Roger Federer fought off spirited home hope Cameron Norrie to set up a fourth-round meeting with Lorenzo Sonego at Wimbledon.

The 39-year-old, an eight-time champion at the All England Club, overcame a third-set wobble to secure a 6-4 6-4 5-7 6-4 triumph amid the familiar surroundings of Centre Court on Saturday.

British number two Norrie, enjoying a career-best run at the grass-court grand slam, tallied four double faults in a first set decided by one break of serve in favour of the Swiss maestro.

Federer's supremacy was first challenged when he faced two break points in his opening service game of the second set, but he clicked into gear to snuff out the threat with four points on the spin.

Finding the fluency that is such a hallmark of his game, Federer looked at ease on a court where success has come so readily to him, the crowd favourite executing his game plan to leave Norrie chasing shadows at the other end.

The third set was a more keenly contested affair as Norrie threw caution to the wind, unleashing some lethal forehand strikes to finally put Federer under some strain, with the seasoned champion broken at the vital moment.

An exchange of breaks early in the fourth suggested a degree of parity in the contest, but Federer accelerated to the finish line to end British interest in the men's draw at this year's tournament.

Data Slam: Double trouble for Norrie

Federer does not need any favours from his opponents but Norrie was all too forthcoming with them on his own serve, despite an otherwise excellent display. 

Norrie, ranked 34 in the world, racked up seven double faults and you can scarcely afford to be so charitable against such formidable opposition. 

 

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Federer – 48/33
Norrie – 34/32

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Federer –7/0
Norrie – 12/7

BREAK POINTS WON

Federer – 4/11
Norrie – 2/4

Andy Murray raised doubts over his future after losing in the third round at Wimbledon, leaving the grand slam with one question: "Is it worth it?".

Murray's Wimbledon journey came to an end on Friday following the former world number one's 6-4 6-2 6-2 loss to 10th seed Denis Shapovalov on Centre Court.

Making his first appearance in the main draw since he was the defending champion at Wimbledon in 2017, Murray's career has been devastated by injuries.

Murray underwent hip resurfacing in 2019 but the three-time grand slam champion has continued to be plagued by fitness problems.

After suffering his earliest Wimbledon exit since 2005, Murray was in a downbeat mood as he was left to ponder his next move.

"It was great playing in front of the crowds again," the 34-year-old said. "I got amazing support here. I'm very thankful for that. Something I have missed. It kind of reminds you why you do all of the work and everything.

"But then, on the flip side of that, the positive part is getting through the matches and feeling OK physically and not getting injured.

"That's good but then there is a part of me that feels a bit like I have put in so much work the last three months and ultimately didn't play how I would want and expect, and it’s like, is it worth it?

"Is all of that training and everything that you're doing in the gym, unless you're able to practise and improve your game and get matches and get a run of tournaments, is it worth all of the work that you're doing?

"There is part of me that feels like, yes, it is, because I had great memories and stuff from this event and playing in some brilliant atmospheres. But I finished the match tonight and I'm saying to my team, 'I'm just not happy with how I played'.

"So, unless me and my team can find a way of keeping me on the court for a consistent period of time and allow me to practise the way that I need to to compete with these guys, that's when the discussions about what I do next will come in.

"Because I have genuinely put a lot into this to get to this point, but I'm not being able to practise and prepare how I need to to perform how I would like at these events.

"I’m not expecting and saying I would beat Denis Shapovalov. He's a brilliant player. But I feel like I can do a lot better than what I did this evening."

Andy Murray's Wimbledon adventure is over – for this year at least – after Denis Shapovalov put an end to his challenge in a one-sided Centre Court clash.

The doughty two-time former champion insists retirement is not at the forefront of his mind, but a 6-4 6-2 6-2 loss to 10th seed Shapovalov was a fresh reminder of his current place in the tennis pecking order.

After hip resurfacing surgery gave Murray another shot at the career that at one stage looked all but over, it was a Wimbledon return which was high on his list of priorities.

This was Murray's first appearance in the singles since 2017, the year he was last defending champion.

