Jannik Sinner eases through – Wimbledon 2024 day five as it happened

Sinner’s progress had not been 100 per cent serene. He needed four sets to beat both Yannick Hanfmann and Matteo Berrettini, with his compatriot taking him to tie-breaks in all three of the sets that decided the match in Sinner’s favour. This time, though, there was little trouble and the match was done in 96 minutes. The key to playing well on grass, he said, was making friends with the surface. They were on first-name terms here.

It was, however, a sign of the allure Sinner has yet to acquire with the BBC, despite being atop the rankings. The broadcaster’s coverage cut away from his final set for ruminations on a portmanteau for Britain’s new doubles duo and its daily highlights programme, shifting the finale on to iPlayer. “Thanks everyone for staying so long, I know it has been a very, very, very busy day here on Centre Court, so I’m glad to finish it off,” he said. The 22-year-old from South Tyrol is on his way to emulating last year’s achievement — a semi-final — and perhaps beyond. A warm-up for a Sunday meeting with another Serbian?

Sinner will face the winner of Denis Shapovalov versus Ben Shelton in the fourth round. The North American derby was suspended at 3-2 in the first set on No3 Court in the rain, and is scheduled to resume on No1 Court first up on Saturday. The biggest impact of that match for British viewers may be a domino effect leading into the evening: the mixed doubles match featuring the partnership of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu is slated to be last on the second show court, after Iga Swiatek’s meeting against Yulia Putintseva and a tantalising match-up between Elena Rybakina and Caroline Wozniacki. It could end up right in the post-supper slot. Andy and Emma’s Saturday-night takeaway.

While on the subject of Raducanu, in the final match on No1 Court Donna Vekic knocked out Dayana Yastremska, the Ukrainian No28 seed. That means Raducanu would not face a seeded player until the semi-finals. She would be guaranteed to face one there because every player in the bottom quarter of the women’s draw has a little number of stature next to their name and nationality.

It took him much longer than the first, but Sinner is now two sets ahead and is closing in on a spot in the fourth round.

Elgan Alderman writes Slightly more opposition from Miomir Kecmanovic in the second set, but as the match time tips past an hour and the actual time nears 9pm, Jannik Sinner has taken it 6-4 and looks set to wrap this up in straight sets.

He certainly won’t want this encounter to be prolonged any longer than necessary, and could have time to catch the end of Portugal versus France in the football, rather than test out Merton council’s 11pm curfew under the roof.

Elgan Alderman writes Jannik Sinner has taken the first set 6-1 against Miomir Kecmanovic, faster than it’s taken me to eat a slice of cake (it’s always a long day at Wimbledon). Looking very easy for the world No 1 on Centre Court.

Executive Sports Editor Joe Hare says For a while the scoreboard was broken on Centre Court. It started showing the score from a match earlier. Is this Russian hackers? It then showed 1-0, 30-15 to Sinner, which at the time was about three games out of date. But fortunately it doesn’t seem to be spoiling the spectacle for those present.

JOE HARE

World No1 Jannik Sinner is last out on Centre Court today, facing Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanović. The Italian beat compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the last round over four sets, and will be play the winner of Ben Shelton and Denis Shapovalov if he is victorious tonight.

A very impressive Emma Raducanu is through to the last 16 of Wimbledon for the first time since 2021 after beating world No9 Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

This was just her second victory over a players ranked inside the top ten in the world (her first came against American Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne last month) and she will now face New Zealand’s Lulu Sun.

Kids, eh? It is five years since Coco Gauff had Wimbledon in the palm of her hand. She was 15 then, the youngest player to have reached the main draw in the open era, and Roger Federer’s management company was already on board. That bloke knows his stuff.

“The sky’s the limit,” Venus Williams said after losing to an opponent 24 years younger. “A star is born,” Martina Navratilova added. Old sage John McEnroe wondered if it was too much too soon, but gave in and also predicted she would be the world No1 by the age of 20.

He was wrong. Gauff is now 20 and only the world No2. She did win last year’s US Open at 19, but Emma Raducanu can beat that. Gauff, though, has grown up fast. At 16, she was delivering powerful addresses at Black Lives Matter rallies. These days her star status is now shown by the fact she gets asked the quirky-cum-inane questions that are the preserve of the A-list at press conferences. Hence, we know she has seen The Lion King stage show six times and no longer crochets in her spare time. When it comes to the actual tennis, her game is made for video montages.

