LONDON :Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was put through the wringer again on Friday before moving into the fourth round but fellow Grand Slam winners Naomi Osaka and Madison Keys fell by the wayside at the All England Club.
It was a good day for British fans after Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie sailed through, with the nation's big hope Emma Raducanu taking on top seed Aryna Sabalenka to round off the Centre Court action in the evening.
That match began a tad belatedly with Alcaraz pushed to the limit and taken to four sets by German Jan-Lennard Struff before the second seed prevailed 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 after some luck towards the end of the match.
A missed volley with an open court in front of him halted Struff's momentum after eight games and Alcaraz pounced shortly afterwards for the break he needed to lay the platform for a hard-fought victory.
"He missed that volley... I still can't believe that I'm standing here," Alcaraz said, admitting it had been a difficult day for him in the office.
"I was suffering in every service game that I did... 0-30s and breakpoints down. It was stressful. Every time he could push me, he did. I was trying to survive."
Struff's compatriot Laura Siegemund, the oldest woman left in the singles draw at 37, earlier sealed a 6-3 6-3 victory over Australian Open champion Keys, who joined the exodus of star players at the year's third Grand Slam.
Sixth seed Keys looked a far cry from the player who lifted her maiden major in Melbourne this year, the American racking up 31 unforced errors and producing wayward serves on her way out of the door.
Taylor Fritz ensured that there would still be some Fourth of July celebrations for Americans at Wimbledon as some final-set fireworks moved him into
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