Wimbledon 2024: Alcaraz against Tiafoe, Paolini against Andreescu in the third round – live | Wimbledon 2024

On Court No. 1, Paolini’s duel against Andreescu is similar to their meeting in the third round of the French Open last month, when Paolini surprisingly advanced to the final. The seventh-seeded Italian managed a break in the second set and now leads 7-6, 2-1.

Alcaraz – usually so confident at the net – misses his volley! Break point Tiafoe … Alcaraz hits Tiafoe with a body impact, Tiafoe ducks and improvises to get the ball back, but Alcaraz hits the return away. Deuce. But here is another stopping point. Debut. Advantage Tiafoe, a third stopping point. Bam. Ace. And three wild first serves get Alcaraz through the game! The defending champion leads 5:4.

Tiafoe, ever the showman, receives the applause on Centre Court as he enters the decisive phase of the first set against Alcaraz. They are 4-4, after both conceded a break. Alcaraz has had to go to a tiebreak in both of his first sets in this tournament so far – but he may not even get that far here, because Tiafoe has a chance here at 0-30 against Alcaraz’s serve. Alcaraz comes within 40-30 – but Tiafoe brings him to deuce…

Playing order

We thought the first round mixed doubles match between Murray and Raducanu would be tomorrow, By the way, but that depends on how many games we play today. The weather is supposed to get worse again later on – but at least the organizers have spread the individual games out over the whole area – so hopefully we will get some results on the outdoor courts too.

Thanks, Dominic. My eyes may still be a little moist after Andy Murray’s emotional near-exit last night – but this cheers me up. I can’t stop watching. Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal are both playing later, of course.

A demonstration of Paolini’s passion A tough rally follows, with both players hitting each other from the baseline. Andreescu has to fend off a few set balls on her serve, but fails as a half-volley hits the net.

What a great set of tennis. Paolini wins 7-6. Let’s all go have a drink.

Katy Murrells will be here shortly to take over the live updates. Cheers!

When the tiebreak changed sides, there was no difference between them. 3-3.

In the middle, Tiafoe fends off a break point at 30:40, but struggles to get past deuce.

What do I know? An absolutely brilliant point, with both players going head-to-head around the net, gave Andreescu the first point against the serve. Her angle judgement was sensational.

But an unforced error allows the mini-break back, and Paolini hits a ball along the line to take a 2-1 lead.

Paolini against Andreescu goes into a tiebreak in the first set. We’ll stick with that for the next few posts, as it’s been a really high-quality and even match so far. (I’d back Paolini in the breaker, though, for whatever that’s worth).

A short tour of the other places, Tommy Paul won the first set 6:3 against Bublik; Badosa The opening match against Kasatkina; while Lulu Sun leads Lin Zhu on Court 15, and it is the serve between Roberto Bautista Agut And Fabio Fognini on the 16th. The only other ongoing single match is between Diana Shnaider and Emma Navarro, The former won the first set 6-2.

Paolini had to make his debut on her serve at 5-5, but an unforced error on a slice forehand from Andreescu allowed the Italian to get away – as did the forehand that was hit too long to make it 6-5. Andreescu now serves to force a break point.

On the middle line, it is Tiafoe who holds his serve better. But neither player comes anywhere close to a break.

Andreescu lets out another cry of joy after a precise service game that marked the history of this set after both players lost their opening game on serve. Are we in for a tiebreak?

Whatever you can do… Paolini is also holding on to zero at number 1 – after a clever attack secured her the match – while Tiafoe has fought back to earn a point against the defending champion. The American has a strong serve and plenty of power.

4:4 and on serve between Andreescu and Paolini. Alcaraz, meanwhile, keeps a clean sheet in the opening game and seems to be in a hurry. Handing over to you, Frances.

Stuart Broad has a nice old time since his retirement from cricket, right? Fair play to the guy. I wonder how he would cope with the challenge system in tennis…

Alcaraz and Tiafoe are queuing up in the centre, which is filling up well.

This is really high quality stuff. With all due respect to Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart, whose Battle of Britain yesterday was nothing but nerves, tension and irritation, this is a class above. Paolini looks like she’s going to hit every shot into the net, but never manages it. Her forehand is an absolute sledgehammer. The serve is 3-3.

It is a hotly contested possession and an emotional “COME ON!” from Andreescu at the end. 2-2

Everything is now in full swing on the outside courts. On court 2, the duel between Tommy Paul and Alexander Bublik has just begun, while Carlos Alcaraz is making his big appearance on the centre court, competing against Frances Tiafoe.

Some nice things from Paolini’s web. She anticipates the drop shot well and then shows a fine touch with the volley to survive the point. And then, on the next point, she unleashes a fantastic volley on the home straight.

Andreescu’s initial momentum seems to have already stopped. But at 15:40 and under pressure, it goes bang, bang – two aces in a row.

Daria Kasatkina vs Paola Badosa is playing in the women’s singles on Court 3. Paolini is holding her serve – the first service game of the match. It is 2:1 for this year’s French Open finalist.

Andreescu is easy to forget was just 19 years old when she beat Serena Williams in the 2019 US Open final. She never made it past the third round at Wimbledon, but judging by the first few shots, she could be involved in a classic here. Paolini gave it her all to force deuce, then a break point, then Andreesu steers the ball into the net. Break back! 1-1

A few powerful groundstrokes from Andreescu forces the Italian to 15:40. A flowing second serve is then brutally punished by the Canadian, who hits it down the line and breaks in the opening game. Wow.

I hear a few whispers that patches of blue sky were spotted over the All England Club. But don’t quote me.

We’re ready to rock out at No. 1. Paolini serves first.

Play is scheduled to start on the outdoor courts from 13:00 BST following rain. but the roof is on center and number 1, at the latter Jasmine Paolini and Bianca Andreescu have just come onto the field. They are now pregnant after the referee gave them a short speech.

It should be a good game. Paolini is in top form and a very likeable player, a real revelation, while Andreescu is making a huge comeback after years of injury.

Andy Murray experienced an unforgettable emotional swan song on Thursday evening but his tournament is not over yet, as training is scheduled for Friday before a mixed doubles match with Emma Raducanu could take place on Saturday.

Murray was left in tears after watching a montage of the most memorable moments of his career, with tributes from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams, before speaking to Sue Barker about his memories. According to PA:

“It was really beautiful,” Murray said. “When the video was playing, my head was spinning. I knew I was about to speak. It’s difficult in moments like that because there are so many people you want to thank and talk to. It was quite emotional too. Watching the video was beautiful but also hard for me because it’s the end of something you’ve done for so long with absolute joy.”

“But it was obviously very nice that a lot of players stayed. I have very close, good relationships with the British guys who were there, but there are also a number of players on that pitch that I have enormous respect for, some of the greatest players in the history of the game. It feels like the end for me. Whether I deserve it or not, I don’t know. But they did a really, really good job.”

At 1pm there will be a cracker on Court 1when No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini takes on Bianca Andreescu, and fans can look forward to another match when Grigor Dimitrov takes on Gaël Monfils. And then it’s the biggest match of Sonay Kartal’s career when the Brit takes on No. 2 seed Coco Gauff to close out the action.

From one of our employees at SW19…

preamble