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John Isner fell just short of breaking the record for career aces on Wednesday against Andy Murray, but instead broke his winless streak against the Briton with a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4 victory on Wimbledon's Centre Court.

The American scored his first win in nine meetings against Murray using a familiar recipe, combining a typically stellar serving performance with clutch returning to return to the Wimbledon third round for the first time since his 2018 semi-final run.

"At the age I'm at now I need to relish these moments," Isner said after the match finished near 9:30 p.m. local time. "This was one of the biggest wins of my career just given the atmosphere. It was fantastic.

"To play as well as I did against one of our greatest players, Andy Murray, was a huge accomplishment for me. He's a massive inspiration to each one of us in the locker room and we're so lucky to still have him around."

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Carlos Alcaraz was in trouble Monday when he rallied from two sets to one down to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff in five sets at Wimbledon. The Spaniard was able to breathe a little easier on Wednesday.

The fifth seed defeated Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-6(0), 6-3 to reach the third round at the grass-court major for the first time. At just 19, he has now made the third round at all four majors.

"It was a pretty good match for my side," Alcaraz said. "I played really well. I enjoyed playing the [No. 2] Court. Really happy [I] got the win today."

This is only the teen's second appearance at SW19. Last season he made his debut, losing in the second round against Daniil Medvedev.

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The crowds at Wimbledon this fortnight will have an array of British players to cheer on, but one in particular will be relishing the opportunity to step on court in front of his home fans. Two-time tour-level finalist Kyle Edmund is set to partner fellow Briton Olivia Nicholls in the mixed doubles, his first competitive action since October 2020 following a long-term knee problem.

“It's great, to be honest,” said Edmund at his press conference in London on Wednesday. “I have been out a long time. For me, just being back playing a match to start with feels like a reward for me, just to be back and playing.

“Being around here now, I have spent a couple of weeks hitting with everyone, practising with people. For me, it just wasn't so much about being here to win. It was just more being back amongst it and stuff. Around the players, the tournament, I have missed it a lot. I had to watch a lot of TV with people. It definitely feels good.”

Edmund was No. 47 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when he last played a competitive match in qualifying at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna in October 2020. It was then that the former World No. 14 decided he needed to take action to address a knee problem he had been playing through up to that point.

“It was just sore to play on, so I played on it for a while, probably a couple years,” said the 27-year-old. “I obviously missed quite a lot of 2020 with the no tournaments.

There are star-studded teams competing in the Wimbledon mixed doubles draw, including Jamie Murray/Venus Williams and Coco Gauff/Jack Sock.

Williams, one of the sport’s all-time greats, did not compete in singles at this edition of The Championships, but she is set to partner Murray for the first time. Venus is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and a six-time titlist at the event in women’s doubles. Murray is a two-time winner at SW19 in mixed doubles.

View Mixed Doubles Draw

Murray and Williams received a wild card. They will play Alicja Rosolska and Michael Venus in the first round.

The pair of Gauff and Sock might have come to fruition through social media. Two weeks ago, Gauff tweeted, “Who wants to play mixed at Wimby?” Sock responded, “We’d be a decent team.” The Americans will open against British wild cards Kyle Edmund and Olivia Nicholls. Edmund has not competed since October 2020 in Vienna due to a knee injury.

It has not been the easiest season for Ugo Humbert, but he made it a lot better on Wednesday at Wimbledon.

The Frenchman, who arrived at SW19 with a 5-15 tour-level record in 2022, upset third seed Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round at The Championships for the second time. Ruud is the highest seed to fall thus far at the grass-court major.

Humbert needed three hours and 28 minutes across five sets in the first round against Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry. The lefty was rewarded for surviving that effort, as he broke Ruud's serve six times and hit 53 winners in his two-hour, 36-minute triumph.

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In the battle of Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals alumni, Humbert made a slow start, firing 15 unforced errors while his opponent remained solid. But once the Frenchman reined in his game, he was able to rely on his big serve and aggressive approach to power past Ruud.

Three-time Grand Slam champion and 46-time tour-level titlist Andy Murray will seek to add a new trophy to his collection later this season when he makes his Laver Cup debut for Team Europe. The Briton will join Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on captain Bjorn Borg's squad, with three more players to be confirmed ahead of the 2022 competition, set for The O2 in London from 23-25 September. 

