Tsitsipas finally earns a breather after reaching last 16
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is proving as durable as the Parthenon at this year's Wimbledon, reaching the second week still very much standing after victory over Serbia's Laslo Djere on Saturday.
A day after throwing cold water over British hopes by out-lasting Andy Murray in a five-set cliff-hanger spanning two days on Centre Court, Tsitsipas returned to dispatch Djere in more straightforward fashion, winning 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
The 24-year-old's energy levels looked undiminished despite it being his fifth successive day on court, a shift that began with a first-round five-setter against former US Open champion Dominic Thiem -- a match that took two days to complete.
His clash with Murray, where he battled the two-time Wimbledon champion and the 15,000 fans for nearly five hours, was the longest match in the tournament so far.
He has spent eight hours and 46 minutes on court and a more relaxing Sunday is well earned.
After that he will focus on his fourth-round match against unseeded American Christopher Eubanks who continued his impressive run on grass with victory over Australian Christopher O'Connell on Saturday.
Tsitsipas, whose doubles match with his brother Petros was called off later because of rain, said the opening week had been difficult but his eyes were fixed on trying to win his first Grand Slam title, having lost in two finals.
Not that he is putting too much pressure on himself.
"The mindset kind of changes and shifts towards something different. Of course I would love to be in the position of winning Wimbledon," he said.
"I feel like every single match that I get to play, I'm a step closer to that. It would be great if I could. I'm also of the philosophy that you shouldn't force things too much.
"If you force too much, you end up going against it sometimes. Just like let it kind of flow on its own."
Tsitsipas pocketed the first set when Djere faltered serving at 4-5, double-faulting on set point.
He found himself a break down in the second set but once he repaired that damage and took the tiebreak it was relatively smooth for the elegant Greek shot-maker.
Eubanks, who like Tsitsipas hurt British hopes with a shock victory over 12th seed Cameron Norrie, packs a huge serve and tops the list of aces so far with 72.
"His serve will be something that will be challenging for sure in our match. Working on those returns. I will try to make him work for it," Tsitsipas said.
Berrettini back in business after powering past Zverev
Italian former runner-up Matteo Berrettini confirmed he is back in business after an injury-plagued year with a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) defeat of German 19th seed Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Berrettini, unseeded after a season plagued by injury, looked razor-sharp as he beat former world number two Zverev in a high-octane Court One clash which ended under the roof after rain fell late on Saturday.
His defeat of the German 19th seed included 15 booming aces and umpteen seismic forehands as he made up for lost time after missing last year's tournament because of a positive COVID-19 test.
"I honestly don't know. It feels unbelievable. It is something I didn't think could happen. It must be something special about this place," the 27-year-old Italian said.
But for injuries that have lowered both their rankings, the clash would have happened much later than the third round, but it proved a treat for the Court One crowd.
Berrettini, beaten by Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final, had played only 14 matches this year leading into Wimbledon with an abdominal injury ruling him out of the Queen's Club warm-up.
But he looked razor-sharp in a superb performance against 2020 U.S. Open runner-up Zverev who is on the way back after suffering a serious ankle injury last year.
After sealing victory on his third match point with his 15th ace, Berrettini said being back at Wimbledon after missing last year because of COVID-19 had rekindled his flame.
"I honestly don't know. It feels unbelievable. It is something I didn't think could happen. It must be something special about this place," the 27-year-old said.
"I love to play here. Last year I missed it and I still didn't heal from that withdrawal. This tournament changed my career, my life and I'm really happy."
Amazingly, Berrettini has now played on every day of the tournament, with his previous matches being interrupted by the rain that continued to trouble the tournament on Saturday.
He will definitely need a day off now as his next opponent is Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
"I don't think I have to say anything about Carlos. The first time I played him I felt this kid is special," he said.
"But we always had great matches but like I said, I am enjoying every minute. Finally tomorrow I have a day off.
"I don't know if I am going to play -- resting, having some pasta and getting ready for Carlos."
Rybakina on fire as she suffocates Boulter in 57 brutal minutes
Elena Rybakina was very much aware that she would be treated as public enemy number one when she took on Katie Boulter -- the sole Briton left in the Wimbledon singles draw -- in what had been billed as a Centre Court blockbuster on Saturday.
Armed with a menacing serve and steely resolve, Wimbledon champion Rybakina never allowed the partisan crowd to find their full vocal range as she ruthlessly and unceremoniously cut Boulter down with a 6-1, 6-1 third-round demolition job.
"I knew what to expect. Of course I knew it was going to be a tough one. But I heard some support (for me) and it was a really nice atmosphere," said Rybakina, who has now become the red-hot favourite to win a second successive title.
"Today I was playing really well... and overall I am happy I was focused from the beginning until the end."
The two protagonists had been kept waiting till almost nine pm local time (2000 GMT) before they could enter the floodlit arena and when Boulter dropped only one point in her opening service game, expectations of an upset win were riding high.
After all, this was the same stage where a hollering 15,000 capacity crowd had carried Andy Murray to many a famous late-night victory and the fans on Saturday were ready and waiting to once again play their part.
Add in the fact that Rybakina was still not fully fit after struggling to shake off the effects of a viral illness that had forced her to pull out of numerous tournaments over the past few weeks, and it seemed like Boulter already had one foot in the fourth round.
They only problem was that Rybakina had failed to read the British script.
From 1-1 in the first set, she pelted down aces and service winners and produced an endless barrage of forehand and backhand winners to bag the next seven games.
Such was the Kazakh third seed's dominance that the stunned crowd appeared to have lost their collective voice while Boulter simply lost her way.
The woman who had famously knocked out former world number one Karolina Pliskova on the same stage 12 months ago had no answer to Rybakina's firepower.
Rybakina sealed the first set with her sixth ace and although the British number one avoided the humiliation of being wiped out from the second set when she won the third game, there was a sense of inevitability hanging in the air because whatever Rybakina touched turned to gold.
Mercifully for the 89th-ranked Boulter, her ordeal lasted only 57 brutal minutes as Rybakina broke for the fourth time to end the British challenge at this year's championships with a forehand winner.
Rybakina will now play Brazilian 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
How sweet it is: Eubanks's climb up the ranks is 'icing on the cake'
Chris Eubanks has emerged as the unlikely American man to go the distance at Wimbledon, downing Australian Chris O'Connell in straight sets on Saturday to reach the fourth round and keep his meteoric climb up the rankings on track.
His sharp commentary on the Tennis Channel has earned rave reviews but it is his performance on his least favourite surface this week that has been the talk of the grass court major.
While his higher-ranked compatriots Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul suffered early exits, Eubanks, 43rd in the world going into Wimbledon, is expected to reach the top 40 now with his best-ever major performance after cracking the top 100 only four months ago.
"Your career really changes going from 110 to 85. You can argue that it does change as well going from 85 to 50. But when you spent four or five years hovering between 150 and 200 and 220, that jump from 110 to 85 meant so, so, so much to me," he told reporters.
"Everything is just sweet now. Everything just continues. It's like the icing on the cake."
Eubanks survived the unenviable task of facing Cameron Norrie in front of a loyal home crowd on Friday, beating the British number one in an inspired performance.
A day later, he unleashed a hailstorm of 23 aces and 65 winners to conquer O'Connell and set up a meeting with Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
World number three Daniil Medvedev, who beat Eubanks in Miami this week, described the American's game as "total tennis".
"He is not scared of anything. He just goes for it. Hits very, very fast. Goes to the net as soon as he has the opportunity," said Medvedev. "He managed to find something this year which I don't think he had before."
Eubanks has said he is taking the tournament one match at a time, ignoring "the magnitude of what's going on".
Even so, playing on Court 18 where his compatriot John Isner outlasted Nicolas Mahut in their 2010 epic -- recorded as the longest-ever tennis match -- helped to put the sheer scale of his achievement into focus.
"A hot moment kind of came in the warm-up when I looked up at the stands of Court 18 and realised, I'm like, Oh, this is the Isner-Mahut court. I watched tennis on this court for three days one time a few years ago. That was kind of cool. And to see the stands pretty packed," he told reporters.
