British hopes rise, top seeds fall, and the defending champion holds firm

Centre Court served up a thriller as Emma Raducanu pushed world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to the limit in front of a raucous home crowd. Despite Raducanu’s inspired defence—saving seven set points in the opener and going up a break in the second—Sabalenka held her nerve and powered through 7–6 (8–6), 6–4. Raducanu’s exit leaves a gap in British hopes, but her performance was far from a disappointment.

Elsewhere, Carlos Alcaraz continued his title defence with a four-set win over Jan‑Lennard Struff. After breezing through the opening set, Alcaraz briefly lost rhythm in the second before reasserting control. He remains one of the clear front-runners heading into the second week.

For the home crowd, Cameron Norrie delivered a composed straight-sets win over Italy’s Mattia Bellucci, ensuring British interest continues in the men’s draw. Meanwhile, wildcard Sonay Kartal kept her dream run alive, dismissing Diane Parry in under 90 minutes. Kartal has yet to drop a set and now finds herself in the second week of a major for the first time.

On the American front, Taylor Fritz showed his class with a confident four-set win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, while Ben Shelton wrapped up a rain-delayed second-round match with minimum fuss, advancing in straight sets.

The day also brought major upsets. Sixth seed Madison Keys crashed out in straight sets to the experienced Laura Siegemund, who controlled the match from start to finish. Former champion Naomi Osaka also fell, this time to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who came from a set down to outlast her opponent in a battle of grit and angles. Elsewhere, Elina Svitolina was knocked out in straight sets by Elise Mertens, continuing a day of surprises in the women’s draw.

As the sun set over SW19, the draw opened up considerably, particularly on the women’s side. With only one top-10 seed remaining in that half, opportunities abound for emerging names as the second week approaches.