Earlier this year the former world number one spoke of a belief that he could win the tournament for a third time, but he will be 35 by the time next year's championships come around and many have doubts about whether he will still be playing. He came into this fortnight at 118th in the rankings.

Not even the closure of the Centre Court roof could save Murray this time. That had been the spur, coincidentally or not, for his two previous late-night matches to swing around in the Scot's favour, as he saw off Nikoloz Basilashvili and then the unheralded German Oscar Otte to reach this last-32 stage.

Murray and Shapovalov went off after the second set of this contest, as evening turned to night in south-west London and the lights came on, but Murray did not return with super-human strengths this time, and his opponent raced to victory.

Shapovalov told Murray at the net that the Scot was his hero, and spoke eloquently about his appreciation of his comeback, and perhaps Murray would have quietly admired the Canadian's skill in moving in for the kill.

 

This match had been all one way for much of the first set too, but then Murray found a spark and pulled back from 5-1 adrift to 5-4, the crowd beginning to believe it could be his day again.

Murray believed too, of course, but this match proved a step too far for the champion of 2013 and 2016. There were flickers of Murray at his best, and he will represent Great Britain at the upcoming Olympics, where he is a two-time defending champion, but Murray's days of being a grand slam contender are, on the balance of probabilities, pretty much over.

His career has been a spectacular affair, and there was a familiar ovation as he departed Centre Court.

Shapovalov had rammed down an ace on match point, clinical in his despatching of the crowd's favourite.

Speaking at the end of the match, Shapovalov said in an on-court interview: "This is a dream come true for me.

"I've put countless years of hard work into every practice so that one day maybe I could play on Centre Court – to play against a legend like Andy today, to play a match like this. First of all, huge shout-outs to him. What he is doing nobody has ever done. He's truly an inspiration to many people, including me.

"I just told him at the net that he's my hero. Achievements aside, what he's been able to do in the sport with an injury like this and to play the tennis he's playing and moving the way he's moving.

"In his second match it was like vintage Andy and it was just so much fun to see as a fan. I was really excited and the first set today was super, super intense.

"It's incredible what he's done to make it to the third round like this and he's just starting back up so it's going to be amazing to see what he can do."

Novak Djokovic drew on "wolf energy" as he fended off American Denis Kudla to reach the Wimbledon fourth round.

The man with the Golden Slam in his sights took out Kudla in straight sets on Court One, but a 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7) victory was not entirely routine.

Qualifier Kudla broke the Serbian's serve twice and kept it a largely tight contest, showing the form that took him to the fourth round six years ago.

After roaring to glory at the Australian Open and French Open, Djokovic could become just the second player in history to win all four grand slams and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, after Steffi Graf's 1988 feat.

There can be no easy sauntering to glory on that scale, so after a pair of relatively easy wins over Jack Draper – albeit after a first-set hiccup – and Kevin Anderson, this was more of a taxing clash that could benefit Djokovic in the long run.

Kudla was gifted a 3-0 lead in the third-set tie-break as Djokovic twice double-faulted, but he could not capitalise, chopping a pair of poor drop shots on the way to allowing his opponent to gain the upper hand.

A solid overhead gave Djokovic a first match point, which the five-time Wimbledon champion squandered with a forehand into the net. He soon had a second though, and Djokovic, defending his 2019 title this fortnight after last year's tournament was cancelled, displayed stunning defence on the baseline before Kudla netted on the forehand.

The world number one then spoke of how growing up during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s had hardened him for a career in sport, when asked at courtside what gave him such a drive to win.

"I think part of it is genes. My family, the way I've grown up in difficult times during the nineties for my country," Djokovic said on the BBC.

"Failure was never on option, For me or anybody for my family. We had to find a way to find the basic needs for us to survive. During those times it was difficult and that has strengthened my character, I would say.

"Part of it also comes from my upbringing in the mountains. I spent a lot of time in the mountains with wolves, so this is a wolf energy."

