LONDON (Reuters) – Highlights of the third day at the Wimbledon tennis championships on Wednesday (times GMT):
2107 KVITOVA SURVIVES SCARE
Twice champion and ninth seed Petra Kvitova overcame a wobble in the second set to beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1.
“I’m happy that I was able to play, especially to finish as well on beautiful Centre Court. It was a nice surprise for me,” Kvitova told a press conference.
“I’m happy that I played, I finished, I won. I think the third set is the best what I played. I’m pretty happy with the way I finished.”
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Fresh Murray leads charge of British men, faces Tsitsipas test
Wimbledon order of play on Thursday
Problems mount for Wimbledon, but Djokovic and Swiatek serene
Experienced Kvitova beats Paolini in three sets
Sublime Sinner downs Schwartzman, breaks Argentine hearts again
Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt play twice on Wimbledon day three
UK govt meets with police, sports event organisers over protest disruption
Djokovic reaches round three and another milestone
Dimitrov not worried about safety despite protests
Tsitsipas needs two days to beat Thiem in five sets
Tiafoe fends off Wu to reach second round, Fritz through
Superb Swiatek surges into Wimbledon third round
Rune sails through after rain-delayed win
Sublime Sinner downs Schwartzman, breaks Argentine hearts again
Russian Medvedev happy with win and warm welcome
Kostyuk stuns eighth seed Sakkari with comeback win
Kasatkina speeds through to Wimbledon’s third round
Tiafoe sees off Wu to march into Wimbledon second round
Beckham on Centre Court as sun comes out at Wimbledon
2008 BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY
Play was suspended on the outer courts due to bad light.
1956 SINNER CRUISES INTO THIRD ROUND
Eighth seed Jannik Sinner beat Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 7-5 6-1 6-2 on Court One, where the roof was closed after the second set. Sinner sealed victory with an ace.
1938 PLAY STOPPED ON OUTER COURT
The all-Italian clash between Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego on Court 12 was suspended after both players fell due to slippery conditions.
Berrettini, who complained about the conditions to the umpire after a hard fall, was leading 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(7) 1-1 when play was suspended.
1923 KORDA OUSTED AFTER STRONG QUEEN’S SHOWING
Sebastian Korda, a semi-finalist at the Queen’s Club Championship, was knocked out in the first round at Wimbledon after Jiri Vesely upset the American 22nd seed 7-6(7) 4-6 6-2 6-3.
1853 TSITSIPAS OUTLASTS THIEM IN FIFTH-SET TIEBREAK
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem 3-6 7-6(1) 6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(10-8) in a match that was suspended on Tuesday due to rain.
Tsitsipas will play home favourite and twice champion Andy Murray in the second round.
“I’m not expecting anyone to support me (against Murray) and that’s not my first rodeo,” Tsitsipas said with a laugh.
“I hope we can play on Centre Court. That court is like his living room!”
1837 DJOKOVIC THROUGH IN STRAIGHT SETS
Defending champion Novak Djokovic moved into the third round with a 6-3 7-6(4) 7-5 victory over Australia’s Jordan Thompson — his 350th Grand Slam match victory of his career.
1827 MORE MATCHES CANCELLED
Twenty-one matches scheduled for day three were cancelled as Wimbledon struggled to complete them after rain wreaked havoc on the schedule.
Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, Hubert Hurkacz, Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka were among the players whose matches were cancelled.
1750 WIMBLEDON NOT PLACE FOR PROTESTS – BOULTER
Britain’s Katie Boulter had her say after Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted her first round match on Court 18.
“I think we all sympathise with what they’re going through completely. At the same time I don’t know if it’s the right place or time,” Boulter told reporters.
“When I think back to people who have sat here… 30 hours trying to watch tennis, it’s really tough on them.”
1733 PLISKOVA MAKES EARLY EXIT
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova was dumped out in the first round after being beaten 6-2 6-3 by Serbian qualifier Natalija Kostic.
1726 RUNE ROLLS ON
Denmark’s Holger Rune, who reached this year’s French Open quarter-finals, continued his good form with a dominant 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2 win over George Loffhagen in the first round.
1718 WATSON LATEST BRITON TO FALL
Heather Watson became the latest Briton to be eliminated from the women’s singles after losing 6-2 7-5 to Czech 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova.
Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart and Katie Swan have also been knocked out, with British number one Katie Boulter and 266th-ranked Sonay Kartal left carrying home hopes in the tournament.
1643 CORIC STUNNED BY UNSEEDED PELLA
Croatian 13th seed Borna Coric suffered a shock 6-3 7-5 4-6 3-6 6-1 first-round defeat by Argentina’s Guido Pella in a match lasting three-and-a-half hours.
1620 BAUTISTA AGUT UPSET BY SAFIULLIN IN MARATHON MATCH
Unseeded Russian Roman Safiullin beat Spain’s 20th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 2-6 7-6(7) 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 in a first-round match that lasted a little over four hours.
Safiullin fired down 16 aces and struck 88 winners to move into the second round.
1556 TIAFOE TOPPLES WU
American 10th seed Frances Tiafoe booked his place in the second round with a 7-6(4) 6-3 6-4 win over China’s Wu Yibing in a rain-affected match.
1541 SWIATEK BREEZES PAST SORRIBES TORMO
World number one Iga Swiatek of Poland made quick work of Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo by wrapping up a 6-2 6-0 win in an hour and nine minutes to advance to the third round for a third straight year.
“I feel confident and happy which doesn’t happen often at Wimbledon,” Swiatek said. “I learned a lot and I can adjust my game now to grass courts. I’m getting there for sure.”
1534 FRITZ OVERCOMES HANFMANN IN MARATHON CONTEST
American ninth seed Taylor Fritz dug deep to oust German Yannick Hanfmann 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 in a first-round match that lasted three hours and was suspended due to rain.
1530 HADDAD MAIA BEATS PUTINTSEVA
Brazilian 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 3-6 6-0 6-4.
1510 MEDVEDEV SEES OFF FERY
Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev wrapped up a 7-5 6-4 6-3 victory over British wildcard Arthur Fery in a first-round clash.
1506 KOSTYUK SEALS COMEBACK WIN
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk fought back after being handed a bagel in the opening set to beat Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari 0-6 7-5 6-2 and reach the second round.
1439 KONTAVEIT GETS FAREWELL TOUR OFF TO WINNING START
Estonian former world number two Anett Kontaveit, who is retiring at the end of the tournament at the age of 27, prolonged her Wimbledon farewell by beating Italian Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4 6-4 in the first round.
1404 POLICE ARREST TWO AFTER PROTESTERS HALT MATCH
London’s Metropolitan Police and Wimbledon said two individuals have been arrested after running on to Court 18 during a men’s singles match.
Two Just Stop Oil protesters briefly halted the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro, sprinkling orange ticker tape and jigsaw puzzle pieces on the court.
1401 KASATKINA STEAMROLLS BURRAGE
Russian 11th seed Daria Kasatkina reached the third round after wrapping up an emphatic 6-0 6-2 victory over Briton Jodie Burrage in exactly one hour.
1314 PROTESTERS HALT MATCH
Two Just Stop Oil protesters briefly halted a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro on Court 18, sprinkling orange ticker tape and jigsaw puzzle pieces on the court.
1239 PLAY BEGINS ON CENTRE COURT, COURT ONE
The Centre Court and Court One clashes featuring Russians Kasatkina and Daniil Medvedev got under way. Both players take on Britons, with Kasatkina up against Burrage and third-seeded Medvedev facing Arthur Fery.
1135 PLAY UNDERWAY
The covers finally came off on the outer courts as play got underway under bright sunshine.
1100 FEDERER REMEMBERS TO BRING HIS MEMBERSHIP CARD
Months after he was turned away from the gates at the All England Club by a security guard for not carrying his membership card, Federer made sure he was armed with his credentials this time.
Federer, who has won Wimbledon a record eight times, sat in the Royal Box on Centre Court on Tuesday.
1005 NO PLAY ON OUTER COURTS DUE TO RAIN
Light rain forced organisers to push the start of play on the outdoor courts to 1030. Britain’s Met Office has predicted scattered showers across southeast England on Wednesday.
Organisers are playing catch-up after 69 matches on the outside courts were cancelled on Tuesday due to torrential rain.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma, Rohith Nair and Aadi Nair, Editing by Ed Osmond and Christian Radnedge)
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