Swiatek and Zverev move into Wimbledon third round

LONDON: Iga Swiatek and Alexander Zverev advanced to the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday with straight-set wins, while Alexandra Eala made history for the Philippines by reaching the last 32 of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Defending women's champion Swiatek rebounded from an emotional opening-round contest to beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 in 70 minutes. The third seed had struggled through her first match against Taylor Townsend, but looked far more assured in the second round.

After the win, Swiatek said the contrast with her opener was clear.

For sure the first round was really emotional but today I felt like it's another day at the office, I need to be ready, be sharp,

Pliskova, back on tour this year after a lengthy injury lay-off, was unable to trouble the 25-year-old Pole, who has now reached at least the third round in each of her last 26 Grand Slam appearances since a second-round exit at the 2019 US Open. Swiatek's next opponent will be the Philippines' Alexandra Eala.

Eala, seeded 29th, defeated Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 on Court Three. Joint had beaten Serena Williams in the first round, and Eala's victory made her the first Filipina woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam. Reflecting on the occasion, the 21-year-old said “I think the atmosphere today was amazing, it was electric, respectful and all that I could have hoped for”.

Elsewhere in the women's draw, last year's runner-up Amanda Anisimova recovered after trailing by a break in the third set to overcome Sofia Kenin in a deciding tie-break. Former Australian Open champion Madison Keys ended British involvement in the women's singles with a straight-sets victory over Katie Swan.

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, also progressed comfortably, brushing aside American Caty McNally 6-1, 6-2. The Kazakh is trying to dislodge Aryna Sabalenka from the world number one ranking next week and will now face Belgium's 25th seed Elise Mertens for a place in the last 16. Thursday's action was attended by Princess Catherine, Britain's future queen, who greeted fans before watching matches.

Zverev cruises through

In the men's draw, second seed Zverev beat Valentin Royer 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in another commanding display. The German has yet to win Wimbledon and had never gone beyond the fourth round in nine previous appearances at the All England Club, but his latest performance added to hopes he could make a deeper run this year.

Zverev recently captured the first Grand Slam title of his career at the French Open and now finds himself in a section of the draw separated from Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, with fourth seed Ben Shelton already eliminated.

Asked about his prospects, Zverev said “If I keep playing like this I definitely think it can happen this year”.

His victory also helped erase memories of last year's first-round Wimbledon loss to unseeded Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

American sixth seed Taylor Fritz continued his strong recent form at the tournament by beating compatriot Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5. Fritz has reached at least the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in three of the past four years and was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in last year's semi-finals.

Fifth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia also went through in straight sets against veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. Spain's Rafael Jodar resumed a match halted by darkness on Wednesday and won the final two sets to complete a comeback against Pablo Carreno Busta. Playing Wimbledon for the first time, Jodar had not featured in a Tour-level grass-court match before this week, but has climbed rapidly this year and reached the French Open quarter-finals.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini defeated French number one Arthur Fils in four sets, while this year's Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli also advanced.