 

Data Slam: Shaky serves as Djokovic does enough

Kudla is no stranger to SW19 success, given his 2015 run that was ended by Marin Cilic. And with Djokovic only landing 54 per cent of first serves in court across the contest, that might have opened a door for the American here. Yet Kudla was also struggling with his first delivery, putting just 47 per cent of his first serves into play, and few could hope to beat Djokovic with such a low percentage.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic – 34/28
Kudla – 30/34

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Djokovic – 8/6
Kudla – 6/3

BREAK POINTS WON

Djokovic – 4/10
Kudla – 2/4

Roger Federer cruised into the third round of Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet on Thursday.

The sixth seed, seeking a record-extending ninth title at the All England Club, won 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 54 minutes to set up a tie with home hopeful Cameron Norrie.

Federer was slightly fortunate to overcome Adrian Mannarino in his opening match, and the world number eight was initially given a tough time by another Frenchman in Gasquet.

He saved three break points in the second game and held serve throughout the remainder of the opening set, as did his opponent to force a tie-break that proved one-sided.

Using the momentum, Federer broke Gasquet in the second and fourth games and sealed the second set with one of his 10 aces.

Gasquet had not defeated Federer since 2011 and any hopes of ending that run faded further when he was forced into an error in the seventh game of the third set for the only break.

Federer had little trouble in seeing out the win on Centre Court, confirmed when Gasquet failed to overturn a decision from Hawk-Eye after running out of challenges.

"I know Richard really well. We've played so many times against each other," Federer said in his on-court interview. "It's always a pleasure playing against him.

"It was a wonderful match. I'm happy with my performance. It was a tough first set. I was happy with the second set and I was better in the third, so I'm very, very happy."

 

Data Slam: Dominant Federer finding his feet

Federer may not be a clear favourite for this year's competition as he makes his latest return from injury, but the 20-time major winner will still take some stopping in SW19.

He won 84 per cent of the points behind his first serve and proved far too strong for Gasquet with 49 winners helping to stretch ​his own record for Wimbledon match wins to 103.

Next up is a challenge of a different type, with Federer taking on British number two Norrie in front of an expectant home crowd on Saturday.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Federer – 50/26
Gasquet – 20/23

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Federer – 10/0
Gasquet – 3/2

BREAK POINTS WON

Federer – 3/6
Gasquet – 0/5

Andy Murray made clear he is far from finished after overcoming a fourth-set wobble to upset 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round at Wimbledon.

The two-time champion at SW19 has seen his career beset by injury issues in recent years, with this his first appearance in the main draw since reaching the quarter-finals in 2017.

However, he won two matches at Queen’s Club ahead of the third grand slam of the season and treated the Centre Court crowd to a trip down memory lane on Monday, including a dramatic twist when seemingly on the brink of victory.

Having taken the first two sets, Murray somehow contrived to lose the third despite at one stage holding a 5-0 lead. The sudden collapse sent nerves jangling among the spectators as the roof was closed at the venue, but he responded impressively to the setback to triumph 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-3.

Speaking during his on-court interview after the triumph, the Scotsman once again reiterated he has no plans to make this year his Wimbledon swansong.

"It's been extremely tough. Even these last few months. It has been extremely frustrating not being able to get on the court," Murray said.

"I've had such little momentum over these last few years. I've kept trying, doing all the right things to be back in this position. I feel very lucky I get to do it again.

"I keep getting asked is this going to be my last Wimbledon. I don't know why I keep getting asked, though. No, I'm going to keep on playing.

"I want to play, I'm enjoying it. I can still play at the highest level. He is ranked 28th in the world and I beat him, so I will keep going."

Basilashvili saved two match points as he somehow survived in the third set by winning seven games in a row, though Murray responded to the setback impressively.

"I did well to win the fourth set in the end because that was mentally not easy going to the locker room after losing that third," Murray added.

Next up will be either Oscar Otte or Arthur Rinderknech, their contest having been locked at 9-9 in the deciding set when play on the opening day was suspended on the outside courts.

