Wimbledon 2025, day 6 live: Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and the games to watch
Also in action on day six of the championships are Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner, both of whom have flown under the radar so far.
DJOKER EDGES CLOSER TO HISTORY
History-chasing Djokovic feels 'sharp' Novak Djokovic has earned the right to talk with confidence as he seeks a record 25th Grand Slam.
The seven-time champion, locked with the long-retired Margaret Court on 24 majors, dropped a set in his opening match but lost just five games in total in the second round against British wildcard Dan Evans.
A third-round clash against Miomir Kecmanovic will hold few fears for the sixth seed, who has not lost against his 49th-ranked compatriot in three previous meetings.
'If I play like today, I feel like I have a very good chance against anybody, really, on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, a place where I maybe feel the most comfortable on any court,' he said after his win against Evans.
'Rod Laver Arena and Wimbledon Centre Court are the two courts where I've done so well throughout my career.
'I felt great physically, mentally sharp. Game-wise, I'm playing as well as I can, really, on grass. So hopefully I can keep it up.'
SWIATEK'S CONFIDENCE GROWING ON GRASS
Iga Swiatek has quietly gone about her business at this year's Wimbledon but will have watched the exit of most of her top rivals with interest.
The five-time Grand Slam champion is seeded eighth at the All England club after slipping down the rankings, though she is now back in the world's top four after reaching the Bad Homburg final last week.
The Polish player, who faces American Danielle Collins in the third round, has won at least one Grand Slam in four of the past five years, though she has never been beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
But a glance at the draw makes interesting reading, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka the only player remaining from among the top six seeds.
Swiatek, who has won four titles on the French Open clay, takes confidence from her recent run to the final on grass in Germany.
'For sure, these matches in Bad Homburg gave me confidence. Also, the body feels the matches differently than the practices,' she said.
US player Collins postponed her retirement in October when ranked ninth in the world but has tumbled to 54th in the rankings after a frustrating season.
SINNER FINDS HIS GROOVE
Like Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner has been content to stay out of the spotlight at the All England Club while other players grab the headlines.
The Italian has barely broken sweat so far as he settles in on grass following his painful defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, where he squandered three championship points.
Alcaraz is through to the last 16 already but has not hit top form so far and will know he has to cut out the errors.
Sinner, by contrast, has played two matches so far and lost just 12 games in easing past Luca Nardi and Aleksandar Vukic.
On Saturday the 23-year-old meets Spain's Pedro Martinez, whom he beat in their single meeting in 2022.
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The Age
15 minutes ago
- The Age
‘Excited' De Minaur locks in Wimbledon showdown with Djokovic
The anguished look on de Minaur's face after the Fils win, at a time when he should have been joyous, remains etched in onlookers' memory. 'It's funny how life works. Here we are a year later, and I'm going to get that match-up [but] a round earlier,' de Minaur said. 'But still, it was a brutal time for me last year, having to deal with all of those emotions. Here we are a year later; feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again, so I'm excited for that.' De Minaur soared to a career-best No.6 in the world despite not being able to play his Wimbledon quarter-final, but missed the next seven weeks – bar an Olympic doubles cameo with Alexei Popyrin – before reaching the US Open quarter-finals. He sat out for another six weeks trying to recover after that, and returned only to complete his goal of qualifying for the year-end tour finals, but was not the same player for the rest of the season. The Djokovic duel presents the chance for de Minaur, who is 12 years Djokovic's junior, to complete some unfinished business. 'I think there are definitely two versions of myself. Last year was a version of myself that was very confident and ready to kind of take on the world. I just got stopped in my tracks,' he said. 'I would say the version that I am right now is a lot wiser, and I've lived through a lot more experiences. I've played a lot more big matches. I think I'm more prepared mentally going into this next match. 