• Read Rick Broadbent’s report

Emma Raducanu has taken the first set against the world No9 Maria Sakkari, breaking the Greek star’s serve twice in the process.

The Brit is playing some of her best tennis, and wrapped up in the set in 45 minutes.

Elgan Alderman writes There aren’t many elite tennis players from New Zealand, but one of them would face Emma Raducanu if she can win. Lulu Sun, the world No 123, is one of only three Kiwi women in the world’s top 1,000. She has come through qualifying to reach the fourth round — the first representing her nation to get so far at Wimbledon since Ruia Harrison in 1959 — knocking out the No 8 seed en route. Before this week, New Zealand had had no one in a grand-slam singles main draw since 2017. “That is something that definitely doesn’t come by often, and I’m super grateful to be in this situation,” Sun, 23, said.

It was only in March that Sun began representing New Zealand full time, having played under the Swiss flag. She was born in Te Anau on New Zealand’s South Island — “very small town, practically more sheep and deer than people” — to a Chinese mother and Croatian father, and has a German-English stepdad from Devon. She was raised mainly in Switzerland and then studied at the University of Texas at Austin.

Emma Raducanu has commenced her third-round game on Centre Court. She is up against Maria Sakkari, whom she has played only once before — during her legendary run to 2021 US Open glory.

And the Briton makes the perfect start, breaking Sakkari’’s serve in the opening game.

Carlos Alcaraz shows why he is the champion. He was teetering after losing the third set against Frances Tiafoe, but fought back to win the fourth on a tie-break and the fifth 6-2 to reach the round of 16.

Tiafoe receives a superb ovation as he exits Centre Court, while Alcaraz’s title defence may benefit from such a tough test.

Emma Raducanu is next on Centre.

Some tense moments for Carlos Alcaraz but he wins the fourth set, prevailing in a tie-break to force a decider. It has been an epic under the roof of Centre Court

The champion is in serious trouble. Courtesy of some sensational passing shots, Frances Tiafoe wins the third set 6-4 and moves back ahead against Carlos Alcaraz. Can the Spaniard respond?

More like it from Carlos Alcaraz, as he breaks Fraces Tiafoe twice in the second set to win it 6-2 and level the match.

Although there was some excellent tennis from the Spaniard, Tiafoe looks anything but a player about to roll over.

Elgan Alderman: First up on No 1 Court, Jasmine Paolini has beaten Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 in the third round. There was so little between them in the first set, Paolini winning 42-40 on points and taking it in a tie-break, before she hammered home her dominance and Andreescu lost her fight. Paolini is the second-highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw behind Coco Gauff, who is up later against Sonay Kartal, and is a real candidate to go all the way.

Paolini’s experience of grass was minimal before this summer. Between 2017 and 2023 she didn’t win a match on the surface, limiting her season only to Wimbledon (or Roehampton qualifying) without joy. But 2024 has been a golden year for the 28-year-old: she beat Katie Boulter at Eastbourne, then Sara Sorribes Tormo and Greet Minnen this week before today. Those were her first wins at Wimbledon, coming after her first win at the Australian Open and her first final at the French Open. She is the highest-ranked Italian in the women’s game at a time of tennis promise for the nation, with Jannik Sinner at No 1 in the men’s.

Sinner ended a 48-year wait for a men’s grand-slam champion from the country, adding to the feats of Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta. Paolini has more recent emblems in Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta, both grand-slam champions in the 2010s, and Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci were runners-up in that decade too. She is at No 7 in the rankings, and could be the first Italian woman inside the top three at this rate.

Only Gauff is ranked higher than Paolini in the bottom half of the women’s singles draw

ROB NEWELL – CAMERASPORT/CAMERASPORT VIA GETTY IMAGES

This was the second successive grand-slam at which these two met at this stage. That was Andreescu’s first tournament appearance in nine months because of a stress fracture in her back, following it up with a run to the final on grass in the Netherlands. When considering what Andreescu has been through, it was good to see her on court and competing.

Some of the parallels between Andreescu and that young British tennis player a lot of people hate being mentioned are quite spooky. Born in Canada (tick) with Romanian heritage (tick), Andreescu was 19 when she won the US Open, the first from her nation to win a grand-slam, and rose to No 4 in the rankings. A series of injuries (tick) have hindered the 24-year-old and she is down at No 176, and has never made it beyond the fourth round on any other grand-slam appearance (tick, tick).