Frances Tiafoe is confident he can cause further shocks at Wimbledon after he claimed the impressive scalp of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round on Monday.

Unseeded American Tiafoe ousted Tsitsipas in straight sets, winning 6-4 6-4 6-3 to make the Greek the first major casualty of the men's draw.

Tsitsipas was in action for the first time since losing the French Open final to Novak Djokovic on June 13 and struggled to cope with Tiafoe's aggressive style, suffering a break of serve in the very first game.

While that was the only break of the first set, it gave Tsitsipas a deficit he never recovered from, and he was broken again at 4-4 in the second as Tiafoe made his lead even more commanding.

Tiafoe then saw things out impressively, his 17 winners to his opponent's 10 in the third set reflecting the American's greater confidence as he made Tsitsipas the first third seed to lose in the opening round of the grass-court tournament since Andre Agassi in 1996.

 

And Tiafoe reckons there is more where that came from.

"Definitely one of my best [performances], from start to finish it was pretty clean," the 23-year-old told the BBC.

"This is what you train for this is what it's all about. I live for these kind of moments.

"I'm not even close to where I want to be. I've had a lot of great achievements but I haven't even scratched the surface I feel personally.

"Today was big, I definitely needed that, a guy at his level, that guy's special, he's going to do a lot of great things, win a ton of grand slams but not today."

Tiafoe will face Vasek Pospisil or Roberto Carballes Baena in the next round.

Andy Murray plays his first Wimbledon singles match in four years on Monday – with the journey back to Centre Court hailed as an equivalent achievement to his grand slam titles.

The former world number one has battled through injuries that threatened to end his career, so it will be a remarkable feat when he walks out to face Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Murray, who has won Wimbledon twice and the US Open once, as well as landing two Olympic gold medals in singles, underwent hip resurfacing in 2019 but has continued to be plagued by fitness problems.

The tribute to the resilience of the 34-year-old came from women's British number one Johanna Konta, who was cruelly ruled out of Wimbledon on Sunday when a close contact tested positive for COVID-19.

Konta, who spoke to Stats Perform before receiving that painful news, reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2017, the last year Murray played singles at the All England Club.

He was fit enough to play doubles in 2019, partnering Serena Williams in the mixed event, but a billing on the main show court promises to be an emotional occasion for a player who is struggling to repeat past glories.

"I think Andy really represents tenacity and perseverance," said Konta, a Jaguar ambassador.

"He loves this game, he loves winning in this game, he loves being good and great in this game. I think he will keep doing everything he can to keep putting himself back into position to be great."

 

"I think maybe bringing the attention more on the fact he is trying to do that, with the challenges he's had, is what we should be celebrating and we should be really acknowledging.

"I think this is probably equally as difficult as when he won his slams and his gold medals.

"I think it's on a par with that achievement. I think and hope people can see that and really acknowledge it because he really deserves that."


:: Johanna Konta is a Jaguar ambassador. Jaguar is the Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon. To discover Jaguar’s unmatched experiences visit jaguar.co.uk/Wimbledon

After an enforced hiatus in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, tennis returns to SW19.

Novak Djokovic makes his way back to Wimbledon as the defending champion and with the men's grand slam record firmly in his sight.

Djokovic conquered Rafael Nadal en route to French Open glory and his 19th slam crown – one shy of the record shared by rivals Nadal and Roger Federer.

With Nadal and Dominic Thiem absent, Djokovic's path to a 20th major trophy has opened up in London.

The women's title is up for grabs after holder Simona Halep withdrew, and Serena Williams can still dream of making history.

As all eyes shift to the All England Club, Stats Perform looks at the numbers behind this year's slam, using Opta data.

 

Dominant Djokovic

World number one and top seed Djokovic begins his title defence against promising Briton Jack Draper in the first round.

French Open champion Djokovic has won four of the last six Wimbledon tournaments, including each of the past two – the last player to win more at Wimbledon in a row was Federer between 2003 and 2007 (five).

