Watch how Australia’s Nick Kyrgios entertained court 1 during his third-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon before he retired from the competition with an abdominal injury.
Daniil Medvedev comes from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic after Nick Kyrgios retires from his match with Felix Auger-Aliassime through injury.
Down two-sets-to-love on No.1 Court, Daniil Medvedev kept his composure and raised his level to overcome 2017 finalist Marin Cilic and reach the second week at Wimbledon for the first time.
Medvedev extended his grass-court winning streak to seven matches with the 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory, his first time coming back from two sets down at a Grand Slam.
“It was an unbelievable match,” Medvedev said in an on-court interview. “I think tennis fans always enjoy watching players come back from two-sets-to-love down and for it to be five sets. I certainly do so when I watch tennis on the TV. It’s my first comeback [from 0-2 sets down], and actually what’s amazing is against David Goffin at Wimbledon in 2019, I was two-sets-to-love down and I had a break in the fifth set, but I lost. So when I left the court after the fourth set today, I told myself, ‘It’s not going to be another one of those’.
“So I’m really happy. When I was 5-0, 40/0 up at the end and Marin came back to 2-5, I thought to myself, ‘Again..!’ Marin is an amazing player and for the first two sets he basically destroyed me.”
The World No. 2 arrived at the All England Club high on confidence after claiming his 11th ATP Tour title at the Mallorca Championships (d. Querrey), his first tour-level trophy on grass courts. He continued the momentum to become the seventh Russian man to complete a set of Round of 16 appearances at all four Grand Slams, and the second to do so in as many days after Andrey Rublev achieved the feat on Friday.
With Rublev and Karen Khachanov already through to the second week, Medvedev’s win also marks the first time that three Russian men have reached this stage at Wimbledon in the Open Era (since April 1968).
The Russian will next face 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz for a spot in the quarter-finals, where he could meet Roger Federer should the Swiss win his next match over Lorenzo Sonego. Hurkacz moved into the fourth round, his best result at a Grand Slam, with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Alexander Bublik on Court 12.
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Second seed Medvedev was in trouble in the early stretches as the 32nd seed followed his booming serve with smart forays inside the court, winning 25 of 36 points at the net. After trading breaks of serve to start the first set, Cilic charged through the tie-break before sealing the 70-minute opener with a smash.
Cilic raced through the second set with a double break, before Medvedev finally halted his momentum in the third. The Russian took advantage of some shaky service games from the big-serving Croatian, putting more returns in play and keeping the ball low to go up 5-2.
Medvedev continued to turn the tide as the unforced errors piled up off Cilic’s racquet. He kept 6’6” Cilic on the move and went to the drop shot with more regularity and success in the fourth set. He raced ahead to a 5-0, triple-break lead in the fifth set. Medvedev converted his fourth match after Cilic pushed a backhand long point to advance.
Watch some of the best moments as eight-time champion Roger Federer needs all of his quality to dash British number two Cameron Norrie’s hopes of causing a big upset in the Wimbledon third round.
Former champion Angelique Kerber comes from behind to beat Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while Coco Gauff eases past Kaja Juvan.
Sixth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury continued their quest for a second Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Marton Fucsovics and Stefano Travagila on Saturday at Wimbledon.
The American-British team, who lifted the Australian Open trophy last year, won 28 of 29 their first-service points to reach the third round in 65 minutes.
The reigning champions, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, also advanced to the third round at SW19, as they defeated Brazilians Rafael Matos and Thiago Monteiro 6-2, 7-6(5). The third seeds hit five aces and broke twice to set up a meeting with Australians Max Purcell and Luke Saville.
There wasn’t such success for seven seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares though, after they were edged out 6-7(3) 6-3, 6-2 by Andrey Golubev and Robin Haase who hit 13 winners. They will next met Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez.
One contest went to a Match Tie-break, with Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic saving a match point as they fought past 15th seeds Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald 6-3, 1-6, 13-12(6) to advance in two hours and 58 minutes.
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Elsewhere, Roland Garros champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut bowed out against fellow Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin. The second seeds, who won Wimbledon in 2016, were trailing 6-4 when Herbert decided he could not continue due to injury.
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer feels that he is in strong shape as he moves into the second week at Wimbledon.
Federer has dropped just one set in his past two matches after a difficult first-round match against Adrian Mannarino, in which he trailed by two-sets-to-one.
“I definitely feel like I’ve got into my rhythm now at this point,” Federer said after beating Cameron Norrie on Saturday. “Sometimes I was still mistiming my shots a little bit, [but] for the most part, I was still trying to play on the front foot.
“I did that very well today. I thought I had a really excellent attitude, from what I can tell how I felt. That has been something that has changed nicely throughout the last weeks and months, to be honest.”
However, despite this pressure, the 39-year-old Swiss revealed he was feeling mentally calm during his 1,250th career match win on Saturday.
“Maybe [it was] one of the first times, I just felt very much at peace out there, really sort of a tranquility.” Federer admitted. “I guess to everything I was doing, where I wanted to serve, how I wanted to win my service games, then how I took misses, how I took wrong choices. I just brushed them off.
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“I was sitting on the change of ends, it was just empty thoughts, no bad, no positive, just sitting there and relaxing. This is how I want it to be. I think that for me is a very positive sign, to be honest.
