Wimbledon: Sabalenka fights off Raducanu, Alcaraz marches on, Keys and Osaka crash out
World No 1 edges British No 1 in a tense Centre Court battle as Norrie and Kartal keep alive UK hopes as seeds continue to perish
Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka fought off inspired home favourite Emma Raducanu in a cauldron-like Centre Court atmosphere to keep her Wimbledon quest on track, but it was the end of the road for two other grand slam champions on Friday.
Sabalenka edged a ferocious contest under the roof after requiring eight set points in the opening set and then roaring back from a 4-1 deficit in a sizzling second.
“Wow! What an atmosphere, my ears are still hurting, it was super loud,” a relieved Sabalenka said on court after wrapping up the win on her third match point.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, chasing a third successive Wimbledon title, was also put through the wringer by Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff before sealing a last-16 spot with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
A record 36 seeds in the men’s and women’s singles failed to reach round three, and the upsets continued on Friday as women’s sixth seed Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion, and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka departed.
Japan’s Osaka looked every bit the grand slam great for a set before losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. American Keys racked up 31 unforced errors in a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Germany’s Laura Siegemund, at 37 the oldest woman left in the singles draw.