The Japan Times - Alcaraz back in action at Wimbledon as Raducanu eyes Sabalenka shock

In early third-round action at the All England Club, Japan's four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka lost in three sets to Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 50th in the world.

Alcaraz was taken to five sets by Italy's Fabio Fognini in his opening match before dispatching Britain's Oliver Tarvet in straight sets.

The Spaniard is on a fearsome 20-match winning streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.

He is seeking to match Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in winning three Wimbledon crowns in a row.

Alcaraz's third-round opponent on Friday is Jan-Lennard Struff, ranked 125th in the world, who at 35 is 12 years older than the Spaniard.

The world number two, who has three wins against his German opponent in four matches, is aware of the need to fine-tune his serve, which is a key weapon on grass.

"I'm struggling a little bit with the serve," he said. "I'm feeling really different between Queen's and here with the balls, with the speed.

"On grass the serve is probably the most important shot. At Queen's I started to serve unbelievable. But after the first round here, I left the court not happy at all with the serve."

- Raducanu confident -

Former US Open champion Raducanu believes she can oust women's world number one Sabalenka in a Centre Court blockbuster.

The British star, who triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2021, produced one of her best performances at the All England Club to defeat former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round.

Belarusian Sabalenka is the last of the top-five seeds still standing in the women's draw after Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen were all eliminated.

Three-time major winner Sabalenka, 27, is chasing a maiden Wimbledon title, having missed last year's Championships with of a shoulder injury.

But Raducanu, 22, is in the mood to cause an upset.

"I think having won against Marketa, she's also a really top opponent, so that gives me confidence. I feel amazing," she said.

"Of course, Aryna is number one in the world, she's been so dominant in the women's game," she said. "I know it's going to be a massive challenge."

Former world number one Osaka was aiming to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time, but Pavlyuchenkova ultimately had too much for her opponent, now a lowly 53rd in the world

US men's 10th seed Ben Shelton returned to the court briefly on Friday to complete his second-round match, sealing a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 win against Australia's Rinky Hijikata.

Elsewhere in third-round, US fifth seed Taylor Fritz will hope to avoid another five-set marathon as he takes on Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Fritz last month won a fourth title on the grass at Eastbourne but has had two punishing outings at the All England Club this week.

First he was pushed all the way by Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match played over two days before being taken the distance again by Canada's Gabriel Diallo.

M.Sugiyama--JT