“I don’t think I’m playing because he [Djokovic] is doing well or he’s doing great things. Same as Rafa. I think I’m doing my own thing. It’s going to be another big one for him [Djokovic] in the coming days. There’s always danger in the draw wherever you look.”
The Swiss superstar will next face 23rd seed Lorenzo Sonego on Monday in the fourth round and feels confident with his game after his win against Great Britain’s Norrie, who was backed by a home crowd on Centre Court.
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“It meant a lot to me because I thought I played a really good match throughout. The crowd really got into it. I thought I was extremely calm throughout the match,” Federer said. “Maybe that’s why I saved all the emotions for the very end of the match.
“It’s really a win for me, like a reference point as well,” Federer said. “If I can beat somebody of his level who’s played well last week, who is playing at home, who’s played a ton of matches. He’s a good player. That’s why I was extremely happy that I found ways to fight back in that fourth set.”
Watch some of the best bits from day six at Wimbledon including Emma Raducanu taking court one by storm and an awkward moment for Alexander Zverev.
Nick Kyrgios couldn’t hide his disappointment on Saturday after a third-round exit at The Championships, but the Australian insists he will look to play in more tournaments moving forwards.
“I definitely feel more comfortable getting out there,” said Kyrgios, after he retired due to an abdominal strain at the end of the second set against Felix Auger-Aliassime. “When they embrace you, they embrace your personality, they embrace the way you go about it. Of course, I want to go out there and play.
“When I do play, [fans] definitely tune in. All my matches are packed out. I think that’s the cool thing about it. They’re like, ‘Kyrgios will be playing’ [and] ‘Now he’s playing’. There’s full hype around it.
“I really enjoyed the crowd this week. It felt like I was playing back home in Australia. It was even better. So it was cool.”
The 26-year-old, who has already undergone an MRI scan, will remain in London for a couple more days before heading to The Bahamas for rehabilitation and training.
“[At] 4-1, 15/15, then 4-1, 30/15, on my service game I felt my ab, my lower left abdominal strain,” said Kyrgios, who underwent a medical time-out on Saturday when he led 5-2 in the first set. “It was just getting worse and worse… I did an MRI. I’ve done all the right things. I’ve iced it.
“I sacrificed a lot to be here, to try and play. [I] put myself in a position to do damage. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t think I was going to be able to play a good level. I actually played better than I thought I was going to play.
“It’s uncomfortable. If I breathe deeply, I can feel it. Obviously if I get in some certain stretches, I can feel it. So I’m not happy with my injury at the moment.”
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Nick Kyrgios, who also reached the Australian Open third round (l. to Thiem) in February, beat French 21st seed Ugo Humbert and Gianluca Mager of Italy at the All England Club this week.
“It’s funny because I woke up today feeling phenomenal,” said Kyrgios. “My hips felt good, my body felt good. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m back, I’m feeling good’. The luck just didn’t go my way.
“I felt today [that] I was playing unbelievable. I came out of the blocks. I was returning lights out. I was actually finding my stride. I’ve never felt more comfortable on the grass honestly. I felt like he was really struggling with the way I was playing. I was making a lot of returns. I was hot. I broke him I think three times in the first set.
“If I got past Felix today, which I looked like in the first set [winning it 6-1], I was playing lights out. I [was] confident going in against [Alexander] Zverev [in the fourth round]. Just so many things that needed to fall into place. I’m just disappointed.”
Kyrgios was partnering American Venus William in the mixed doubles, but barring a miracle will have to pull out of the competition.
”It’s heart-breaking, honestly,” said Kyrgios. “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. I just got goose bumps thinking the fact I might have to tell Venus Williams I can’t play mixed doubles because of injuries. It’s brutal for me.”
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev fought past Taylor Fritz 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4) on Saturday to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon, equalling his best performance at The Championships.
The German rallied after losing the first set, as he fired 19 aces and hit 45 winners to advance in two hours and 37 minutes. Zverev is bidding to win his first Grand Slam title at SW19 after reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Tsitsipas) in June and the US Open final (l. to Thiem) last year.
The 24-year-old, who also reached the fourth round at the All England Club in 2017, will next face 16th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime after Nick Kyrgios retired during their clash.
After Fritz fended off two break points in his opening service game, he grew into the match. The 23-year-old struck the ball cleanly from the baseline, hitting 13 winners to force a tie-break which he claimed when Zverev pushed a forehand wide.
Zverev battled back in the second set, winning 94 per cent (15/16) of his first-service points as he moved 3-1 ahead. The German was temporally pegged back but continued to close the net effectively, showing good touch to level. Zverev did not lose a single point (18/18) behind his first serve or face a break point in the third set as he moved ahead on No. 2 Court.
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In the fifth game of the fourth set, Zverev applied yet more pressure on Fritz’s serve, stepping up the court to attack his backhand. However, the World No. 40 held as he hit a superb forehand from well behind the baseline to deny Zverev on break point. The set then moved into a tie-break, which the German claimed when Fritz hit a forehand return long.
Fritz, who underwent knee surgery three weeks ago, matched his best display at a Grand Slam this week at SW19. The American has enjoyed runs to the semi-final at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Doha (l. to Basilashvili) and the Sardegna Open in Cagliari (l. to Sonego) this year.