By Shrivathsa Sridhar
LONDON (Reuters) -Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was put through the wringer again on Friday before moving into the fourth round but fellow Grand Slam winners Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys fell by the wayside at the All England Club.
It was a good day for British fans after Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie sailed through, with the nation’s big hope Emma Raducanu taking on top seed Aryna Sabalenka to round off the Centre Court action in the evening.
That match began a tad belatedly with Alcaraz pushed to the limit and taken to four sets by German Jan-Lennard Struff before the second seed prevailed 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 after some luck towards the end of the match.
A missed volley with an open court in front of him halted Struff’s momentum after eight games and Alcaraz pounced shortly afterwards for the break he needed to lay the platform for a hard-fought victory.
“He missed that volley… I still can’t believe that I’m standing here,” Alcaraz said, admitting it had been a difficult day for him in the office.
“I was suffering in every service game that I did… 0-30s and breakpoints down. It was stressful. Every time he could push me, he did. I was trying to survive.”
Struff’s compatriot Laura Siegemund, the oldest woman left in the singles draw at 37, earlier sealed a 6-3 6-3 victory over Australian Open champion Keys, who joined the exodus of star players at the year’s third Grand Slam.
Sixth seed Keys looked a far cry from the player who lifted her maiden major in Melbourne this year, the American racking up 31 unforced errors and producing wayward serves on her way out of the door.
Taylor Fritz ensured that there would still be some Fourth of July celebrations for Americans at Wimbledon as some final-set fireworks moved him into the last 16 with a 6-4 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The fifth seed, who has spent more than nine hours on court across 14 gruelling sets, said he was fresher than ever ahead of his meeting with Australian Jordan Thompson.
“This is going to sound crazy,” said Fritz, who has been suffering tendinitis in his knee and had to deal with a bruised arm after a fall.
“My body is actually feeling better after each match,” he said. “I feel like somehow it felt the worst after my first round but now it’s getting better.”
Ben Shelton, who was left seething after his second-round clash with Rinky Hijikata was suspended late on Thursday, hit three aces — two clocked at 140 mph — and an unreturned second serve to take his place in the last 32.
Amanda Anisimova progressed to the fourth round with a 6-3 5-7 6-3 win over Hungarian Dalma Galfi.
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Local favourite Kartal moved on with a remarkable display against French qualifier Diane Parry, claiming nine games in a row to come from 1-4 down to win 6-4 6-2.
Fellow Briton Norrie then saw off Mattia Bellucci 7-6(5) 6-4 6-3 to set up a meeting with Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who overcame Brazilian wonder kid Joao Fonseca 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) in a South American showdown on Court Two.
At 38, tennis showman Gael Monfils is two decades older than Fonseca and the Frenchman was more sage than sour after his 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4 defeat by Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
“To tell you that I would have won the match is too much,” Monfils said.
“I don’t really know. I wish I could win this match today but that’s sport. I’m going to rest a couple of days and go back on court and try to be ready for the U.S. tour.”
It was the end of the road for Monfils’s wife Elina Svitolina too as the Ukrainian 14th seed fell 6-1 7-6(4) against 24th seed Elise Mertens.
Osaka may not be seeded these days but looked every bit the Grand Slam great for a set before losing 3-6 6-4 6-4 to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Rublev also kept alive Russian hopes with a 7-5 6-2 6-3 victory over Adrian Mannarino to set up a clash with Alcaraz.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London; editing by Clare Fallon)
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