Sabalenka through, but Raducanu downs Vondrousova; Paolini exits
London
World number one Aryna Sabalenka restored order at Wimbledon by powering her way into the third round thanks to a thrilling straight-sets win over Marie Bouzkova on Wednesday.
The women's draw was blown wide open on Tuesday when three of the top five players – French Open champion Coco Gauff, world number three Jessica Pegula and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen – crashed out in a string of first-round shocks.
But top seed Sabalenka's quest for a maiden title at the London grass grand slam remains on track following a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over Czech world number 48 Bouzkova in a big-hitting battle on Centre Court.
The reigning US Open champion - a three-time major winner - will face British number one Emma Raducanu after she dispatched 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3.
Former US Open champion Raducanu faces a daunting task but she can take great encouragement from her performance here, with Vondrousova not just the 2023 winner but also a player in hot form after beating Sabalenka and Madison Keys to win the warm-up title in Berlin.
Raducanu had good memories from a second-round win against the same player here in her breakthrough run four years ago, and this proved just as comfortable, the 22-year-old easing to the win.
'I'm just so happy I get to play another match here,' Raducanu said.
(Sabalenka) is number one in the world, so dominant, has won literally everything. I'm just so happy how I performed. I guess there's no pressure at all on me.' Belarusian Sabalenka was well aware of the dangers of former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bouzkova, having been beaten by her at last year's Washington Open ahead of her triumph at Flushing Meadows.
She was made to work hard in a captivating first-set arm wrestle which concluded with a tie-break after the pair traded back-to-back breaks of serve in games 11 and 12.
The 27-year-old, who missed last year's Championships because of a shoulder injury after being absent in 2022 due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, fired 41 winners across the contest but was also guilty of some wild shots.
A crucial break in game five of set two paved the way for progression in an hour and 35 minutes as Sabalenka passed a stern examination of her championship credentials.
'Honestly, it's very sad to see so many top players lose in the first round but you better focus on yourself and stay away from the results,' she said in her on-court interview.
'Of course, you're going to know the overall picture but it's better just to take it one step at a time. I hope it is no upsets anymore in this tournament - if you know what I mean! I'm really happy to be through this difficult round.'
Keys avoided joining high-profile compatriots Gauff and Pegula in booking an early flight home to US.
The Australian Open champion, seeded sixth, made relatively light work of Serbian world number 37 Olga Danilovic, progressing 6-4, 6-2.
But last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini joined the high-profile early failures as Kamilla Rakhimova beat the Italian fourth seed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Another home British hope, Sonay Kartal, shone on her favourite court once again as she eased through to the third round of Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old developed an affinity for Court Three during her breakthrough run to the last 32 a year ago, and she claimed her best victory at a grand slam there on Monday by beating 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
That set up a clash with Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova for which Kartal was a big favourite and she showed the form that has carried her to a top-50 ranking this season in a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Katie Boulter's grand slam struggles continued after the Briton blew a one-set lead to suffer a shock defeat to little-known Argentinian rookie Solana Sierra in the second round.
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