A five-time Wimbledon winner, Djokovic is the only man to have won the first two grand slam tournaments of a calendar year over the last 25 years, doing it in 2016 and 2021. The last man to win the first three grand slams of a calendar year was Rod Laver during his Grand Slam in 1969.

The 2019 Wimbledon final was the first slam decider to be decided by a final set tie-break, with Djokovic beating Federer 7-3 in that tiebreak, while it was also the longest final in Wimbledon history (four hours, 57 minutes).

No man has won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year since Nadal in 2010.

 

Federer farewell?

The curtain appears to be closing on all-time great Federer, who withdrew from the French Open after a draining four-set win over Dominik Koepfer to preserve his body for the grass season.

This year's Wimbledon could be the 39-year-old's final realistic shot at a grand slam as Djokovic bids to become the greatest of all.

Seeded sixth, Federer – who meets Adrian Mannarino first up – has won the most Wimbledon titles among all male players in the slam's history.

Federer will aim to win his 21st grand slam, which would break a tie with Nadal for the outright men's record.

 

The 'Big Four' and their stranglehold

Injuries have forced two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray to fall out of the equation but there has been no getting past the original 'Big Four'.

Among the men, the last 17 years of Wimbledon has been dominated by the same four players – Federer (eight titles), Djokovic (five), Nadal (two), Murray (two). The last winner at Wimbledon before them was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.

Since Wimbledon in 2004, only one of the 68 slams has not seen at least one of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal in the semi-finals – it was at the US Open last year.

The new generation is headlined by grand slam runners-up Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Medvedev has never passed the third round at Wimbledon, though his two defeats at that stage have both been in five sets. The Russian second seed has reached at least the quarter-finals in three of his last four major tournaments, after reaching that stage in only one of his previous 13.

Beaten by Djokovic in the Roland Garros final, Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals in his last three slams, having done so only once in his previous 12. The third seed has never reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, however.

Wimbledon is the only slam where fourth seed Alexander Zverev is yet to reach the quarter-final, his best result being a fourth-round performance in 2017. Since the beginning of 2020, he has advanced to the semi-finals in three slam tournaments, after never doing it in his previous 18 such major main-draw appearances.

 

Serena's ongoing quest

The queen of WTA tennis for so long, Serena Williams is one slam success away from matching Margaret Court's record of 24 major singles championships. But the 39-year-old has been stuck on 23 since reigning supreme at the Australian Open in 2017.

Williams, who lost in the French Open fourth round, has won seven Wimbledon titles (level with Steffi Graf) – only Martina Navratilova has more in the Open Era (nine).

American superstar Williams has been a Wimbledon runner-up in 2018 and 2019. Chris Evert is the only player in the Open Era to have lost three consecutive Wimbledon finals (between 1978 and 1980).

Williams, the sixth seed who will clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening round, is looking to become only the second woman to win 100 Wimbledon singles matches (currently 98), alongside Navratilova (120). She could also become the first woman to reach 100-plus wins in two different majors (106 wins at the US Open).

From the first Wimbledon final reached by one Williams sister in 2000 (won by Venus against Lindsay Davenport), only in four of 20 editions has neither of the two sisters reached the decider – in 2006 (Amelie Mauresmo-Justine Henin), 2011 (Petra Kvitova-Maria Sharapova), 2013 (Marion Bartoli-Sabine Lisicki) and 2014 (Kvitova-Eugenie Bouchard).

 

Barty party?

Former French Open champion Ash Barty heads to Wimbledon as the top seed and will kick off her title bid against veteran Carla Suarez Navarro.

However, world number one Barty has never reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Reaching the 2019 fourth round was her best result. The last Australian woman to reach the quarters at Wimbledon was Jelena Dokic in 2000.

The top seed in the Wimbledon women's singles main draw has been eliminated in the first round just three times in the Open Era – Graf in 1994, Martina Hingis in 1999 and Hingis again in 2001.

Wimbledon is the only major won by Kvitova in her career (2011 and 2014). She is one among the three current players with multiple titles at the All England Club, alongside Serena and Venus Williams.

