Aryna Sabalenka set up a mouth-watering Wimbledon clash with Naomi Osaka as Coco Gauff matched her best run, while Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner continue their title pursuit.
Sabalenka came through a power-packed battle with Jelena Ostapenko to set up a fourth-round showdown with Osaka.
Sabalenka and Osaka first met at the US Open in 2018, with the Japanese star going on to win her maiden Grand Slam title, but had not faced each other again until Indian Wells this spring.
Remarkably, this will be their fourth meeting in as many months, all in the last 16, with Sabalenka also beating Osaka in Madrid and at the French Open.
Until this season, grass would have been seen as the least likely surface for Osaka to cause an upset, but the former world No 1 has been in fine form this month.
Osaka reached her first final on grass in Germany ahead of Wimbledon and is yet to drop a set at the All England Club, with her 6-1 6-3 victory over Daria Kasatkina putting her through to the fourth round here for the first time.
The 28-year-old walked out on Court One wearing another version of her Japanese-inspired outfit, this time featuring a floor-length robe with flowing draped sleeves.
While her recent record against Sabalenka has not been good, Osaka is not unhappy about facing the top seed again.
“I have only lost to her and Iga [Swiatek] for the past couple of months,” she said. “Hey, a win is a win. I’ll take that.
“Also, she’s the number one player in the world. If there is someone I had to lose to, I would pick that ranking position. I would say I learned from all of those matches, so hopefully I can apply [it].”
Sabalenka celebrates her victory against Jelena Ostapenko
Sabalenka’s clash with former French Open champion Ostapenko was always going to be a first-strike battle between two of the hardest hitters on tour.
Ostapenko arrived with an impressive pedigree on grass, having reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2018 and won two titles on the surface – two more than Sabalenka – but the world No 1 proved just too strong in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
On playing Osaka, Sabalenka said: “Another aggressive player, a very powerful match. I’m ready to bring the fire, to fight and to do anything it takes to get through.”
Gauff matches best run at Wimbledon
Coco Gauff took another step towards breaking her ‘grass ceiling’ by overcoming a second set wobble to scrape into the round four with a rollercoaster victory over American qualifier Claire Liu.
The two-time Grand Slam winner has struggled to master the surfaces of the All England Club since famously stunning five-time champion Venus Williams on her debut at the age of 15.
Against a compatriot ranked 139 places below her, Gauff breezed through the opening set but squandered three match points at 5-4 up before losing the second set tie-break with a double fault.
The world No 7 eventually prevailed 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 in two hours and 26 minutes to match her best run at the Championships.
She will bid to break new ground when she takes on 11th seed Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic recovers to continue title bid
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic safely progressed into the fourth round but only after he narrowly avoided being served a bagel during a hard-fought win over 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech.
Djokovic suffered a shock exit in the last 32 of the French Open last month and while he prevented a repeat at the All England Club on Friday afternoon, a 7-5 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) victory only told half the story for the 24-time Grand Slam singles winner.
Frenchman Rinderknech had been two points away from dishing out the 13th 6-0 score of Djokovic’s career during an extraordinary 18-minute third set on Centre Court, but the 39-year-old avoided that unwanted feat and regrouped in set four to go through.
Djokovic would have expected to face his French Open conqueror and highly rated 19-year-old Joao Fonseca next, but he was outfoxed by Roman Safiullin earlier in the day.
Qualifier Safiullin produced 41 winners during a dominant display, but has lost all three previous meetings with Djokovic.
Sinner finally gets routine win
Jannik Sinner showed a rare sign of emotion on match point during his win
Jannik Sinner got the drama-free win he was craving after beating Jenson Brooksby in straight-sets to reach the fourth round.
The defending champion suffered a fall and a bloodied foot in a five-set battle with Miomir Kecmanovic in round one, followed by a two-and-a-half-hour, two tie-break tussle with Nuno Borges two days ago.
So a relatively straightforward 6-4 6-3 6-4 win, in two hours and 14 minutes, was most welcome for the Italian.
“I’m very happy about the win,” he said. “I’m trying to improve every day, it’s a small step forward today. I’m trying to get better if I want to go far in this tournament.”
There was the odd sticky moment, however, despite American Brooksby arriving in London this summer on a nine-match losing streak.
There was also a rare show of emotion on match point from the normally inscrutable world No 1, pointing to his ear to gee up the crowd.
On his gesture, he added: “I don’t know. That was very unusual – but I needed that today.
“I was a break up and couldn’t serve it out, I tried to rush to the finish line. It helped me today. Thanks for pushing me.”
Sinner will take on Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, who beat Spain’s Rafael Jodar, in round four.
“We’ve never played. Let’s see,” said Sinner. “Whoever is in the fourth round of a grand slam deserves to be there.”
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