Wimbledon diary: Thunderous reception on Centre Court as heavy rain hits SW19

South Wales Argus

6 days ago

With the roof closed, a perfectly timed rumble reverberated around Centre Court at the exact moment the pair walked out on to the grass.
The fourth-round contest threatened to become a tempestuous affair when Pavlyuchenkova was angered at being denied a key point in the opening set by a malfunction in Wimbledon's new electronic line-calling system.
A thunderous entrance ⚡️
Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova take to Centre Court for a fourth round meeting 🤝#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/P2SgxEAcuC
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2025
But the Russian former French Open finalist set aside the setback to storm into the quarter-finals at the expense of British debutant Kartal.
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Paralympic champions packed the Royal Box on day seven of the Championships.
Wheelchair tennis duo Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid occupied prime front-row positions.
Wheelchair racers Hannah Cockroft and Sammi Kinghorn, canoeists Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw, archer Jodie Grinham and fencer Dimitri Coutya were among the other star names.
Cricket great Brian Lara, triple Olympic swimming champion Tom Dean and former footballer and presenter Chris Kamara were also in the premium seats.
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Watch out Wimbledon, there is another Hewitt on the scene.
Cruz Hewitt was watched by dad Lleyton on Court Nine (Mike Egerton/PA)
Twenty-three years since his father Lleyton won the men's singles title, Cruz Hewitt marked his maiden SW19 appearance with victory.
The 16-year-old – mirroring his dad by wearing a backwards baseball cap – beat Russian Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2 in the first round of the boys' singles.
Lleyton, who defeated David Nalbandian in the 2002 men's final – the last champion before the dominance of Roger Federer, was courtside for the milestone moment.
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While Hewitt junior 'cruz-ed' through, 18-year-old Briton Oliver Bonding had his wings clipped in the same competition after a bird stopped play at a key moment of his three-set defeat to Jack Kennedy.
The unwelcome intruder strutted into a service box on Court 18 at set point for the American eighth seed in the second-set tie-break.
Both players looked to the umpire for guidance before Kennedy won the set en route to completing a 1-6 7-6 (5) 6-4 comeback success.
Quote of the day
'Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.' – Pavlyuchenkova let the umpire know about her dissatisfaction with the electronic line-calling system during victory over Kartal.
Picture of the day
A day after stealing the show on Centre Court by performing a celebratory 'pump it up' dance, Novak Djokovic's daughter Tara sheltered from the rain outside the practice courts as wet weather once again disrupted play at SW19 (John Walton/PA)
Monday's match of the day
Alex de Minaur clutches his hip after victory over Arthur Fils at last year's Wimbledon (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Alex De Minaur has been forced to wait for a crack at seven-time champion Djokovic.
The pair were scheduled to meet in the 2024 quarter-finals before a devastated De Minaur withdrew ahead of play due to a hip injury sustained in his previous round win over Arthur Fils.
Twelve months on, the Australian has an opportunity a round earlier.
The 26-year-old, who will be cheered on by British fiancee Katie Boulter, trails the head-to-head record 2-1.
Monday weather watch
Heavy rain will change to sunny intervals by late morning, according to the Met Office. Highs of 23C.