Karolina Pliskova was the woman with the most aces per match made on average at Wimbledon 2019 (9.0, 36 in total) among players who reached the third round.

Novak Djokovic spent the week before Wimbledon enjoying a challenge for a most unlikely title in Mallorca.

The Serbian reached his first men's doubles final for 11 years when he and Carlos Gomez-Herrera knocked out the third seeds on Thursday. Were it not for an injury to the Spaniard forcing them to withdraw, you would not have put it past Djokovic, a man with 83 singles titles, to have lifted what would have been just a second doubles trophy in his career.

"I don't think we expected to reach the finals," Djokovic admitted after an unexpected, liberating week. "Everything clicked quite amazingly."

That Djokovic could prepare to defend his Wimbledon title by experimenting in the doubles in the Spanish sun should serve as a warning to the rest of the draw. He has not played a Tour-level singles match since that exhausting, extraordinary win at the French Open where he inflicted on Rafael Nadal just the third Roland Garros defeat of his career before recovering from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. That treacherous transition from clay to grass is no problem at all, such is Djokovic's belief in his own powers.

And why not? He has been close to untouchable in 2021: 27 wins and as many titles as defeats, his three trophy wins including the first two grand slams of the year. He has 19 now, just one behind all-time record holders Nadal – who withdrew from Wimbledon and the Olympics after a gruelling clay season – and Roger Federer, who has played only eight matches since the 2020 Australian Open following two knee operations. Djokovic has won four of the past six championships at SW19 and is bidding to become the first man to win three in a row since Federer managed four from 2004 to 2007.

For Federer, 2021 has been about building for these next two months, for another fortnight in London and a final shot at Olympic singles gold. He pulled out of Roland Garros after a draining four-set win over Dominik Koepfer to preserve his body for the grass season, but his bid for an 11th title in Halle ended in a dispiriting second-round loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

 

Federer would not admit it publicly, nor perhaps even to himself, but Wimbledon 2021 represents his best remaining chance at winning a major, not least with Nadal and fourth seed Dominic Thiem having pulled out. He should have taken the title the last time the event was played two years ago, when Djokovic survived two match points to win the longest final in history in four hours and 57 minutes. Now 39, having to pick and choose his matches to prolong his career, that unpalatable moment when Federer puts down his racquet for good is starting to loom large on the horizon.

It leaves things beautifully poised at the top of the men's game. Djokovic has always been hindered in conversations around the 'big three'. The 34-year-old has never won the hearts of the wider tennis public in quite the same way as Roger and Rafa, in spite of his best – and occasionally misguided – efforts.

Yet the fact remains we are entering a critical point in this particular GOAT debate. Djokovic leads the head-to-head record against Federer (27-23) and Nadal (30-28). He is the only man in the Open Era to win all four grand slams twice. Nobody has won more Masters 1000 titles (36, level with Nadal), and nobody else has won all nine of those events. He has been world number one for 326 weeks – also a record. And all of his major titles bar one have come in the past 10 years, a time in which Nadal has won 11 and Federer four. This has truly been his decade – at least, if you ignore the doubles.

Should Djokovic win a sixth Wimbledon title, and should he follow that with major number 21 at the US Open, there will be little objective reason not to crown him the greatest men's player ever to play the sport. He knows that.

Perhaps Federer does, too. The lingering regret of losing three finals here to Djokovic, the lure of lifting this trophy for a ninth time, the prospect of halting the Serbian's conquest of the game –perhaps that will inspire the Swiss to what would surely be the greatest triumph of his career. Perhaps, just once more, everything will click.

Novak Djokovic will start the defence of his Wimbledon title against British wildcard Jack Draper, and Serena Williams takes on Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round.

Djokovic is just one grand slam title away from matching Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's record tally of 20 after winning the Australian Open and French Open this year.

The world number one will take on 19-year-old Draper, a quarter-finalist at Queen's Club last week, in his first match at SW19 for two years after the 2020 championships were called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Djokovic faces a potential quarter-final against Andrey Rublev, while Federer could come up against second seed Daniil Medvedev in last eight.