“I’m looking forward to playing the Laver Cup in London,” Murray said. “I love playing as part of a team and there is a great atmosphere and intensity to the event. I’ve heard lots of good things and I’m excited to be teaming up with both Roger and Rafa for Team Europe.”

Murray will look to help Team Europe maintain its perfect record in the competition, with the continental team winning each of the first four editions. The 35-year-old has climbed back to the brink of the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after undergoing hip surgery in 2018 and 2019 and has reached two tour-level finals this season in Sydney and Stuttgart.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman have been confirmed for Team World by captain John McEnroe.

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Novak Djokovic produced a masterclass in grass-court tennis on Wednesday at Wimbledon, where the top seed breezed to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 second-round victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Djokovic was imperious from the start against the World No. 79, striking the ball cleanly from deep and moving smoothly around Centre Court in one of his most complete performances of the year. The six-time champion broke Kokkinakis five times on his way to a two-hour victory that extended his winning-streak at SW19 to 23 matches.

Djokovic’s next assignment in his bid for his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title is a third-round clash against Miomir Kecmanovic or Alejandro Tabilo.

More to follow…

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Play has begun at Wimbledon after rain delayed the start of Day 3 at the grass-court Grand Slam until 12:44 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Third seed Casper Ruud headlines the second-round action on the outside courts in London, where the Norwegian is set to take on Ugo Humbert first up on Court 2.

With both Centre Court and Court 1 at the grass-court Grand Slam fitted with a roof, play will commence on those courts as scheduled regardless of the weather. Defending champion Novak Djokovic’s clash against Thanasi Kokkinakis begins at 1:30 p.m. local time on Centre Court, with two-time champion Andy Murray later facing John Isner.

The Court 1 schedule begins at 1:00 p.m. local time. British No. 1 Cameron Norrie’s meeting with Spaniard Jaume Munar is the second match on.

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At Roland Garros in early June, Marcelo Arevalo made history. In lifting the trophy on the Parisian clay alongside Jean-Julien Rojer, the Salvadoran became the first Grand Slam men’s doubles champion from Central America, an unprecedented moment in the story of tennis in the region. Arevalo has a plan in place to ensure it is not the last.

“I started this project with my brother [former ATP pro Rafael Arevalo] in 2009,” Arevalo recently told ATPTour.com. “It’s called the Hermanos Arevalo Tennis Academy, and we give opportunities to kids in need. The problem in El Salvador is, if you want to play tennis, you need to be a member of a country club, or you need to go to the national federation, where back then [in 2009] you still needed to pay… So kids didn’t play tennis because they didn’t have the money to pay.

“What we did was give the opportunity to those kids to come to our academy, and they had the chance to practise for free at certain hours. Our goal was to make them believe that they could play professionally, or if they wanted to take the other way, to send them to college with a free scholarship that will change their life.

“We did that with probably four or five guys. We gave them a scholarship in our academy and also helped them to travel. No big deal, just to Guatemala, a couple of tournaments in Central America, just for them to have some matches when they were juniors and to be more attractive for the colleges. So they went to college, they’ve already graduated, and now they live in the United States. Those kids came from nothing. It changed their lives.”

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With the first round in the books at Wimbledon, Wednesday's men's singles play begins with 64 players still standing in their quest for Grand Slam glory. The top half of the draw — which completed play on Tuesday following a rainy Day 1 — is back in action for the second round, with top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic set to open play on Centre Court against Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Andy Murray will face 20th seed John Isner on the show court, while his countryman Cameron Norrie — the ninth seed and British No. 1 — faces Jaume Munar on Court 1. Third seed Casper Ruud is also in action against Ugo Humbert as he looks to build on his breakthrough run to the Roland Garros final, while fifth seed Carlos Alcaraz takes on Tallon Griekspoor.

ATPTour.com analyses some of the matches to watch on Day 3.

View Singles Draw | View Schedule

[1] Novak Djokovic (SER) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)

After battling past Soonwoo Kwon in four tricky sets on Monday, Djokovic can expect another stern test from Kokkinakis — a man whose recent form and powerful game provide a credible threat, particularly on the slick grass courts.

Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled to find his groove for much of his match against Swiss qualifier Alexander Ritschard at Wimbledon on Tuesday, but the fourth seed’s resilience was enough to complete a 7-6(1), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 first-round victory at the grass-court major.

The World No. 5 appeared to have taken control of an engrossing encounter after opening up a two-sets-to-love lead on Court 1, but an inspired Ritschard showed a high-class level to strike back in the third set. Some sublime shotmaking from the Swiss was not enough to overcome Tsitsipas’ consistency, however, as the Greek held his nerve to secure the win.

