Ons Jabeur overcomes nerves and nausea to knock out Garbine Muguruza
Over on court 1, Novak Djokovic saw off a spirited Denis Kudla in straight sets to advance to round four
Ons Jabeur was serving at match point against former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, when the nerves suddenly hit her. She discreetly rushed to the back of Centre Court to vomit.
Not exactly the perfect debut on the biggest stage in world tennis, but she rolled with it and somehow composed herself to win on her second match point. It was a bizarre ending, to what had been a phenomenal third-round tie, as Muguruza became the latest grand slam champion to be ejected in the first week of the Championships.
The Spaniard was most hell-bent on sticking around though, saving 24 break points in her riveting two-and-a-half hour showdown with Tunisia's Jabeur. That and her one-set lead were not enough though, as Jabeur found another level in her first third round appearance at Wimbledon, setting a Centre Court record in winning 16 consecutive points, even if it did take a physical toll.
A sudden case of nausea under pressure has afflicted some of sport's best, including David Beckham and Lionel Messi, but Jabeur said post-match this was a "stomach inflammation" which she has struggled with for some time.
"It bothers me probably with the stress, fatigue, everything,” she said post-match. “Sometimes when I drink water, the water doesn't go through any more. That's why I get sick. Honestly, I don't want to interrupt the players, so I try to get rid of it and just continue playing."
"I am okay," she added, laughing, "I just have to throw up.”
No matter how messy the match got, the 26-year-old proved why she has been one of the trickiest opponents on tour this year, with 32 wins so far, including becoming the first Arab woman to win a WTA title in Birmingham earlier this month. Her confidence is high, and she took the match to Muguruza after falling behind, stepping inside the baseline with more aggression and some stellar drop shots to win, 5-7 6-3 6-2.
She is the first Arab woman to make the second week at Wimbledon, and she hoped she was inspiring scores of other women and girls watching: "I don't want the journey to stop here. Hopefully one day I could be playing with a lot of [Arab] players next to me.”
With wins against Muguruza and Venus Williams so far, in the last 16 she will aim to take out her third consecutive major champion in Iga Swiatek, who is a relative newbie on grass but was commanding in her 6-1 6-0 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu.
2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens also succumbed to an underdog surprise on Friday, losing to wildcard Ludmilla Samsonova of Russia - making it seven major champions ejected from the ladies singles so far.
Novak Djokovic sees off spirited Denis Kudla in straight sets to advance to round four
by Ben Bloom
With a roar and a flurry of punches, the mask slipped ever so slightly. Novak Djokovic was angry.
His juggernaut rolls on towards a potential record-equalling 20th grand-slam title, but this was not a straight-sets win the Serbian will look back on with much fondness.
On more than one occasion during his 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) third-round triumph over Denis Kudla, the world No 114, Djokovic was rattled. So much so that he unleashed.
Already firmly in charge of the second set, the double reigning champion celebrated winning a totally innocuous point by delivering a barrage of furious fist pumps to accompany an aggressive bellow directed towards a Court One crowd that had warmed to the American underdog early on.
Sure, they wanted to see a competitive match and not the three-set victory that would prevail. But it was indicative of the British crowd’s attitude towards Djokovic: respect and admiration, rather than love and devotion. It looked as though this time he had had enough.
The much-adored Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the two men in Djokovic’s sights with just one more grand-slam win than him to their names, do not receive this sort of treatment, so why him, he might wonder?
“In the heat of the battle those things happen,” he said, having had time to reflect. “You release the emotions, the stress, the pressure that you feel on the court.
“Yeah, sometimes you’re maybe looking for a little bit of support or sometimes you're just wanting to let it go. That's what happened for me.”
The mask had returned and we were left to draw our own conclusion as to the reasons behind the sudden, unexpected outburst.
In what other sport is a figure on the cusp of being proclaimed the ‘Greatest Of All Time’ not universally cherished? How often did Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan or Usain Bolt find themselves battling to win fans over?
“Everyone I think respects what he does,” said Kudla. “I think there are unanimously Roger fans in this world. No one has more fans than him. I think they just maybe want him to keep that record. That’s probably one reason maybe they cheer against [Djokovic]. I think people just want to see other people win.
“But it is pretty interesting how against him and how easy it is to get the crowd on your side if you decide to stay there and really get them engaged.
“Playing Roger, that was not easy to do that. I felt like they were totally on Roger’s side. But, yeah, Novak’s a little bit easier. I don’t think it really matters who is cheering for him or who isn’t. His record speaks for him.”
For close to half an hour at the outset it had been difficult to tell which of these two men had won seven of the last 11 grand-slam titles, and which had only once in their career reached the fourth round.
Known as something of a grass-court specialist - although such a title is relative to the lack of success he has achieved in the rest of his career - Kudla brought the crowd on side in a thrilling start, which saw him match his illustrious opponent blow for blow, smiling as he interacted with spectators.
The champion prevailed at the crunch moment when locked together at 4-4 in the opening set and brushed aside a Kudla break of serve early in the second, but the drama was not over.
Dragged into a third-set tie-break, Djokovic began with a scarcely believable back-to-back double-fault before his remarkable ability to stay in points saved the day with a series of gravity-defying returns. Chile’s 17th seed Cristian Garin awaits in the fourth round.
“I can’t say that I’m too pleased with the way I performed,” said Djokovic. “I felt like today I was a bit off, especially with serving. My serve worked really well in the first two matches, and generally my serve is a weapon. It wasn’t today.
“Generally it wasn’t that great of a rhythm that I had with that part of my game. But it is what it is. I don’t want to talk about negatives. I just won in straight sets. I think I can play better. I hopefully will do in the next round.”
The first time these two men met, at Wimbledon two years ago, Kudle said he suspected his “worst nightmare was going to happen” upon finding himself 5-0 down in no time at all. He was promptly brushed aside in 93 minutes.
If Djokovic does go on to lift the trophy for a sixth time next weekend, at least the American can be proud of the small part he played in attempting to halt that title run. The crowd certainly appreciated it, even if Djokovic did not.