 

First up for eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer is an encounter with Adrian Mannarino, while injury-plagued two-time winner Andy Murray will start his home major against the 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, beaten by Djokovic in a thrilling French Open final this month, has been drawn to face American Frances Tiafoe in round one of a tournament that gets under way on Monday.

Simona Halep announced just before the draw was made on Friday that she would not defend her title due to a calf injury.

Williams, runner-up to Halep in the 2019 final, must get past Sasnovich of Belarus in the first round and could face third seed Elina Svitolina at the quarter-final stage.

World number one and top seed Ash Barty takes on Carla Suarez Navarro, who made a grand slam return at Roland Garros after recovering from cancer. Barty could come up against Bianca Andreescu in the last eight.

Petra Kvitova against Sloane Stephens is a standout first-round match, while Coco Gauff's first assignment will be a meeting with 20-year-old Briton Fran Jones.

Daniil Medvedev is set for just the third grass-court semi-final of his ATP Tour career at the Mallorca Championships.

Medvedev, who has reached two hard-court grand slam finals, as well as winning last year's ATP Finals, has never been beyond the last four on grass. He has only done so once on clay.

The Russian will get another chance on Friday, though, against Pablo Carreno Busta.

That is his reward for beating Casper Ruud, who Medvedev acknowledged likely also does not favour the grass season.

"I don't think grass is his best surface, but in the first set he was playing top level and I couldn't get any break points," Medvedev said after beating Ruud 7-5 6-1. 

"But as soon as he started serving a bit worse and making some errors, I tried to use it as fast as I could.

"It was important to win the first set and not in a tie-break, this gives me a boost of confidence."

Carreno Busta defeated Jordan Thompson in straight sets but was not followed into the semis by either of the other Spaniards in action.

Third seed Roberto Bautista Agut was toppled by Sam Querrey, as Feliciano Lopez lost to Adrian Mannarino.

At the Viking International in Eastbourne, there is an Australian in each semi-final after wins for Alex de Minaur and Max Purcell.

De Minaur wore down Vasek Pospisil 6-4 6-4 and now faces Kwon Soon-woo, who was similarly comfortable against Ilya Ivashka.

Purcell battled past Andreas Seppi, recovering from a tough second set in which he succumbed 6-1, but must now face another Italian.

Third seed Lorenzo Sonego secured his semis spot by blasting past Alexander Bublik 6-1 7-5.

Dominic Thiem has been ruled out of Wimbledon after tests on a wrist injury and faces a race to be fully fit in time to defend his US Open title.

The world number five retired from his match against Adrian Mannarino in the Mallorca Championships on Tuesday, when 5-2 up in the opening set.

Checks on the wrist by a specialist in Barcelona have shown Thiem needs time away from tennis, meaning Wimbledon is off the table along with tournaments in Hamburg and Gstaad in July.

According to a medical bulletin issued on Thiem's social media accounts, it will be five weeks before he can remove a wrist splint and begin to step up his recovery.

With the US Open beginning on August 30, that does not leave a lot of time for Thiem to recover physical fitness and find his best tennis. He would have been seeded number four at Wimbledon.

The medical bulletin read: "Tests found that there is a 'detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of the right wrist', an injury that will not allow him to compete in the circuit for several weeks.

"Thiem will wear a wrist splint for five weeks before beginning a progressive process of specific, functional rehabilitation to regain mobility as well as muscle strength in his wrist and ultimately return to training on court."

Thiem, who had already decided against playing at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, appears to be hoping his lay-off is not as long as the experts have forecast.

He will undergo MRI scans and tests as his recovery progresses, and the 27-year-old Austrian said: "I'm going to do everything the doctors say in order to recover as quickly as possible.

"They've informed me that I might be out for several weeks, but I will do my best to be back on court soon.

"I'm really sorry for pulling out of the upcoming three tournaments I had in my calendar: Wimbledon, Hamburg and Gstaad.

"They are very important tournaments for me. I appreciate all the support from the fans in these difficult moments – I'm determined to come back stronger."

