Berrettini blast

One notable name among those making progress on Friday was that of 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini (above) who blasted his way past in-form Aussie Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

After recent injury problems the big Italian arrived at the Championships unseeded but after two good wins - he beat compatriot Lorenzo Sonego in his opening match - not many will fancy taking him on over the next few days.

Since the start of 2019, the two-times Queen’s champion has lost only four grass court matches and he served brilliantly on Day 5 against the Aussie, who was a recent Queen’s finalist himself.

In the first and third sets the Roman didn’t drop a single point behind his first delivery. He’s back to face Alexander Zverev on Saturday with a possible fourth round meeting with top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

Tie-break history

Hats off to Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko and Romanian Ana Bogdan, who became Wimbledon record-breakers under a sweltering London sun.

The two battled for three hours and 40 minutes on Court 14 - the second longest ladies’ singles ever played at Wimbledon in the Open era - before Tsurenko finally prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, edging the most dramatic of third set tie-breaks by 20 points to 18 and saving five match points along the way.

The Championships Match Insights Team (an IBM/AELTC partnership) confirmed the 38-point deciding shootout is the longest ever ladies’ singles tie-break at any of the four Grand Slams.

Star support

While American player Christopher Eubanks’ ties with Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx have been well documented this week, Iga Swiatek had her own high-profile supporter on Friday when Tom Hiddleston cheered her on to victory on Centre Court.

The tennis fanatic Londoner has been a regular visitor to Wimbledon in recent years and watched her beat Petra Martic on her way to the fourth round.

Farewell Kontaveit

Young Fin Emil Ruusuvuori was the latest player to offer kind words to the retiring Anett Kontaveit, who played the last match of her career on Friday when the duo lost their first round mixed doubles match.

Former world No.2 Kontaveit, who lost in the singles second round 24 hours earlier, is bringing her career to a premature end because of a severe back injury.

Welcome back, Chris

The All England Club is a good place to spot tennis stars from years gone by and among the crowds on Day 5 was New Zealand’s Chris Lewis, who lost to John McEnroe in the 1983 gentlemen’s final.

Back at The Championships 40 years after his memorable run to the title decider as the world No.91, it rekindled memories of Lewis’ swashbuckling serve-and-volley game and his dramatic semi-final win over South African Kevin Curran, 10-8 in the fifth set, that year. “There’s no place like Wimbledon,” said the Kiwi.

New this year:

See the draw like never before, with interactive Path to the Final view of the draw by clicking a player’s name on the draws page

See the projected Path to the Final of every player in the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles draws with IBM Likely to Play

View how favourable or difficult a player's draw is, with IBM AI Draw