“Obviously it is great to be back [at Wimbledon],” said Tsitsipas in his on-court interview. “I have to congratulate Alexander for an incredible performance. I am sure we are going to see a lot of him.”

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Even when he was on top, Tsitsipas had to stay alert in his first tour-level meeting with the World No. 188. Ritschard was particularly proficient at the net throughout the three-hour, 31-minute encounter, but Tsitsipas’ extra firepower on return proved decisive. The nine-time tour-level titlist broke the Swiss six times on his way to a Tour-leading 41st victory of the year.

WTA legend Serena Williams spoke ahead of Wimbledon about how much of a fan she is of Rafael Nadal. On Tuesday, the Spaniard returned serve following his first-round win on Centre Court against Francisco Cerundolo.

“First of all, thanks for the words from Serena. I read [them]. It's great to hear these beautiful things from probably one of the biggest female athletes in the history of the sport in general,” Nadal said. “And it’s great that she's trying to come back. The only thing that shows is passion and love for the game. After all the things that she achieved, and long period of time being injured, it’s so difficult to try to come back.”

Nadal has shown similar passion in overcoming his longterm foot injury as well as a stress fracture in his ribs earlier this year. Williams is competing in singles for the first time since Wimbledon last year.

“Just [to] be here shows that she has a lot of love for her work and for this game,” Nadal said. “I think that's a great example.”

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At the start of the 2021 season, then-World No. 74 Cameron Norrie was asked who he thought would have a breakthrough year on the ATP Tour. Without hesitation, he confidently backed himself.

Fast forward 18 months and the Briton has certainly delivered on his statement with a series of standout results. Since his declaration, the 26-year-old has lifted four tour-level trophies – including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells - competed at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“It is exactly where I want to be and the progress has been pretty significant,” Norrie told ATPTour.com when reflecting on the past year. “I think I have improved a lot of things. Firstly, the fundamentals of serve and return. Just putting the ball in tougher positions for the opponent and playing the bigger points on my terms.

“Then being calmer in bigger situations and matches than I had been in the past, so a mixture of everything. I am also just enjoying it day in day out and enjoying playing at the level. Last year I didn’t have a week which was a nothing week. I kept building and kept momentum and it was a lot of fun. I loved it. Indian Wells was amazing and to break into the Top 10 was unbelievable.”

Norrie is chasing further success this fortnight on home soil at Wimbledon, where he is the ninth seed. The Briton has never been beyond the third round at a Grand Slam, but made a promising start on the lawns in London on Monday when he defeated Pablo Andujar.

Maxime Cressy's rapid rise continued Tuesday in an eye-catching Wimbledon debut. Relying on the serve-and-volley game that dominated the All England Lawn Tennis Club for much of its history, the World No. 45 earned his first Top 10 win by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime with a near-perfect serving performance.

In a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(9), 7-6(5) victory, Cressy charged the net 134 times, winning 71 per cent (95/134) of those points. In a match of fine margins, both players dominated on serve. The American saved the lone break point he faced — at 5-5 in the opening set — while sixth seed Auger-Aliassime saved three of four.

"It's very special," Cressy said post-match. "Felix was incredibly focussed the whole match. I had to stay focussed until the end. I knew that I would maybe have a few match points and it gets super close. I knew I had to stay in the zone.

"Against a player like him, you have to stay extremely sharp all the time. [He's an] incredible player. I'm incredibly proud of myself for what I've done today."

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Rafael Nadal didn’t have things all his own way Tuesday, but he stepped up when needed to reach the Wimbledon second round for the 14th time.

Competing on grass for the first time since 2019, the Spaniard showcased his trademark fighting spirt to overcome a tricky test from Francisco Cerundolo, advancing 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 after three hours and 36 minutes.

"First of all, all the credit to Fran. I think he started to play great and [was] a very tough opponent," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "It's obvious that for me it's been three years without being here, without playing on this amazing surface, so very happy to be back. For me, it's always amazing playing here on this court and I can't thank everyone enough for the support."

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In front of a packed crowd on Centre Court, Nadal survived a mid-match comeback from the Argentine, who was making his debut at The Championships. After winning the first two sets, the 36-year-old suddenly found himself a break down in the fourth set.