The past five years have featured plenty of darkness. Andreescu has taken herself to yoga retreats in Costa Rica in search of purpose, looking to love the sport again. Hopefully she can now string together a run of success, modest or extravagant.

Is an upset brewing on Centre Court? Despite going a break down, Frances Tiafoe recovered to take the first set against Carlos Alcaraz, winning 7-5.

The American is handling Alcaraz’s ball-striking superbly in a match that is being played in an excellent spirit.

Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe have started proceedings on Centre Court, with the Wimbledon champion holding serve to love in the first game. Over on No 1 Court, Jasmine Paolini and Bianca Andreescu are with serve in the first set.

Elsewhere, the rain has relented and there is action on the outside courts, though the forecast for the afternoon looks ominous.

Elgan Alderman: I have just typed in “Wimbledon rain” toThe Times archive (I really like typing search terms into archives). The second result was from 70 years and nine days ago, reporting on an absence of Friday play, and this is what interested me from the age when if it rained, there was nothing to do but wait for it to stop: play began at 2pm on all seven courts (there was nothing scheduled on two of them), back when matches were rapid; our correspondent was classified as lawn tennis, not to be confused with the real version; and, crucially, Mike Davies was still in the singles. I sometimes feel like the only Welshman at SW19, though my parents drove all the way from the heavenly land yesterday for their SW19 debut.

June 26, 1954
WIMBLEDON DAY LOST THROUGH RAIN
Meteorological guide goes awry
From our Lawn Tennis Correspondent

There was no play in the lawn tennis championships yesterday at Wimbledon, when at 6.30, with the rain still persisting, it was announced that a large crowd would have nothing to see.

This decision, so obvious then, was not possible earlier, for a breeze from the prevalent south-wester – about force four on the Beaufort scale — had kept the optimistic alive in hope. This hope may have arisen from a local lore which is reputed to say that if the view over the church spire is clear it will be all right. And it certainly was clearer than in the middle of the afternoon.

Yet what has come to be called the ceiling had not lifted, and others may have glanced yonder at the ivy-mantled tower and wondered whether some moping owls would proclaim that the night would give rest to many concerned in the great events to come.

If the weather relents, to-day’s crowded programme will not leave the tournament behind, for Wimbledon, with so many courts all covered and an able referee, is always a day in hand. This was proved two years ago on a similar occasion of temporary disaster in the second week. In these times there is nothing but to look forward, and it was pleasant to think of the distinction of MG Davies in reaching a covetous place in the last 16 against B Patty, while admitting that the almost proverbial last Englishman left in comes from Wales.

Wimbledon and rain: a combination as old as the tournament itself

JOHN WALTON/PA WIRE

Stuart Fraser: Andy Murray has at least one more Wimbledon match to come in the mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu, but this was the send-off. After playing with his brother Jamie at the All England Club for the first and last time, he deservedly took the acclaim of his family, friends, rivals and many fans as he walked off Centre Court in near darkness.

Murray is likely to return to the most famous tennis court in the world on Saturday, but Wimbledon organisers took no chances in case of any injuries before then. With retirement beckoning later this summer after the Olympics, an emotional 20-minute farewell ceremony was held to say goodbye to one of Britain’s greatest athletes.

• Read more: Tearful Murray gets grand goodbye he deserves

After last night’s tearful, poignant and unforgettable tribute to Andy Murray on Centre Court, it has been a low-key start to day five at Wimbledon. Wet weather means there will be no play on the outside courts before 1pm, and rain is forecast for much of the day.

Of course, roofs on Centre Court and No 1 Court mean we will get some action. The defending men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz is first up on Centre, against the eccentric and charismatic Frances Tiafoe. Emma Raducanu will follow this match, with the 21-year-old Briton playing the No 9 seed Maria Sakkari.

There is also British interest on No 1 Court, as Sonay Kartal faces a fiendish challenge against the US Open champion Coco Gauff.

Seeds in brackets
Unless stated, start times will change depending on rain delays. There will be no play before at least 1pm on the outside court

Centre Court (1.30pm): (3) C Alcaraz (Sp) v (29) F Tiafoe (US); E Raducanu (GB) v (9) M Sakkari (Gr); (1) J Sinner (It) v M Kecmanovic (Serbia).

No 1 Court (1pm): (7) J Paolini (It) v B Andreescu (Can); (10) G Dimitrov (Bul) v G Monfils (Fr); S Kartal (GB) v (2) C Gauff (US).

