A record number of British singles tennis players advanced past day one of this year’s Wimbledon.
Now four days into the Grand Slam tournament, how is the home-grown talent faring in SW19?
Jack Draper
Leading the charge for a British Grand Slam champion this year is Jack Draper.
The British men’s No 1 – who entered Wimbledon ranked No 4 in the world – cruised into the second round after seeing off Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.
However, he faces a tougher test against former US Open winner Marin Cilic next on Court One on Thursday.
Draper is officially in the midst of a breakout after winning three titles over the last year, among those being the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells in March.
But speaking ahead of his second-round Wimbledon match, the 23-year-old said he isn’t particularly feeling the pressure just yet.
He said: “I obviously was aware of the build up and all that sort of stuff, but I think my preparation has been really good and I feel confident, so I’m not thinking too much about that.”
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Cameron Norrie
Cameron Norrie has already booked his place in the third round of Wimbledon after knocking out 12th seed Frances Tiafoe.
The former British number one came close to dropping out of the top 100 earlier this season but entered SW19 ranked 61 in the world.
And not being in the top 10 has meant Norrie is enjoying tennis “more than ever”.
He said: “I think it’s a good thing to go through being injured, not winning, then having resilience to back yourself. I’m enjoying my tennis more than ever. It was really nice coming up to get into the top 10 but it’s just tough, really tough, to stay there.”
Norrie plays Mattia Bellucci in the third round on Friday.
Emma Raducanu
The current British women’s No 1 has started her Wimbledon campaign strong, defeating former champion Marketa Vondrousova to reach the third round.
Emma Raducanu was left grinning after the 6-3 6-3 win that has set up what is due to be a blockbuster third-round clash with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.
Speaking ahead of the third round, the 22-year-old said: “I’m just so happy I get to play another match here. [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.”
Sonay Kartal
Sonay Kartal appears to be in with a good chance of making the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time as she takes on qualifier Diane Parry next at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old followed up her defeat of 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko by racing to a 6-2 6-2 win over Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova to make it to the last 32.
Reflecting on her performance over Tomova, the British hopeful said she was pleased with her play.
She said: “I don’t think I did much wrong at all. I was seeing it really well. I felt confident. I feel like I was playing really aggressive tennis.”
Dan Evans
Home-grown hopeful Dan Evans was knocked out of this year’s tournament by seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
The pair battled it out on Centre Court on Thursday, with the Serb winning in straight sets.
“I knew it was going to be a special atmosphere on the court today, a Brit in Britain is never easy to face,” Djokovic said after the match.
“He’s a good quality player that possesses a lot of talent.”
Qualifier Oliver Tarvet’s dream run sadly came to an end, but not after a spirited 6-1 6-4 6-4 second-round loss to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz – all while on Centre Court.
Billy Harris also fell short of the third round after losing to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Other players out of the men’s draw include: Jay Clarke, Johannus Monday, George Loffhagen, Henry Searle, Oliver Crawford, and Jack Pinnington Jones.
While in the women’s game, Heather Watson, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage, and Francesca Jones have been eliminated.
Also knocked out are Hannah Klugman, Mimi Xu and Mika Stojsavljevic, the three teenagers who were all handed Wimbledon wildcards for their exceptional performances.
Evans had won their only previous career meeting, in Monte Carlo four years ago.
He had arrived at this year’s Wimbledon as a wild card, ranking No 154 in the world.
Katie Boulter
Despite expertly navigating her way into the second round of Wimbledon, Katie Boulter suffered defeat against Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
The loss means she has still never progressed beyond the third round at any of the sport’s four major tournaments. It is also the second time in a row she has not made it beyond the second round at Wimbledon
“Of course it hurts, it’s a really tough pill to swallow – it always is here,” said Boulter, who may yet end the tournament back at British number one.
Arthur Fery
British wild card Arthur Fery was unable to mount a comeback as his second-round tie with Luciano Darderi, which started on Wednesday, resumed on Thursday on Court Two with the Italian two sets up.
Darderi took the third set to secure a 6-4 6-3 6-3 victory in two hours and 21 minutes.
