LONDON - World No 2 Rafael Nadal marched into the fourth round at Wimbledon with a dominant 6-2 6-3 6-2 rout of France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Saturday. The Spanish third seed was in command throughout the match and finished the contest in an hour and 48 minutes without conceding a single break point, sealing the result on his fourth match point with his 11th ace.
Tsonga exhibited the odd flash of brilliance, with searing aces and a rare approach to the net after pushing Nadal behind the baseline, but a number of high-risk shots down the line did not come off for the Frenchman. Tsonga’s serve deserted him at crucial moments, however, and a double-fault on break point in the second set gave Nadal a 4-2 lead, with the visibly frustrated 34-year-old Frenchman seen muttering to himself with helpless glances towards the players’ box.
Despite the crowd urging the underdog on, Nadal earned a double break to consign Tsonga to defeat and book his place in the next round where he will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa or Briton Dan Evans.
Tennys Sandgren extended his Wimbledon run by upsetting 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini 6-3, 7-6 (12), 6-3 in the third round. Sandgren had not earned a tour-level victory since Auckland in January coming into the tournament but beat a top-10 player at a Grand Slam for the third time. He knocked out both Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem en route to the Australian Open quarter-finals last year.
Against Fognini, he saved four set points in the tiebreaker before converting his fourth, which he set up with a running backhand winner following a long rally. The 10th-ranked Fognini was trying to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time. Sandgren lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the first round last year in his debut.
Serena Williams beat Julia Goerges at Wimbledon for the second year in a row. United States’ Serena Williams celebrates winning a point against Germany’s Julia Goerges in a Women’s singles match during day six of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)Serena Williams beat Julia Goerges in the third round. AP/Ben Curtis
The seven-time champion defeated the 18th-seeded German 6-3, 6-4. Williams had beaten Goerges in straight sets in the semi-finals at the All England Club last year before losing to Angelique Kerber in the final. The 11th-seeded Williams will next play Carla Suarez Navarro on Monday in the fourth round.
World No 1 Ashleigh Barty reached the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time on Saturday as she overwhelmed British wild card Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-1. The 23-year-old Australian, bidding to become the first Wimbledon women’s champion from her country since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won her second title in 1980, will play unseeded American Alison Riske for a place in the last eight.
Two-time champion Petra Kvitova reached the Wimbledon last 16 for the first time in five years on Saturday. Czech sixth seed Kvitova defeated Poland’s Magda Linette 6-3, 6-2 and will face either Britain’s Johanna Konta or Sloane Stephens of the United States for a place in the quarter-finals. Kvitova last made the last 16 in 2014 when she won her second title having also been champion in 2011.
Kei Nishikori equalled Ai Sugiyama’s record of four appearances in the last 16 of Wimbledon by a Japanese player on Saturday as he dismissed American journeyman Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Japan’s Kei Nishikori reacts after winning a point against United States’ Steve Johnson in a Men’s singles match during day six of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)Kei Nishikori beat Steve Johnson to reach the fourth round. AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
The 29-year-old 2014 US Open finalist, who recorded his 400th Tour-level match win, will play the winner of the match between Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the last eight.
No 30 Carla Suarez Navarro also advanced, beating unseeded American Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-3. Davis only made it into the tournament as a lucky loser but upset defending champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round. She made a promising start against Suarez Navarro, breaking in the opening game. But the Spaniard, who has yet to drop a set this week, won the next three games and broke Davis again to start the second set. Sam Querrey also advanced to the fourth round. The unseeded American, who reached the semi-finals in 2017 after beating Andy Murray, defeated John Millman 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8), 6-3.
Querrey will play in the second week at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for the fourth time. Alison Riske of the United States earned a debut appearance in Wimbledon’s fourth round with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over No 13 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. The 55th-ranked Riske has won each of her matches in three sets this week.
She had never been past the third round in eight previous appearances at the All England Club, including a second-round loss to Bencic a year ago. Riske will face World No 1 Ash Barty on Monday with a quarter-final berth at stake.
