Aryna Sabalenka finally took control of a break-riddled second set to pound out a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Jelena Ostapanko on Friday for a place in the Wimbledon fourth round.

The four-time Grand Slam champion who has reached the last four here on three occasions, Her Latvian opponent saved a match point in the penultimate game before taking the loss moments later.

The pair of power hitters blasted each other throughout the 93-minute struggle, which featured 15 break points – six converted.

“She is really dangerous. The last time we played (Stuttgart, 2025) she smashed me off the court.

“I was happy to get a straight sets win here.”

Sabalenka said that facing her mirror image of an aggressive attacker “is scary.”

“I’m just happy today was my day, since it can go either way. My mission on grass to to play a little bit better than I usually do on this beautiful grass.”

American seventh seed Coco Gauff beat 146th-ranked compatriot Claire Liu 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 as she matched her career-best fourth round here.

The seventh seed ran her record in the series to 3-0 after a difficult test and four match points – three saved in the second set.

The seed gave herself extra work as she double-faulted to lose the second set but managed to recoup in the third. Lui committed nearly 60 unforced errors in two and a half hours.

“I’m happy to get through, I had opportunities to close it out in the second set,” Gauff said.  “But I didn’t let it rattle me.

“I was still able to come out with a win today.” 

Naomi Osaka maintained a spotless career record over Daria Kasatkina, with the four-time Grand Slam winner posting her fifth victory without a loss in the series.

Osaka, seeded 14th, dismantled the Austrian 6-1, 6-3 in 65 minutes to reach the second week here for the first time in 13 years on the Tour.

She also won her first match ever on the No. 1 showcourt.

“I’m glad to have made a new memory here,” she said. “I felt really good today, I’ve played a lot on grass in the past two weeks. I felt confident.

“I’m into the fourth round but I’m trying to take it one day at a time – even one point at a time. I just hope to get further and further.” 

The Japanese player raced to 5-0 on her way to the opening set and began the second with a break against the No. 65 who played a 2018 quarter-final here.

She broke Kasatina’s final two service games to earn the win.

Osaka revealed a family secret, recalling Thursday’s birthday of toddler daughter Shai.

““I don’t think I should be telling you this but she was kind of bad yesterday. We tried to take her to the park but then she needed to go to time out, 

“So we’re gonna try to take her to the park again today. 

“It was an awesome birthday. She blew out her candles. She made a wish. I hope her wish is to behave better, but if not… today’s a new day for her.”

No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula fulfilled her seeding by reaching the fourth round 6-1, 6-3 victory in 52 minutes over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

“I thought it was really clean; definitely the best match I’ve had since I’ve been in the tournament. So that’s always nice,” the winner said.

“Really nice weather out today. Conditions felt good. So I just kind of executed my game plan really well. 

“I came out with good energy and was able to play a solid match.”

Pegula will now face US compatriot Iva Jovic, who went the distance to earn a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 decision over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The teenaged Jovic will give away 14 years to Pegula. The youngster lost a 3-0 lead against Alexandrova in the third set, going down a break and forced to fight back for the 29th win of her season.

“This is a surface that probably favors both of us,” Jovic said of the Pegula match-up.

“I like playing on the grass, so hopefully, this will be the one where I get
her. I’m 2-nil down, so I need to get a win on her here. 

“I’ve improved as a player a lot since the first two times I played her.
Hopefully I can show that and hang tough here.”

2025 semi-finalist Belinda Benic, the 11th seed, took her accustomed place in the second week for a fifth time through a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) defeat of Anna Kalinskaya

Benic now faces Gauff in the fourth round.

Grand Slam champions Novak Djokovc and Jannik Sinner wrapped up third-rond wns at exactly the same moment on Friday as the elite pair advanced under pressure into the second week at Wimbledon.

Defending champion Sinner held off American Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 while seven-time All England Club winner Djokovic won his 105th match at the event with a 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) defeat of Arthur Rinderknech, last Frenchman in the field..

The 39-year-old Djokovic completed his win as Rinderknech hit the grass with a diving volley which the Serb calmly tapped into the open court after three and a quarter hours.

Rinderknech fired 67 winners to 40 for Djokovic, who came within two points in the 18-minute third of losing a set to love on grass for the first time in his career.

But the survivor with 24 Grand Slam titles recovered form in the fourth set, winning it in a tiebreaker to reach the fourth round here for the 18th time.

 “It was a close and tiring match, I was happy to win the tiebreaker,” Djokovic said. “Sometimes you have to find a way to win and I’m happy I did that today.

“There was a lot of slipping and sliding, drop shots, cat and mouse play.