'Whilst maybe my level last year was very high, and it was quite dangerous; I feel like this year, mentally, I'm in a really good place. I'm hoping that the game, the tennis, is going to come along.' Loading The Australian star dropped one set in the first three rounds and has largely impressed after admitting he was suffering from mental fatigue after his second-round exit at Roland-Garros to Alexander Bublik from two sets up. A first-up defeat to Jiri Lehecka at Queen's Club, where de Minaur has traditionally performed well, was also a shock result, but he has hit his stride with a friendly draw at SW19. Dominant victories over Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena and Frenchman Arthur Cazaux – after dropping the first set – advanced him to the third round, where he would have expected to take on Machac before Holmgren's heroics in his maiden grand slam draw. The average ranking of de Minaur's first three opponents was 127, so the Djokovic match-up will be a titanic step-up. But he will at least be comforted that Holmgren provided some resistance. De Minaur needed eight break points to finally assert his authority on the contest late in the first set after the Dane continually produced breathtaking hitting to dodge the trouble he found himself in on serve. There were several unreturned serves and others that drew short balls back that Holmgren flayed for winners off his forehand. He averaged 207km/h on his first serve and hit one at 226km/h, so de Minaur – the tour's top-rated returner – had his work cut out. De Minaur broke through when Holmgren crashed a forehand into the net to end an 18-point game, then served out the opening set with relative ease. The second set was headed the same way when de Minaur broke again in the ninth game, but Holmgren came roaring back to restrict him to 0-40 before breaking back on his fourth chance in the game. By then, the inspired Dane's confidence was soaring and his fearless hitting helped him force a tiebreaker, during which he threatened to level the match at a set-all. Everything could have been different if de Minaur's second serve at five-all in the tiebreak landed narrowly longer rather than collecting chalk as Holmgren misfired on return. The Australian apologised for his fortune, then watched as Holmgren double-faulted to gift him the set. Another Holmgren double-fault handed de Minaur a 4-2 edge in the third set, and he eventually booked his round-of-16 berth on his third match point with a third ace. Beaten Kasatkina off to Melbourne Kasatkina's straight-sets defeat to former Billie Jean King Cup teammate Samsonova will see her pack her bags for her new home city of Melbourne within the next few days. The 28-year-old, who gained permanent residency in Australia in March and was competing at her second major at Wimbledon for her adopted country, struggled to keep pace with the big-striking Samsonova, particularly on serve. Two loose service games sealed Kasatkina's first-set fate, and her day worsened when her shirt got caught on her earring and meant she could not contest her shot on the final point of the opening game of the second set. Samsonova broke for 2-0 then saved consecutive break-back points before rain intervened for the next two hours. Kasatkina snatched the first two points on resumption – the second after a wild Samsonova forehand – but every time she made an inroad, her Russian rival would reassert her authority. Loading 'I knew that it was going to be a very tough match because Liudmila is in great shape, winning a lot of matches, especially on grass,' Kasatkina said. 'Of course, I think I could do better on my side, but I also have to give her credit – she played a very, very good match.' Kasatkina will make a whirlwind trip to Melbourne to try and find a home, and continue her case to be an Australian citizen, which she needs to be before representing her new country in the BJK Cup. The world No.18 also needs ITF approval after already playing for, and winning the BJK Cup title with, Russia in 2021. She told this masthead before Wimbledon that there was an outside chance of her playing in Australia's BJK Cup tie in Hobart in November. 'In the next couple of days, I'm going to fly to Australia. I know that it's winter there, so it's the first time in my life I'm going to experience an Australian winter, not a summer,' she said. 'I'm going there for [only] a couple of days because the calendar is pretty tight. I need to become a citizen first [before playing BJK Cup for Australia], and after that, they can move forward. But before that, there is not much room for progress.'
