Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka progressed to the women’s singles quarterfinals with a 6-2 7-6 (7-2) victory over top seed Aryna Sabalenka, in the process avenging her recent French Open defeat to Sabalenka.
This time, Osaka delivered her first win over the World No. 1 in eight years. She had lost her last three matches against Sabalenka. But Osaka had learned the lessons of those experiences and was on the front foot once she broke Sabalenka early in the first set. Sabalenka fought back, but Osaka, after a nervy hold of serve, scored a stunning double break. The Belarusian could not recover from that in the first set, which Osaka took emphatically.
Sabalenka took a pause to leave the court before looking to regroup in the second set. She never gave up, especially after giving herself a pep talk with a slap of the racket to her head and Sabalenka matched Osaka much more closely in the second set.
They battled all the way through to a tie-break, but that was where Osaka excelled. She stormed ahead to get five match points. Sabalenka slammed down an ace to delay her, but Osaka sealed the next point to take the tie-break and a memorable victory.
“I’m just really grateful. For me, this court is so special, and this is the first match I’ve won on this court,” Osaka said. “Even if I lost, I would have thought it was a fun match. It’s been a long time since I've had so much fun on court, and to do it here means a lot.
Djokovic breaks Federer's record
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic topped Roger Federer’s record for the most men’s singles match wins at Wimbledon when he beat Roman Safiullin on the centre court before Osaka’s blockbuster showdown with Sabalenka.
But it was not plain sailing for the great Serb, who was troubled by Safiullin, a qualifier ranked 132nd in the world, before claiming a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 win, the 106th of his career. Djokovic started brightly enough with a break but Safiullin broke back and dragged Djokovic into a tie-breaker, which the Serb won.
Safiullin kept his composure to chalk up the second set but Djokovic’s frustrations became more apparent. He repeatedly held his hands up to the sky and when Safiullin slammed a ball past him to break in the third set, Djokovic even smashed a ball into the back of the court.
That earned a round of boos at centre court, but there were plenty of cheers for at times brilliant rallies between the pair. Djokovic had to vary his approach to win, rushing to the net to land expert volleys. He broke in the fourth set and controlled the action from there, finishing with a fantastic serve and volley to progress to the quarterfinals. Djokovic acknowledged his “outbursts” afterwards. “I apologise,” he said. “Today it was one of those days where I didn't want to stay in the rally for too long. So I had to mix things up. Survive to thrive. That’s how I feel. So hopefully the thriving part is coming.”
Sinner cruises to straight-set win
Defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner beat Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki in straight sets, while Coco Gauff defied Wimbledon’s 11 pm curfew by little more than a minute to clinch a quarterfinal spot.
Former Wimbledon junior champion Mochizuki, playing in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, produced several eye-catching moments during his match with Sinner, with his never-say-die attitude endearing him to the crowd. He was particularly impressive in the second set, taking the world No 1 to a tie-break, but Sinner would ultimately storm it without dropping a point and then broke early in the third as he secured a 6-3 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 victory.
Also read: Wimbledon 2026: Djokovic defeats Tsitsipas, enters third round
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