Andy Murray headlines Thursday’s Wimbledon action when he begins his men’s doubles quest alongside brother Jamie in a busy day four schedule at the championships.
Scheduled to play the final match on Centre Court today, Murray begins his Wimbledon swan song following surgery to remove a spinal cyst last month. He pulled out of the men’s singles on Tuesday preferring instead to focus on the doubles where he will also feature alongside Emma Raducanu in the mixed event. The Murrays take on Australian pair Rinky Hijikata and John Peers, while five other British players feature across the two main show courts.
British wildcard Jacob Fearnley will have his moment on Centre Court, too, taking on Novak Djokovic first up. While Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart go toe-to-toe in an all-British second round clash in the women’s singles and Jack Draper’s reward for winning a thriller against Elias Ymer is a second round tie versus against former British No 1 and Wimbledon semi-finalist Cameron Norrie.
Follow all the latest updates and live scores from Wimbledon below:
Emma Raducanu and British players prioritising Wimbledon over going to vote
Emma Raducanu revealed she did not know the general election was happening on Thursday and admitted she will be focusing her tennis over going to vote.
Speaking after her win, Raducanu was asked if she would vote before heading to practise on Thursday to which she replied: “No. I think I’ll have a lie-in, then I’ll come to practise.
“I didn’t even know it was tomorrow, to be honest! Thanks for letting me know.”
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 10:35
The Carlos Alcaraz habit that can help deliver another Wimbledon crown
Carlos Alcaraz turned to his box, clenching his fist in delight with that familiar intensity. This remains relatively new ground for the Wimbledon champion, who is still just 21, but after improving his record on grass to 19-3, this straight-sets victory (7-6, 6-2, 6-3) over Aleksandar Vukic appeared ordinary. Yet a closer inspection revealed a crucial habit that could enable the Spaniard to defend his title and move to four career grand slams.
A defiant Novak Djokovic, gritting his teeth through the lingering effects of surgery, and the world No 1, Jannik Sinner, pose obvious threats to this promising title defence. And his blossoming rivalry with the Italian appears well-balanced on the surface, with the head-to-head currently standing at 5-4 in the Spaniard’s favour. Wimbledon, too, appears to be sitting on the fence after flipping both contenders on that side of the draw from Centre to No 1 Court between their first and second-round matches.
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 10:22
Yesterday at Wimbledon: Ruud falls in four sets to Fognini
Rain delayed the start of play on the outer courts for a little over two hours in the morning and Ruud became an early victim when the action resumed as the three-times Grand Slam runner-up fell 6-4 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3 to Italian Fabio Fognini.
“I’m disappointed that I lost but I know my abilities on this surface and I’m trying to be realistic,” said Ruud, whose best results have come on claycourts and hardcourts.
“I just find it difficult. I find it fun as a challenge and I try my best every year. I haven’t given up on it yet but it’s really difficult for me somehow, the movement and feeling confident out there.”
Fognini’s fellow Italian and French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini came through a tight first set to down Greet Minnen 7-6(5) 6-2.
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 10:07
Yesterday at Wimbledon: Emma Raducanu cruises past Elise Mertens
Wild card Emma Raducanu showed her the way with a 6-1 6-2 win over Elise Mertens but it was the end of the road for fellow former U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka who was beaten 6-4 6-1 by American 19th seed Emma Navarro.
Raducanu will also be in mixed doubles action this year after organisers awarded her and fellow British major singles champion Andy Murray a wildcard.
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 09:55
On this day in 2009: Battle of the Williams sisters
Serena Williams beat sister Venus Williams on this day in 2009 to claim her third Wimbledon singles title.
The Americans were contesting the final for the fourth time, and five-time winner Venus, the defending champion, was surprisingly outplayed as Serena triumphed 7-6 (3) 6-2 in an hour and 27 minutes.
Venus had been considered favourite after dropping just 20 games in her previous six matches.
Serena broke serve twice in the second set and although Venus saved three match points, the younger sister made sure of victory on her next chance.
Venus netted with a backhand and Serena, Wimbledon winner in 2002 and 2003, was able to celebrate.
The new champion, aged 27 at the time, said: “It feels so amazing, I feel so blessed, I feel like I shouldn’t be holding the trophy, like I can’t believe I won and not Venus.
