Wimbledon diary: Bear Grylls takes in the tennis on a day of Turkish delight

Yahoo

12 hours ago

Zeynep Sonmez broke new ground on Thursday when becoming the first Turkish player to reach the third round at an open-era grand slam.
The 23-year-old defeated Wang Xinyu 7-5 7-5 to continue through the tournament in what is her first experience of Wimbledon.
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She fell to her knees after the winning the final point, and the trailblazing achievement caught the attention of Turkey's minister of youth and sports, Osman Askin Bak, who said via X: 'Congratulations Zeynep, we are proud of you!'.
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Actress Celia Imrie, star of Bridget Jones's Diary, Calendar Girls and, aptly, the 2004 film Wimbledon, was in attendance in the Royal Box.
She was joined by Feargal Sharkey, environmentalist and former lead singer of The Undertones, and Dragons' Den business woman Deborah Meaden.
England's Rugby World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward was also present, and so too was former Conservative Party leader William Hague, adventurer Bear Grylls and Lindsey Burrow – wife of the late rugby league player Rob.
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Quote of the day
'I'd say, if I had to sum it up, it felt the tennis balls were back in my pocket very quickly and never stayed in there a long time.' – Dan Evans encapsulates what it is like to play tennis against Novak Djokovic.
Picture of the day
Luciano Darderi celebrates with his team and family after beating Arthur Fery (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
Tweet of the day
Friday's match of the day
Emma Raducanu is ready for Aryna Sabalenka (Mike Egerton/PA)
There is likely to be a real sense of anticipation in SW19 on Friday as attendees await the final match on Centre Court – Emma Raducanu versus Aryna Sabalenka.
The latter is the world number one and a favourite to go all the way having reached the final of the last three grand slams before making light work of her opening two matches.
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British number one Raducanu has also enjoyed a straightforward start to the tournament, looking in fine form when beating 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round and sparking plenty of excitement about her chances of a deep run.
They are both among the most high-profile female players and, with one of them on home turf, a Centre Court ticket for their third-round meeting will be a coveted thing indeed.
Friday's weather forecast
Sunny changing to partly cloudy by nighttime with highs of 26 degrees Celsius – according to the Met Office.