Nick Kyrgios did not earn many opportunities on Tuesday in his gruelling first-round match at Wimbledon. But when the Australian did, he took full advantage.

Kyrgios battled past home favourite Paul Jubb 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-5 to reach the second round at The Championships, converting five of his six break points. The No. 40 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings will next play 26th seed Filip Krajinovic or #NextGenATP Czech Jiri Lehecka.

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The 27-year-old is now 10-3 in five-set matches, including 5-0 at Wimbledon. He has not lost a first-round clash this season (8-0). Kyrgios let slip an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3 in the deciding set, but quickly rebounded to clinch his victory after three hours and five minutes behind 30 aces and 67 winners overall.

Kyrgios, who made the quarter-finals at the All England Club as a 19-year-old, arrived at the third major of the season with plenty of matches after advancing to the semi-finals in Stuttgart in Halle. But the Australian warned he would need to maintain that form against Jubb, a wild card.

Andy Murray notched his 60th match win at Wimbledon on Monday, 17 years after his first. The two-time champion’s ability to adapt with the times has been key to his success over such a long period, something that was clearly demonstrated by his use of an underarm serve during his first-round victory against James Duckworth.

“He changed his return position,” said Murray in his post-match press conference. “That's why I did it. He was standing very close to return [initially], he was struggling a little bit on the first-serve return. So he stepped probably two meters further back. As soon as I saw him step further back, I threw the underarm serve in.

The Briton deployed the tactic when serving with a 2-1 lead in the third set against the World No. 74. Duckworth scampered forward and was able to return the ball but was subsequently undone by a Murray lob.

“I personally have no issue with players using it,” added Murray. “I never have. Certainly, more and more players have started returning from further, further behind the baseline now to give themselves an advantage to return.

“The underarm serve is a way of saying, if you're going to step back there, then I'm going to possibly throw that in.”

Matteo Berrettini, 2021 finalist, has withdrawn from Wimbledon after testing positive for COVID-19.

“I am heartbroken to announce that I need to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a positive COVID-19 test result,” wrote the 26-year-old via Instagram.

“I have had flu symptoms and been isolating the last few days. Despite symptoms not being severe, I decided it was important to take another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone else involved in the tournament.

“I have no words to describe the extreme disappointed I feel. The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger. Thank you for the support”

Maxime Cressy vividly remembers playing tennis on Sundays as a boy in France with his brothers Jonathan and Mathieu. When they were ready to leave the club, Maxime wanted to continue playing.

“I would always tell them, 'One more ball, one more ball.' That one more ball would turn out to be two more hours of playing tennis,” Cressy told ATPTour.com. “Over time they got sick of tennis because of me, because I was always demanding their time. With my brothers I was very competitive and wanted to be better than them. They grew tired of it!”

Jonathan and Mathieu are certainly proud of what their brother has become: one of the most dangerous players on the ATP Tour. On Tuesday, he will try to prove that against sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round of Wimbledon.

The American is a scary foe, especially on grass, because of his throwback serve-and-volley game. On his day, the 6’6” righty takes the racquet out of his opponents' hands. There is little they can do about a perfectly placed serve and a crisp volley into the open court. But if you ask Cressy what he wants fans to remember him for, it is not his unique game.

“I would want people to know me for my character, that I have resiliency. When things become difficult, I never give up. I always find a way,” Cressy said. “I’m the kind of person that will do anything in his power to find a solution towards where I want to be.”

There are few players who understand what Andy Murray has been through to return to the tennis court and compete at the highest level, but James Duckworth, who in January underwent hip surgery, is one of them. Although the resilient Australian put up a fight on Monday evening, it was the two-time Wimbledon champion who clawed into the second round.

After a slow start on Centre Court, Murray rallied past Duckworth 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to advance at Wimbledon. The Scot will next play 20th seed John Isner, against whom he owns an 8-0 ATP Head2Head record.

"It was amazing to be back out here again with a full crowd," Murray said in his on-court interview. "Amazing atmosphere. Obviously I'm getting on a bit now, so I don't know how many more opportunities I [will] get to play on this court, so I want to make the most of every time I get to come out here now. Glad I managed to get through it and hopefully get another match on here in a couple of days."

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Murray has made slow, but steady progress since undergoing his second right hip surgery in 2019. Earlier this month, he returned for a week to the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time since the week of 28 May 2018. The 35-year-old has shown good form, however, advancing to the final in Stuttgart, where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios.