Wimbledon returned almost entirely on Wednesday for the third day of the tournament after weather forced most of Tuesday’s matches to be suspended. More so, protesters interrupted two games, although games were able to resume later.
As such, there were a host of matches to play, including high profile competitions featuring Iga Świątek, Novak Djokovic, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. But the match of the day was a five-set thriller won by No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to advance to the second round.
Tsitsipas needed to win two tiebreakers, including a 10-8 battle in the fifth set, to secure a 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, 6-7 (7-6), 7 -6 (10-8) victory over the Austrian Dominic Thiem. He secured the grueling victory with a forehand winner on the sideline that was beyond Thiem’s reach.
The match took 3:56 to complete. Tsitsipas won’t have a day off to recover, thanks to Tuesday’s rain delay. He will return to center court on Thursday to face Britain’s Andy Murray, who will have the backing of a home crowd in London.
Djokovic faced a battle that included a tiebreaker with Australian Jordan Thompson but didn’t drop a set in a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 win. The seven-time reigning Wimbledon champion has advanced to the third round, where he will face the winner between Argentine Tomas Etcheverry (no 29) and Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
Świątek reached the second round beating Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-0.
How did the Americans do it?
Tiafoe took the victory over Wu Yibing in three sets despite a back-and-forth opening frame. Tiafoe won the first set after a tight tiebreaker, only to easily navigate the final two sets to win 7(7)-6(4), 6-3, 6-4. The 10th-seeded American finished with 14 aces but four double faults. He is looking to eclipse his deepest run at Wimbledon from 2022, when he lost to David Goffin in the fourth round.
The rest of the American peloton performed well on Wednesday:
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Taylor Fritz defeats Yannick Hanfmann after their match was suspended by darkness on Monday. Fritz, the No. 9 seed, fell behind but fought back to win 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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Sloane Stephens did some quick work on Rebecca Peterson from Sweden. The 30-year-old American won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
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No. 32 Ben Shelton won the first two sets but needed all five to defeat Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3. The 20-year-old contesting his second Grand Slam picked up his maiden Wimbledon win with the win.
Notable upheavals
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#8 Maria Sakkari fell to Marta Kostyuk. Kostyuk, the 21-year-old from Ukraine, advanced to the second round for her third consecutive appearance at Wimbledon. Sakkari easily won the first set 6-0, but Kostyuk fought back to win a deciding second set 7-5 before coming through the winning third set 6-2.
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No. 20 Roberto Bautista Agut lost to unranked Roman Safiullin in a crazy five-set outing. After Bautista Agut won the first set, he lost the second but won the third set – both including tiebreakers. Safiullin took the last two sets to take the win 2-6, 7(9)-6(7), 6(4)-7(7), 6-4, 7-5.
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Qualifier Natalija Stevanovic beat No. 18 Karolina Pliskova without much resistance in a 6-3, 6-2 win. Pliskova, the 2021 finalist, does not reach the third round.
Other notable results
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Daniil Medvedev fended off Arthur Fery. Medvedev took a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory after a furious fight with England’s Fery.
Highlight of the day
This great comeback from Tiafoe. He hit him exactly where Yibing couldn’t.
Protesters pop up multiple times
The rain wasn’t the only thing that delayed the games today.
Two “Just Stop Oil” protests interrupted play on Court 18. The first took place during the match between Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Japanese Sho Shimbaukuro. Two protesters reportedly ran onto the pitch during the game and threw 1,000 puzzle pieces and orange confetti sprinkles onto the grass before sitting down.
They were then escorted out. The couple, identified as retired teacher Deborah Wilde, 68, and retired musician Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, have been arrested for aggravated trespassing and criminal damage, a spokesperson told The Guardian.