Tennis

Wimbledon 2023 results: Katie Boulter through v Daria Saville..By Jonathan Jurejko, BBC Sport at Wimbledon.

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British number one Katie Boulter says it was a "shock to the system" to see a protestor run on to court during her win in the Wimbledon first round.

Boulter was trailing 4-2 to Australia's Daria Saville in a first-set tie-break when the man came on to court 18.

When the pair returned, Boulter took five straight points in the breaker and went on to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.

Boulter, who won a maiden WTA title at Nottingham last month, started with a confident victory against 231th-ranked Saville, who is continuing her comeback from a serious knee injury.

The pair began their match on Tuesday morning, were forced off when persistent rain set in, and eventually returned to finish more than 24 hours later.

But the end only came after another delay - this time involving the Just Stop Oil protester, who threw confetti on to the court.

After the protestor was dragged off court in Boulter and Saville's match, the players helped clear the orange confetti off the surface before the Briton took control of the tie-break when play resumed.

Using that momentum, she improved further in the second set and won four of the final five games to reach the second round for the fourth time in five years.

"I'm not really sure if the stoppage helped or not. Obviously I won a lot of points after that. It was a really tough moment for both of us," said Boulter.

"I had to remind myself to focus, to keep in the moment and keep trying to keep my eye on the ball.

"It was a really key moment for us."

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Wimbledon 2023 results: Stefanos Tsitsipas braced for Andy Murray test..By Michael Emons, BBC Sport at Wimbledon.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Dominic Thiem in a five-set first-round Wimbledon epic to set up a Centre Court meeting with Britain's Andy Murray.

The 24-year-old Greek won 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) in a match that lasted three hours 56 minutes.

Andy Murray beat fellow Briton Ryan Peniston on Centre Court on Tuesday, one of only eight matches to be completed on day two.

The 36-year-old home favourite would have therefore been pleased to see fifth seed Tsitsipas involved in a gruelling encounter with 2020 US Open champion Thiem, played out over two days on a packed Court Two.


Stefanos Tsitsipas spoke to BBC One after his five-set win over Dominic Thiem: "It was pretty stressful, I won't lie. For a second I thought we were doing the repeat of Isner-Mahut. Dominic brings the best out of me. It was quite frustrating at the same time. This is tennis, you know. We put on a show and I hope everyone enjoyed it. Dominic is a tough competitor and I wish him all the best in the future."

Playing singles, doubles and mixed: "Not in a million years did I think I'd be playing in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles. It's a pleasure to be doing this. Doing this with my brother is a dream come true. We've been dreaming of it since we were little kids. We come from a little suburban town in Athens, not much was given to us."

Taking on Andy Murray in the second round: "I'm not expecting anyone supporting me. That's not my first rodeo! A few years ago when I was a kid I remember witnessing his first Wimbledon title. It was so difficult for him to close that last game. Every time I watch that last game, I feel shivers all over my body. I respect him so much. That court over there is almost like his living room. I hope I can play on Centre Court, the furthest I've played is Court One."

Psst, I can let you into a secret, Stefanos - you're 3rd on Centre tomorrow.

Result - Katie Boulter 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 Viktoriya Tomova

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Katie Boulter

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Katie Boulter

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Katie Boulter

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Katie Boulter

Game, set and match - Tomova 0-6 6-3 3-6 Boulter

Katie Boulter makes the third round for a second year in a row!

The British number one holds her neve to seal the victory.

Boulter next faces either Elena Rybakina or Alize Cornet, who play later today on centre court.

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Katie Boulter

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Katie Boulter

Here's what Katie Boulter had to say to BBC TV's Annabel Croft after her three-set win against Viktoriya Tomova: "It definitely wasn’t easy out there, it was a little blustery at times, but I tried to back myself and remind myself to go for it. It paid off today and I’m super happy.

"She’s [Tomova] a top player, I expected her to come back with an even better game in the second set and she def did. I had to get used to it and keep backing myself, making myself as aggressive as possible.

"My serve is getting me out of trouble quite a bit so I’m happy that I keep backing myself to go for it.

"The crowd definitely got me over the line today. I could feel a bit of tension at the end. I loved the atmosphere today."

On a third-round tie with Elina Rybakina or Alize Cornet: “Both players play unbelievable well. One is a defending champ so I’m expecting a seriously tough battle. But I’ve got nothing to lose and I’m looking forward to it.”

