Emma Raducanu saw her Wimbledon run come to an end in the third round despite an incredible battle with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Centre Court.
In a high-quality contest from start to finish, Raducanu reminded the tennis world what a special talent she is.
The 22-year-old played some electrifying tennis under the roof on Centre Court but was unable to apply the finishing touches, eventually going down 7-6 (7-6) 6-4 after exactly two hours.
The first set alone took 74 minutes, with Raducanu saving seven set points and creating one of her own, while she led 4-1 in the second before Sabalenka recovered to set up a fourth-round match with Elise Mertens.
Raducanu will now drop to British No 3 behind Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who is the last home woman left in singles, but that will not be the case for long if she can maintain this level.
“She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,” said Sabalenka. “I fight for every point like crazy.
“I’m super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I’m pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon.
“What an atmosphere, my ears are still hurting. I was telling myself, just pretend they’re cheering for you, and I was having goosebumps.”
Raducanu had the top seed under pressure in the fifth game, bringing up three break points and taking the third when Sabalenka netted a backhand.
That was greeted by a huge roar from the packed stands, but Raducanu then made her first missteps serving at 4-3 to hand the advantage back amid a run of eight points in a row for Sabalenka.
A forehand winner played from virtually sitting down by Raducanu earned a clap from Sabalenka but too many errors had crept into the home favourite’s game and a netted forehand gave her opponent a first set point.
She saved that with an ace, and Sabalenka remarkably missed backhands on every one of six more opportunities before Raducanu finally held in one of Centre Court’s more memorable games.
It seemed impossible for it not to be a key moment, and Sabalenka had a face of thunder after watching two Raducanu passing shots fly beyond her reach.
Concern replaced cheers when Raducanu suffered a nasty slip in retrieving a short ball, briefly staying down clutching her left hip before gingerly getting to her feet.
It did not stop her creating two break points, though, and Sabalenka overhit a backhand to leave her opponent serving for the set.
This time Sabalenka did not let Raducanu off the hook, forcing a tie-break, where a drive volley hooked wide of an open court at 5-4 looked like it might have cost the world number one when she then netted a return to give Raducanu a first set point.
But Sabalenka saved it in style with a drop shot before finally taking her eighth opportunity, this time making no mistake at the net.
It was important for Raducanu to recover from the disappointment quickly, and she did, producing two strong holds of serve and taking advantage of a dip from Sabalenka to move 4-1 ahead in the second set.
Sabalenka has been far and away the best player in the world over the last year but suddenly she was struggling to live with Raducanu, who played a series of sublime points to create a chance to win a fourth game in a row only to just miss with a forehand.
Had she taken it, a deciding set was most certainly on the cards, but Sabalenka, who is the only top-six seed left in the tournament, barged the door wide open and charged through it, reeling off five games in a row.
Kartal roars into fourth round
Sonay Kartal swept aside French qualifier Diane Parry
Super Sonay Kartal roared into the fourth round after sweeping aside French qualifier Diane Parry.
The 23-year-old from Brighton is in the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career after a sizzling 6-4 6-2 victory.
Kartal, ranked 298 this time last year, is on the cusp of the top 50 and could even finish the tournament as British No 1.
“Everyone in this tournament is an unbelievable player but I respect everyone the same,” she said.
“I will try my best to approach the next match in the same way. I try to stay calm off court, but I am so grateful to get the win today.”
Kartel has been shining on Court Three this week, but now she was first up on Court One and began with a mixed bag of a service game, with back-to-back aces and a double fault before Parry broke.
But from 4-1 down Kartal battled back to lead 5-4 and confidently served out the opening set to love.
Parry’s ranking of 103 belies her talent with her progress stymied by two recent knee injuries, and she beat 12th seed Diana Shnaider to reach the third round.
But Kartal had the 22-year-old’s number and promptly roared a double break ahead at the start of the second set.
When Kartal held to love for a 4-0 lead she had won nine games in a row.
An ace brought up match point and when Parry’s return floated long Kartal celebrated an outstanding win in an hour and 22 minutes.
Heavyweight British boxer Anthony Joshua was present in the Royal Box on Friday, joined by former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker
Last British man standing
Cameron Norrie has dipped below the radar since his exploits of three years ago when he reached the semi-finals here
Cameron Norrie kept the British flag flying in the men’s draw by brushing aside Italian world No 73 Mattia Bellucci to reach round four.
Jack Draper’s surprise second-round loss on Thursday to former finalist Marin Cilic left Norrie as the last British man standing.
To the delight of the Court One crowd, the 2022 semi-finalist delivered, recovering from a slow start to win 7-6 (5) 6-4 6-3.
“I honestly don’t really care about that too much,” Norrie, speaking on court, said of being Britain’s only remaining male hope.
“I was just hitting the ball, playing point for point, the atmosphere was amazing and I was so happy to be back on this court and just enjoying my tennis. Apparently I’m the last Brit standing, so I’ll take it.”
He will take on Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry next, with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz a potential quarter-final opponent.
The former British No 1 was on the backfoot in the early stages against a fellow left-hander who scalped Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas early this year and came out all guns blazing.
Bellucci broke to love in the opening game and then fought back from 40-0 down to hold in game two, while his 16 first-set winners included an outrageous forehand around the side of the net off the Briton’s serve.
Norrie eventually broke to love to level at 4-4 before a stunning backhand helped settle a tense tie-break in his favour.
The 24-year-old failed to hold at the start of the second set but he soon broke back from 40-0 down.
However, Norrie regained the initiative in game seven before sealing the set with an ace and then easing through the decider to progress in two hours and 28 minutes.
Alcaraz tested by big-serving Struff
Defending champion Alcaraz looked to be cruising to a 21st consecutive match win when he breezed through the opening set against big-serving German Jan-Lennard Struff.
But 6ft 4in Struff strutted his stuff in the second, firing down 139mph missiles before shocking second seed Alcaraz when he clinched the crucial break for 5-3 before levelling the match.
However Alcaraz, who needed five sets to overcome veteran Fabio Fognini in the first round, gathered himself to win 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 25 minutes.
“I knew it was going to be really difficult and I had to be focused on every shot,” said the 22-year-old Spaniard. “To be honest I was suffering in every service game I did. Lots of break points down. It was stressful.”
Next up for the five-time Grand Slam champion is Russian 14th seed Andrey Rublev.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka came up short in her quest to reach round four of Wimbledon for the first time after surrendering a one-set lead against former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, going down 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys joined the scrapheap of seeds following a shock straight-sets defeat to veteran German Laura Siegemund, going down 6-3 6-3 to 37-year-old Siegemund.
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