Thiem's absence is another blow for Wimbledon, with Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka having already announced they would not be playing the tournament.

Dominic Thiem will seek the advice of a specialist in Barcelona after suffering an injury scare ahead of Wimbledon next week.

Number two seed Thiem retired due to a wrist injury when 5-2 up in the opening set against Adrian Mannarino in the Mallorca Championships on Tuesday.

An MRI conducted at a Mallorca hospital was inconclusive, so the US Open champion will now undergo further tests.

In an update on Wednesday, Thiem wrote on social media: "Yesterday during the match I had a problem with my wrist.

"I went immediately to do an MRI at the hospital in Palma de Mallorca. The results weren't that clear and I have decided to go to Barcelona to check with a specialist.

"I hope I can get the results and a clear diagnosis in the next days."

The ATP 250 event continued without him in Mallorca, as Roberto Bautista Agut moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 7-5 triumph over Italian Stefano Travaglia.

More Spanish success on home soil arrived as Pablo Carreno Busta won 6-4 6-4 against Jiri Vesely.

In the doubles, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Gomez-Herrera saw off top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos to reach the last four in that competition.

Djokovic appears to be enjoying himself as he continues to prepare for Wimbledon, saying: "This was a huge win for us, beating one of the best doubles players in the world after losing the first set.

"We are having a lot of fun on the court. I thought we played well even though we lost the first set."

There was a major upset at the Viking International in Eastbourne, meanwhile, with number one seed Gael Monfils suffering a shock last-16 defeat to Australia's Max Purcell – ranked number 283 in the world.

Purcell, who is only in the tournament as a lucky loser, claimed a huge 6-4 5-7 6-4 win in a battle lasting over two hours.

Monfils fired down 16 aces and fought back after being within two points of defeat in the second set but was ultimately beaten and has not made an ATP quarter-final since February 2020.

"It feels unbelievable," said Purcell. "I thought I'd come out and have a go. 

"I've struggled to get into any singles events over the past nine months and primarily played doubles, so to get on a run here, on my favourite surface, is great."

Purcell will take on Andreas Seppi – a comfortable winner over Emil Ruusuvuori – in the last eight.

While Monfils crashed out, there was less drama for the second and third seeds. 

Alex de Minaur won 6-3 6-4 against home hope Liam Broady, while Lorenzo Sonego was a 6-4 6-2 victor in his contest with John Millman.

Feliciano Lopez reached the milestone of 500 ATP Tour wins with a comeback victory over Karen Khachanov at the Mallorca Championships.

Lopez, who turns 40 in September, prevailed 4-6 6-2 6-4 against the sixth seed.

He is the 10th active player to reach 500 wins, after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Fernando Verdasco, Marin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo.

"More than the 500 wins, the important thing to me is the chance to keep playing in these kinds of tournaments and to keep being competitive," Lopez told ATPTour.com.

"I didn’t expect to be able to play at the level I am on the ATP Tour at 40 years of age, which I will be in September."

Spanish veteran Lopez would have expected to be taking on Dominic Thiem next, but the world number five retired due to a wrist injury when 5-2 to the good in the opening set against Adrian Mannarino.

"It's nice for me to be in the quarter-finals, but winning this way is not so cool. I really like Dominic, he's such a nice guy and I hope he will be feeling better soon," Mannarino said. "I hope it is not so serious, especially right before Wimbledon."

Elsewhere on the Balearic island, top seed Daniil Medvedev breezed past Corentin Moutet 6-4 6-2, while Casper Ruud defeated Tennys Sandgren in straight sets.

At the Viking International in Eastbourne, there were mixed fortunes for Lopez's countrymen Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Fokina, seeded sixth, saw off Mikael Ymer 7-5 6-1, but number seven seed Ramos-Vinolas fell 6-4 6-3 to Emil Ruusuvuori.

Alexander Bublik defeated fellow Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin is straight sets, while Jo-Wilfred Tsonga went down in similar fashion against Egor Gerasimov.

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