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Al: Watching the cricket highlights on my laptop on iPlayer while watching the tennis on the TV with the sound down.

Marina: Time for "Late Night with Andy Murray."

Andrew: The serving in that first set from both players, in particular during that crucial tiebreak, was exceptional. Tsitsipas was the man who executed better on the big points.

Jo: I think it’s going to be a late night folks! Come on Andy!

Andrew P: A world-class tiebreak performance from Andy Murray. He completely dominated Tsitsipas with the match on the line.

Andrew N: This is a lot closer than I was expecting it to be!

Benfides: Tsitsipas is a top-class player - I didn't think Murray still had this in him. Fair play, he's some competitor! Let's go Andy!

Idowu: Never seen Murray play this good tennis in a very long while, rooting for you, Andy! Let's go

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A historic day - It's fitting that Andy Murray should play on this date.

It is a momentous one in British sporting history, after all.

On 7th July 2013, Murray ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's champion with a straight-set victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.

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Andy Murray with the trophy

Fantastic Friday - It’s one of those days where if you have a ticket for Centre Court you feel like you have won the lottery.
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Your experience of Andy Murray's first Wimbledon win..
James, 30 - Surrey: I was watching the match at home with my mum. I had been hooked on seeing a first British Wimbledon winner since Fred Perry. I loved the lengthy Henman grinds and the Murray deep runs were always enthralling, but they always left me stressed. 2013 was no different... I ended up breaking my hand when Andy was serving for the championship. I was in a cast for 4 weeks...

Lucy, 51 – Stourbridge: At home - with my eyes half closed! I couldn’t stop pacing between the garden and living room during the last game. I was convinced Novak was going to break Andy and that would be the end. Over the moon when he won - screamed like I’d won it myself!

Wendy, 60 – Aberdeen: I was volunteering at the championships that year and had finished my shift so went on to Murray Mound to watch him. What a match! what an atmosphere! what a day! Very emotional and magical day. Count myself very lucky to have witnessed a piece of sporting history ! One of my most treasured memories!

Lorraine, 77 – Lincolnshire: It was my birthday and the best birthday present ever. I was at home but I could barely watch and I kept getting tearful because I was so scared he wouldn't get over the line again and I worried how he would ever come to terms with another loss. I was petrified but when he won I couldn't stop crying with happiness and the next day I bought a copy of pretty much every newspaper.

Sarah, 52 – Edinburgh: We were on holiday in Portugal with our kids, including my tennis mad 9 year old son. The villa had loads of different doors to access the outside. The last game with all of its deuces, was so unbearable to watch that we kept going out through one door and in through another, barely able to watch. When he finally won we all just ran out and leapt into the pool fully clothed!

Ali, 18 – Derby: My memory of Andy Murray winning the Wimbledon had a massive impact on my desire to watch tennis and become a tennis player in the future. Andy Murray's Wimbledon triumph gave me and million of others inspiration to the same and also made us love the sport even more. It is one of the most biggest sporting moments in British sport history and I would like to thanks Andy for this. I was 9 years old when the match happened and at that time I was not that much of a fan of any player in tennis but after watching the match and realising what Murray did, made me his biggest fan.

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Another pic of Andy with the trophy

Away from the show courts, there's plenty of other exciting matches to watch out for.
Britain's , a winner against fourth seed Casper Ruud on Thursday, will be looking to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time when he faces 26th seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada on court two.
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Liam Broady

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Andy Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas coming up after the Carlos Alcaraz v Alexandre Muller match

That match is currently Alcaraz 6-4 7-6 (7-2) Muller...

Wimbledon 2023 results: Andy Murray struggling for motivation after second-round exit..By Jonathan Jurejko, BBC Sport at Wimbledon.

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Andy waving goodbye to the crowd on centre court

Whenever Andy Murray waves goodbye to Centre Court these days, nobody can confidently predict if it will be the last time or not.

In the hours after another disheartening defeat at Wimbledon, even the 36-year-old was unsure.

At the start of the 10th anniversary of Murray's iconic first title at the All England Club, when he ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion, there was hope.

The hope was that he could complete a memorable win over Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and earn his most notable victory at a Grand Slam since having career-saving hip surgery in 2019.

By the end, the former world number one questioned whether all the effort, pain and sacrifice of trying to go deep at Wimbledon is worth repeating.

Asked if he was confident of returning next year, Murray said: "I don't know. Motivation is obviously a big thing.

"Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this doesn't necessarily help with that."

Murray cut a forlorn figure as he spoke to journalists, looking incredibly downbeat as he dissected his five-set defeat by 24-year-old Tsitsipas.

The scene was nothing new. Revealing raw emotion after difficult defeats at the place where he puts the greatest emphasis on winning has been common in the past few years.

In 2021, Murray said he needed to weigh up "if all the hard work is worth it" after an encouraging run was ended by Canada's Denis Shapovalov in the third round.

In 2022, an equally-despondent Murray also questioned his future after suffering his earliest exit at Wimbledon at the hands of American John Isner in the second round.

This year, for all the bullish talk in the build-up, the tournament ended with the same result.

"Losing in the second round, I don't find that motivating, it's not why I put all of the work in," Murray said.

"It's similar to last year, I guess. I had a long think about things, spoke to my family, and decided to keep on going.

"I'm unbelievably disappointed and upset now. Maybe I will feel different in a few days but right now it doesn't feel good."

This summer, Murray has channelled all his efforts into a deep run at the place where he has won two of his three major titles.

That is what makes the disappointment even harder to take.

Murray decided to skip the clay-court French Open, preferring instead to start his preparations on the British grass on which he thrives.

Dropping down to the ATP Challenger Tour - the level below the main tour - led to title wins in Surbiton and Nottingham.

Murray suffered a chastening defeat against Alex de Minaur when he made the step up in class at Queen's. No panic, he insisted.

But, crucially, it meant he missed out on a seeding and left him open to the prospect of facing one of the highest-ranked players in the first two rounds.

The draw threw up a potential second-round match against Tsitsipas, a two-time major finalist tipped to win one of the sport's biggest prizes sooner rather than later.

When that highly anticipated meeting panned out, Murray stepped up to the occasion - as he regularly does on the big stage - and showed glimpses of his best.

It was testament to his performance that Tsitsipas had to produce his best display on grass in a long time to pull through.

Not even that could soften the blow for Murray, who knows he can still mix it with the world's best.

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"I certainly can. It's clear based on how the match went. There was only a few points in it," he said.

"But it's not just about winning the odd match against them really. To have a run at these tournaments, you need multiple, multiple wins in a row. I've not done that."

Murray is not the type of player to rush into any major decisions and his love for the game is evident by the depths from which he has recovered to continue playing.

Tim Henman, Murray's former Davis Cup team-mate and long-time friend, believes the Scot will reflect more positively when "the dust is settled".

"Andy has got a wise head on slightly older shoulders now and he is absolutely right not to commit to anything," he said.

"He will reflect on how much effort he has put in this year. He dropped down levels to play in Challenger events and to win two on grass. That emphasises the hunger and desire.

"That desire still burns bright and I really hope there is more to come for Andy."

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Top seed Carlos Alcaraz opens play on Centre Court against Nicolas Jarry 1.30pm

GB's Katie Boulter last on Centre against defending champion Elena Rybakina

Alexander Zverev takes on Matteo Berrettini, last on Court One

Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur and Petra Kvitova in action in women's singles

Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune feature in men's singles

Wimbledon 2023 results: Katie Boulter loses to Elena Rybakina..By Jonathan Jurejko, BBC Sport at Wimbledon.

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Katie Boulter's bid to reach the Wimbledon last 16 for the first time ended quickly as she was outclassed by defending champion Elena Rybakina.

The British number one was the final home player left in the singles draws, but lost 6-1 6-1 in just 57 minutes.

Kazakhstan's Rybakina, seeded third, showed why she is heavily tipped to retain her title in a powerful display.

The 24-year-old dominated with her first serve and broke Boulter five times to move into the fourth round.

Rybakina, who had faced question marks about her level after recently being debilitated by a virus, will face Brazilian 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the quarter-finals.

It was a difficult defeat for 26-year-old Boulter to digest and she looked dejected as she gave a muted thanks to the Centre Court crowd for their support when she departed.

When the dust settles, she will reflect on an encouraging British grass-court season which she hopes will be the springboard to greater consistency across the tour.

"I have to pick myself up and look at the positives," said Boulter, who was aiming to reach the last 16 of a major for the first time.

"I'm sure it's going to be a tough night but I'm going to sit here tomorrow morning and tell you that I'm at a career-high ranking, I've had some seriously positive weeks.

"I've come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues.

"They're the things I'm going to be focusing on and really pushing forward on the rest of the year."


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