“This has always been a dream tournament of mine, but I’m not thinking about records – I’m just trying to win the match on a given day.”

Djokovc admitted he felt the pressure. “I was stressed out with more tension than usual. It was a challenging match for me.”

Sinner’s win was slightly less dramatic as the world No. 1 earned a straight-sets success on a third match point against No. 81 Brooksby.

“For sure I’m happy with the win,” Sinner said. “I’m trying to improve every day and there are some small things to work on.

“I need to get better if I want to go far here. This surface is very unpredictable… one thing goes slightly wrong and it is tough to win.

“I hope to try to be the best that I can in a couple of days (fourth round).”

Two-time semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev, the eighth seed, was ambushed by Jan Leonard Struff 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-5.

Medved held an 8-1 lead in their series, with his only defeat to the German coming five years ago on grass in Halle.

Roman Safiullin, a 132nd-ranked qualifier who once cracked the top 40, ended the dream of Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 defeat which no pits him against Djokovic. 

The win in just over two hour was a relief for the winner, whose previous two matches were only decided by fifth set 10-point tiebreakers.

The enormity of the occasion got the best of Safiullin, who had to pause his post-match interview to brush away tears.

“After the US Open I had to stop to treat my injury. That time was super tough,” he said. “Even half a year ago I didn’t know if I’d be able to be back. I didn’t know. I’m super happy to be back here.”

The 19-year-old Fonseca said he missed out on his chances in a “tough match.”

“He was putting a lot of pressure, he’s a guy that likes to control the point. 

“I didn’t play bad. Of course I had some opportunities to let him think a little bit

more and let him play more points. I tried to do my best.

“It was a great run here again I think I’m improving on grass and that motivates me to keep going.”

Another teen hopeful, Spaniard Rafael Jodar, was ousted 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 by Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki.

Doubles specialists are up in arms about ATP plans leaked during Wimbledon that would scale back the doubles event to a mere sideshow.

A controversial initiative revealed that men’s tennis bosses – the outfit is led by former Italian journeyman player Andrea Gaudenzi – intend to almost wipe the team game from tournament lineups in time for the 2028 season.

Andrea Gaudenzi

Under the slash-and-burn scenario, doubles fields at the Masters 1000 level would be cut in half to 16 teams and shrivel to eight only at the lower-tier 500 and 250 levels.

No decent explanation of the plan has yet been provided, with players flailing in the dark over draconian strategy.

The matter could well end up in court in the ATP’s litigious home base in the US.

“Their way to tackle it is to just get rid of all doubles players and have singles guys play doubles, which I don’t think is the right decision,” British 2025 Wimbledon doubles winner Lloyd Glasspool said.

His partner Julien Cash added: “It’s something that all the doubles players are united on.

“We hope it doesn’t go as far as legal action but if it has to then I know that we’re all on board to do so.”

Prize money could also take a big hit, with the current 80/20 split with singles cut to 90/10.

The world No. 1 pair of Harri Heliovaara and Brit Henry Patten – Wimbledon winners in 2024 – were also knocked back by the proposal of doom for doubles 

The said players had not been informed about details of the possible restructuring.

“It’s very difficult because all of those decisions have taken place behind closed doors, even the ATP Council members were unaware of these plans,” Patten said.

“It makes dialogue extremely difficult when those decisions and discussions are happening behind closed doors in the ATP.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty right now about whether it’s going to be viable to be a professional doubles player after 2028.”

The ATP dipped into the corporate-speak grab-bag by way of an explanation.

The sanctioning body did not hide the fact that it was all about the money: less for doubles means more to pay out as singles prize money, ciring the tired old excuse of cost pressures.

“Any potential changes will be developed through close consultation with players, tournaments and the ATP Board with any decisions made in the best long-term interests of the sport and its consumers,” the legalese-heavy ATP statement read.

“Doubles isn’t a carnival sideshow. It is one of the most successful parts of tennis – integral to the amateur game – with the potential to do so much more,” the player statement said.

“Yet the impact of the ATP’s proposals will be to diminish the sporting excellence that is professional doubles and turn off the pipeline of pro doubles players and the entire infrastructure that supports them.

“Doubles is not an afterthought we fell into. It has always been part of this sport’s identity, not a discount version of it.”

They added: “Do the maths on what that means for anyone outside the top 30: it will be impossible to make a living.

“This is not a minor adjustment. It is a plan to end doubles as a viable profession, dressed up as a cost-saving measure.

“It is being pushed through with almost no transparency and almost no consultation with the players whose careers and livelihoods are on the line.”

Main photo:- Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakins winning Australian Open doubles in 2022 by Roger Parker/ISF Ltd