In the longest — and perhaps the most thrilling —match of Wimbledon thus far, Stefanos Tsitsipas came back to defeat Andy Murray in a five-set match played over two days on Friday.
Murray, 36, actually held a two-sets-to-one advantage over Tsitsipas, 24, when their match was suspended after the third set Thursday night due to an 11 p.m. curfew. But when play resumed, Tsitsipas forced a fifth set after he beat Murray in a crucial fourth-set tiebreak. Tsitsipas grabbed the fifth to win 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. When all was said and done, the match lasted four hours and 40 minutes.
Tsitsipas looks to build on his solid 2023 campaign that included a finals appearance at the Australian Open and a quarterfinals appearance at the French Open. He also heads to his third consecutive third round at Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic rolls past Stan Wawrinka
Novak Djokovic had no issue getting out of the third round on Friday.
Djokovic, after winning slightly closer matches in his first two rounds, flew to an early lead over Stan Wawrinka on Friday night. While Wawrinka brought their match much closer in the third set, even forcing a tiebreaker after rallying back, Djokovic quickly closed things out. He rolled to the 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win, which officially secured his spot in the fourth round.
It marked his 31st straight win at Wimbledon.
Djokovic is searching for his 24th Grand Slam title and what would be his third straight win at Wimbledon. He beat Nick Kyrgios to win the title last year, and beat Matteo Berrenttini in 2021.
Djokovic will take on Poland's Hubert Hurkacz next on Sunday. Hurkacz beat Lorenzo Musetti earlier on Friday in his third round match.
Alcaraz, Świątek and Sabalenka advance
Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Świątek both made quick work of their opponents to advance.
Alcaraz beat unseeded Alexandre Müller of France in three sets, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-3, to move on to the third round. A year ago, Alcaraz fell to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. This time, he'll face No. 25 Nicolás Jarry in the third round and either Alexander Zverev or Matteo Berrettini in the fourth if he wins Saturday.
Świątek, meanwhile, cruised to a straight-sets win over No. 30 Petra Martić, 6-2, 7-5.
Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka avoided catastrophe after a shaky start to her match with Varvara Gracheva. Sabalenka lost the opening set to Gracheva but won the final two sets to take the victory and move onto the third round, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. She'll take on unseeded Anna Blinkova on Saturday.
How did Americans fare?
Friday was a good day for Americans. No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 25 Madison Keys and unseeded Christopher Eubanks all won their matches.
Pegula took down Elisabetta Cocciaretto in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, after an ankle blister in the second game of the first set. Keys, meanwhile, beat Viktorija Golubic in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.
Eubanks provided the biggest upset for the United States when he took down No. 12 Cameron Norrie. Eubanks won the final two sets, including a critical tiebreak in the fourth, to grab the victory, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3). It was Eubanks' seventh consecutive win and moved him to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
Unseeded Madison Brengle lost to No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova in three tiebreaker sets: 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 7-6(7). This was the first time a match included three tiebreaks in a women's Wimbledon match during the Open Era and the fourth ever in a major. Alexandrova overcame 91 unforced errors to pull off the win.
Sofia Kenin, another unseeded American, also lost her match to Elina Svitolina, 6-7 (3-7), 2-6.
Tsurenko wins longest tiebreak in Grand Slam women's history
It took 38 tiebreaker points to decide the third set that sent Lesia Tsurenko to the fourth round. Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan battled for roughly 37 minutes before Tsurenko finally won the tiebreaker with 20 points.
The match lasted a total of three hours and 40 minutes and concluded with the longest tiebreak in a Grand Slam women's singles match. Both players were seen cramping throughout the set and both collapsed when Tsurenko finally won, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (20-18).
Other notable results
No. 6 Holger Rune beat Roberto Carballés Baena, 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-4.
No. 7 Andrey Rublev beat David Goffin in a hard-fought four-sets match, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
No. 8 Jannik Sinner beat Quentin Halys, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 19 Alexander Zverev beat Yosuke Watanuki, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
No. 6 Ons Jabeur defeated Zhuoxuan Bai, 6-1, 6-1.
No. 9 Petra Kvitová beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-2.
No. 23 Alexander Bublik defeated Maximilian Marterer, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(4).
The match between No. 5 Caroline Garcia and No. 32 Marie Bouzková was suspended in the third set due to lack of light.
Notable upsets
Unseeded Bianca Andreescu beat No. 26 Anhelina Kalinina with a deciding tiebreaker in the third set. Andreescu won 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(7).
Unseeded Anna Blinkova beat No. 29 Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.
Unseeded Markéta Vondroušová took down No. 20 Donna Vekić, 6-1, 7-5.
No. 19 Victoria Azarenka beat No. 11 Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 6-4.
No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz beat No. 14 Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4.
Unseeded Matteo Berrettini defeated No. 15 Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Highlight of the day
This filthy between-the-legs shot from Bublik that Marterer couldn't return: