Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare as the defending champion won a five-set thriller against Frances Tiafoe to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.
Tiafoe came into Friday's third-round match on Centre Court with low expectations due to what has been a difficult 2024 so far, but he won the first and third sets, before coming within a tie-break of causing a huge upset.
Alcaraz ultimately prevailed 5-7 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in just under four hours to book a fourth-round meeting with either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert.
There were few signs of the drama that would follow when Alcaraz broke to take a first-set lead, but Tiafoe – who shocked Rafael Nadal at the US Open in 2022 – fought back with two breaks of his own to claim the opener and threaten another grand slam scalp.
A superb backhand winner clinched a comfortable second set for Alcaraz, but 29th seed Tiafoe produced an extremely impressive response, rallying the crowd when he confidently moved 2-1 in front having barely been troubled on serve in the third.
There were no break opportunities for either player in a keenly contested fourth set, but, with the pressure firmly on, Alcaraz produced a brilliant tie-break to send the contest into a decider, then taking his turn to celebrate with the fans.
The Spaniard made a crucial early breakthrough in game three and Tiafoe soon began to realise his opportunity had gone when Alcaraz consolidated his lead with a second break. He sealed the victory with a beautiful drop shot, with his relief and joy clear to see after getting over the line.
Data Debrief: Ten in a row for Carlos
Alcaraz is becoming a consistent grass-court performer and has now made the last 16 or better at Wimbledon for three consecutive tournaments, a run which includes his triumph last year.
The victory also means he has won 10 straight Wimbledon matches, with this surely being one of the toughest in that sequence.
Having also achieved that feat at the US Open, he is the third-youngest player to do so at both of those majors, with only Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander doing so at a younger age.
Despite a difficult afternoon on Centre Court, Alcaraz still racked up some impressive numbers, finishing with 16 aces and 55 winners.
'Not my goal at all' - Djokovic not committing to ATP Finals appearance
Novak Djokovic "can't say" if he will compete in the upcoming ATP Finals in November as he becomes more selective about which tournaments he participates in.
The Serbian has struggled with injuries and a lack of form in 2024, and he will finish a calendar year without a grand slam title for the first time since 2017.
His last major triumph came at the US Open last year, but he failed to defend his crown, suffering a shock early exit to Alexei Popyrin in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic is just one grand slam trophy away from becoming the outright record holder, currently sitting level with Margaret Court on 24 titles.
He reached the Wimbledon final in July, only to lose out to Carlos Alcaraz, though he did win his first Olympic gold in Paris by beating the Spaniard the following month.
The 37-year-old is currently representing Serbia at the Davis Cup and stressed that he will be prioritising certain tournaments over others.
"Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc," he told Serbian reporters after beating Greece's Ioannis Xilas on Saturday.
"As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can't say right now.
"My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.
"Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly.
"I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
"In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play."
Following the Davis Cup, Djokovic will play in an exhibition tournament in Sofia and in the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai at the start of October.
"After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do," Djokovic added.
"Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays, that's not the case. Now it's more spontaneous.
"Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where."
Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win
Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie.
The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.
And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.
Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.
Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.
The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.
Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.
Nadal unsure of future involvements after Laver Cup withdrawal
Rafael Nadal says he cannot commit himself to future tournaments after his withdrawal from the Laver Cup.
Nadal shared news on Thursday that he would not make an appearance at the annual event in Berlin, stating that it would not be in the best interests of Team Europe if he were to participate.
The Spaniard was last in action playing doubles at the Paris Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz, and while he says he is in a good space mentally, he was not able to confirm when he would next make a professional appearance on a tennis court.
He said: "Mentally, I’m good, no problems. I'm at home enjoying other things, training as much as I can every day.
"No drama, obviously these are decisions [the Laver Cup withdrawal] that are being made, and this was a possibility - it's been a while without competing. There will be someone else who can do better.
"Right now I’m not in a position to put myself down for anything.
"I said [I would play] until the Olympics and then we would see, and I'm in that period of rest."
Nadal has endured a difficult 2024 so far, playing just 21 competitive singles matches with a record of 13-8.
He has only one grand slam victory to his name this year, beating Jack Draper in the Australian Open, but he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
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