No 2 Court (12) T Paul (US) v (23) A Bublik (Kaz); J-L Struff (Ger) v (5) D Medvedev (Russ)

No 3 Court (14) D Kasatkina (Russ) v P Badosa (Sp); D Shapovalov (Can) v (14) B Shelton (US). (3) R Rajeev (US) and J Salisbury (GB) v A Mies (Ger) v J-P Smith (Aus).

Court 4 C Garcia (Fr) and K Mladenovic (Fr) v (10) M Bouzkova (Cz) and S Sorribes Tormo (Sp); (11) M Gonzalez (Arg) and A Molteni (Arg) v P Tsitsipas (Gr) and S Tsitsipas (Gr).

Court 5 S Baez (Arg) and D Brown (Jam) v (13) H Nys (Mon) and J Zielinski (Pol); S Ofner (Aut) and S Weissborn (Aut) v D Hidalgo (Ec) and A Tabilo (Chile).

Court 6 (14) S Gille and J Vliegen (Bel) v F D Acosta (Arg) and A Muller (Fr); R Matos and M Melo (Br) v N Barrientos (Col) and F Cabral (Por); (9) L Kickenok (Ukr) and J Ostapenko (Lat) v A Blinkova and M Sherrif (Egypt) or E Hozumi (Japan) and M Uchijima (Japan); (6) N Skupski (GB) and D Krawczyk (US) v R Matos and L Stefani (Br).

Court 7 G Andreozzi (Arg) and M Reyes-Varela (Mex ) v L Glasspool (GB) and J Rojer (Neth); M Linette (Pol) and P Stearns (US) v T Mihalikova (Slovakia) and O Nicholls (GB); L Fernandez (Can) and E Shibahara (Japan) v (16) U Eikeri (Nor) and I Neel (Est).

Court 8 (2pm) Y Bhambri (Ind) and A Olivetti (Fr) v (8) K Krawietz (Ger) and T Puetz (Ger); I Khromacheva and K Rakhimova (Russ) v (2) G Dabrowski (Can) and E Routliffe (NZ); L Glasspool (GB) and H Dart (GB) v F Martin (Fr) and C Bucsa (Sp).

Court 10 A Krueger and S Stephens (US) v (12) H. Chan (Taiwan) and V Kudermetova (Russ); F Martin (Fr) and M Middelkoop (Neth) v (15) M Purcell (Aus) and J Thompson (Aus); M Willis (GB) and A Barnett (GB) v (8) I Dodig (Cro) and H Chan (Taiwan).

Court 12 B Nakashima (US) v (16) U Humbert (Fr); (18) M Kostyuk (Ukr) v (12) M Keys (US).

Court 14 J Cash (GB) and R Galloway (US) v T Arribage (Fr) and M Daniell (NZ); (8) B Krejcikova (Cz) and L Siegemund (Ger) v S Murray Sharan (GB) and E Silva (GB); J Withrow (US) and A Sutjiadi (Ind) v (5) A Vavassori (It) and S Errani (It).

Court 15 L Sun (NZ) v Lin Zhu (China); R Arneodo (Mon) and S Verbeek (Neth) v (4) M Arevalo (El Salvador) and M Pavic (Cro); (7) J Zielinski (Pol) and S Hsieh (Taiwan) v H Nys (Mon) and D Schuurs (Neth).

Court 16 R Bautista Agut (Sp) v F Fognini (It); N Borges (Por) and A Rinderknech (Fr) v C Broom (GB) and A Fery (GB).

Court 17 (2pm) H Heliovaara (Fin) and H Patten (GB) v P Martinez and J Munar (Sp); (4) K Siniakova (Cz) and T Townsend (US) v O Gadecki (Aus) and E Lechemia (Fr)

Court 18 D Shnaider v (19) E Navarro (US); (28) D Yastremska (Ukr) v D Vekic (Cro); C Frantzen (Ger) and H Jebens (Ger) v (2) R Bopanna (India) and M Edben (Aus).

To be arranged N Mahut (Fr) and S Mansouri (Tun) v T Kokkinakis (Aus) and D Shapovalov (Can); Y Sizikova (Russ) and Y Wang (China) v A Kalinskaya (Russ) and D Vekic (Cro); M McDonald (US) and B Shelton (US) v F Cobolli (It) and L Sonego (It).