“This is one of the few times I didn’t expect to come out with the win. I felt like I had nothing to lose.
“I just wanted to move the ball around better than I did in my past few matches. When I won that first set, I was like, ‘Wow, this is great’.”
Venus, two years Serena’s senior, said: “Today she was too good. She had answers for everything, she played the best tennis today.”
The victory took Serena to 11 grand slam singles titles – she has since boosted that to a record 23, and her tally of Wimbledon singles triumphs to seven.
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 09:45
Yesterday at Wimbledon: Alcaraz and Sinner take different roads to third round
Sinner was dragged into a fight by fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini and surrendered the third set tamely before battling to a 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(4) win shortly before the 11 p.m. curfew at the venue.
“For me a big honour to play in such an incredible venue and today I had my first match on Centre Court which is special. The support has been amazing,” Sinner said.
Daniil Medvedev began the day’s proceedings on Centre Court and looked out of sorts, even losing track of the score at one point in his clash with the 102-ranked Alexandre Muller before the fifth-seeded Russian prevailed 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-4 7-5.
Second seed Coco Gauff was also not at her best under the roof on Court One but reined in the errors to get past Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2 6-1.
The American said she needed to win more cleanly despite dropping only six games in two matches.
“I do think I can be too critical… I think it’s just like moments, maybe I missed some shots that I normally would make,” said Gauff, who takes on Sonay Kartal next after the Briton beat France’s Clara Burel 6-3 5-7 6-3.
“That’s tennis, you’re always going to miss some shots that you normally would make. I’m trying to focus on straight sets and winning cleaner.”
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 09:35
Yesterday at Wimbledon: Alcaraz and Sinner take different roads to third round
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and top seed Jannik Sinner took contrasting routes into the third round of Wimbledon but eighth seed Casper Ruud was unable to find a way through and felt the gloom on a cloudy Wednesday.
Alcaraz came close to dropping the first set of his contest against Australian Aleksandar Vukic but the third seed
and blew away his opponent with a 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2 victory during which he showed flashes of last year’s title-winning form.
“I’m feeling similar… Obviously, I’m getting better and better. Hopefully, if I keep winning, I’m going to find the same level as the final last year,” said Alcaraz, who downed Novak Djokovic in five sets to lift the title.
“I’m feeling that I’m playing great tennis. Physically, I’m feeling great. Hopefully I’ll keep going.”
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 09:22
Who is Jacob Fearnley? The Wimbledon wildcard facing Novak Djokovic
Jack Rathborn4 July 2024 09:10
Wimbledon order of play and Thursday’s schedule
1. Gentlemen’s Singles – Second Round
Hubert Hurkacz (POL) [7] v Arthur Fils (FRA)
2. Ladies’ Singles – Second Round
Ons Jabeur (TUN) [10] v Robin Montgomery (USA)
3. Ladies’ Singles – Second Round
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [4] v Laura Siegemund (GER)
1. Gentlemen’s Singles – Second Round
Jaume Munar (ESP) v Alex de Minaur (AUS) [9]
2. Ladies’ Singles – Second Round
Xinyu Wang (CHN) v Jessica Pegula (USA) [5]
3. Ladies’ Singles – Second Round
Danielle Collins (USA) [11] v Dalma Galfi (HUN)
4. Gentlemen’s Singles – Second Round
Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [11]
Lawrence Ostlere4 July 2024 09:03
Wimbledon order of play and Thursday’s schedule
CENTRE COURT – SHOW COURT – 13:30 START
Jacob Fearnley (GBR) vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2] 1
Iga Swiatek (POL) [1] vs Petra Martic (CRO) 2
Rinky Hijikata (AUS) / John Peers (AUS) vs Andy Murray (GBR) / Jamie Murray (GBR) 3
No.1 COURT – SHOW COURT – 13:00 START
Katie Boulter (GBR) [32] vs Harriet Dart (GBR) 1
Jack Draper (GBR) [28] vs Cameron Norrie (GBR) 2
Marcos Giron (USA) vs Alexander Zverev (GER) [4] 3
See the full schedule for every court below:
Jack Rathborn4 July 2024 08:54
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
