

Belarus is a key ally of Russia in the war in Ukraine.

On Court One, Pegula, still searching for a semi-final place at the majors, led 4-1 in the final set against 42nd-ranked Vondrousova.

But the American was unable to push on as former French Open runner-up Vondrousova stormed back once the roof was closed on the arena.

“I don’t know what happened,” said the 24-year-old winner.

Sinner beat unseeded Russian Roman Safiullin to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.

The Italian eighth seed recovered from a mid-match wobble to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

“It was obviously tough,” said the 21-year-old, who squandered a two-sets-to-love lead against Djokovic in last year’s quarter-final.

Sinner said he would take to the court in his semi-final with a “good mentality”, knowing the fact that Novak Djokovic is unbeaten on Centre Court for 10 years.

“I know Novak hasn’t lost on Centre Court in 10 years so it will be a tough one but maybe it’s my day.”

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Novak Djokovic was on the brink of his 14th Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday as Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz prepared for a testing battle against Matteo Berrettini.

In early action, Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva lost to US 25th seed Madison Keys while defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina progressed when Beatriz Haddad Maia quit in tears.

World number three Daniil Medvedev reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final when Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka retired with an injury.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic was two sets up against Hubert Hurkacz when play was halted on Sunday ahead of a locally agreed 11:00 pm curfew.

The pair were set to resume on Monday with the winner to face Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is chasing a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title at the All England Club and 24th career Grand Slam crown.

Top seed Alcaraz is seen as one of the few genuine threats to the defending champion, who has not lost a match on Centre Court for 10 years.

The 20-year-old has little experience on grass but won last month’s tournament at Queen’s to set himself up for a tilt at the Wimbledon title.

He comes up against the dangerous Berrettini, who reached the 2021 final, in the last match of the day on Centre Court.

Berrettini, ranked 38th, was forced to miss last year’s Wimbledon after testing positive for Covid and has subsequently struggled with an abdominal injury.

He is desperate to make up for lost time and said he was relishing the opportunity to take on Alcaraz, who won the Queen’s tournament on grass last month.

“In a way it’s what you want, right? You want to play against the best players in the world. Playing against Carlos, it’s always been like a pleasure, a fight, a great fight.”

The first result of the day was on No. 2 Court, where 16-year-old Andreeva’s fairytale run was brought to an end.

The teenager, who came through qualifying, looked set for a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals when leading Keys by a set and 4-1 but the American fought back to win 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

The match ended in controversy when Andreeva was handed a penalty point for banging her racquet into the surface.

The sanction took Keys to match point.

In the first match on Centre Court, Elena Rybakina was 3-1 up when Brazilian world number 13 Haddad Maia took a medical timeout to treat a lower back injury.

She limped back onto the court but was reduced to walking pace and was in tears as she saw out the fifth game before retiring.

“It’s never easy to finish a match like this. I hope it is nothing really serious, it is really unlucky for Beatriz,” said Rybakina.

The world number three will face either two-time champion Petra Kvitova or 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur for a place in the semi-finals.

Kvitova, the ninth seed, is showing signs of her best form on grass, nine years after she won the second of her Wimbledon crowns.

Men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev was 6-4, 6-2 ahead when 37th-ranked Lehecka, who had needed a medical timeout for a right foot injury, retired from their Court One clash.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on American Christopher Eubanks while 2014 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov plays sixth seed Holger Rune.

Away from the action on court, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said there were no plans to issue a statement after Belarusia’s Victoria Azarenka was booed off court following her defeat by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

As has become common, Svitolina did not shake hands with Azarenka in protest over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus is a key military ally of Moscow.

“Historically in tennis the decision on how a player reacts at the end of a match is entirely a personal decision for them and I think we don’t really want to start mandating what happens,” said Bolton.

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Wimbledon will celebrate Roger Federer’s achievements at the All England Club with a special ceremony on Centre Court on the second day of the championships on Tuesday.

The Swiss eight-time champion, who announced his retirement last September, will visit the scene of some of his greatest triumphs and be honoured before the start of play.

“I’m pleased to say that Roger will be with us tomorrow and we will have a special celebratory moment on Centre Court before play starts just to honour him as the man holding the most gentlemen’s singles titles here at Wimbledon,” All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said on Monday.

She added: We’ll have a moment just to celebrate his achievements and to say thank you for all the memories.”

Roger Federer, 41, has mostly stayed away from tennis since bowing out in emotional scenes at the Laver Cup in London but was similarly honoured at the grass-court event in Halle, Germany last month.

Bolton revealed that Serena Williams, 41, who bowed out a few weeks earlier at the US Open, had also been invited to Wimbledon but was unable to travel.

“We invited Serena similarly this year but as you’ll know she’s pregnant so understandably couldn’t travel,” said Bolton.

“We of course wish her lots of luck with the remainder of her pregnancy and we hope maybe we might see her next year.”

Novak Djokovic is the hot favourite to equal Federer’s men’s record of eight singles titles at Wimbledon this year and secure his 24th Grand Slam title.

The Serb created history last month when he outclassed Casper Ruud to win the French Open title and captured a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam title.

The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 to win a third French Open title and snap the tie of 22 Slams he shared with career-long rival Rafael Nadal.

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