Sydney Morning Herald
15 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Excited' De Minaur locks in Wimbledon showdown with Djokovic
The anguished look on de Minaur's face after the Fils win, at a time when he should have been joyous, remains etched in onlookers' memory. 'It's funny how life works. Here we are a year later, and I'm going to get that match-up [but] a round earlier,' de Minaur said. 'But still, it was a brutal time for me last year, having to deal with all of those emotions. Here we are a year later; feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again, so I'm excited for that.' De Minaur soared to a career-best No.6 in the world despite not being able to play his Wimbledon quarter-final, but missed the next seven weeks – bar an Olympic doubles cameo with Alexei Popyrin – before reaching the US Open quarter-finals. He sat out for another six weeks trying to recover after that, and returned only to complete his goal of qualifying for the year-end tour finals, but was not the same player for the rest of the season. The Djokovic duel presents the chance for de Minaur, who is 12 years Djokovic's junior, to complete some unfinished business. 'I think there are definitely two versions of myself. Last year was a version of myself that was very confident and ready to kind of take on the world. I just got stopped in my tracks,' he said. 'I would say the version that I am right now is a lot wiser, and I've lived through a lot more experiences. I've played a lot more big matches. I think I'm more prepared mentally going into this next match. 'Whilst maybe my level last year was very high, and it was quite dangerous; I feel like this year, mentally, I'm in a really good place. I'm hoping that the game, the tennis, is going to come along.' Loading The Australian star dropped one set in the first three rounds and has largely impressed after admitting he was suffering from mental fatigue after his second-round exit at Roland-Garros to Alexander Bublik from two sets up. A first-up defeat to Jiri Lehecka at Queen's Club, where de Minaur has traditionally performed well, was also a shock result, but he has hit his stride with a friendly draw at SW19. Dominant victories over Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena and Frenchman Arthur Cazaux – after dropping the first set – advanced him to the third round, where he would have expected to take on Machac before Holmgren's heroics in his maiden grand slam draw. The average ranking of de Minaur's first three opponents was 127, so the Djokovic match-up will be a titanic step-up. But he will at least be comforted that Holmgren provided some resistance. De Minaur needed eight break points to finally assert his authority on the contest late in the first set after the Dane continually produced breathtaking hitting to dodge the trouble he found himself in on serve. There were several unreturned serves and others that drew short balls back that Holmgren flayed for winners off his forehand. He averaged 207km/h on his first serve and hit one at 226km/h, so de Minaur – the tour's top-rated returner – had his work cut out. De Minaur broke through when Holmgren crashed a forehand into the net to end an 18-point game, then served out the opening set with relative ease. The second set was headed the same way when de Minaur broke again in the ninth game, but Holmgren came roaring back to restrict him to 0-40 before breaking back on his fourth chance in the game. By then, the inspired Dane's confidence was soaring and his fearless hitting helped him force a tiebreaker, during which he threatened to level the match at a set-all. Everything could have been different if de Minaur's second serve at five-all in the tiebreak landed narrowly longer rather than collecting chalk as Holmgren misfired on return. The Australian apologised for his fortune, then watched as Holmgren double-faulted to gift him the set. Another Holmgren double-fault handed de Minaur a 4-2 edge in the third set, and he eventually booked his round-of-16 berth on his third match point with a third ace. Beaten Kasatkina off to Melbourne Kasatkina's straight-sets defeat to former Billie Jean King Cup teammate Samsonova will see her pack her bags for her new home city of Melbourne within the next few days. The 28-year-old, who gained permanent residency in Australia in March and was competing at her second major at Wimbledon for her adopted country, struggled to keep pace with the big-striking Samsonova, particularly on serve. Two loose service games sealed Kasatkina's first-set fate, and her day worsened when her shirt got caught on her earring and meant she could not contest her shot on the final point of the opening game of the second set. Samsonova broke for 2-0 then saved consecutive break-back points before rain intervened for the next two hours. Kasatkina snatched the first two points on resumption – the second after a wild Samsonova forehand – but every time she made an inroad, her Russian rival would reassert her authority. Loading 'I knew that it was going to be a very tough match because Liudmila is in great shape, winning a lot of matches, especially on grass,' Kasatkina said. 'Of course, I think I could do better on my side, but I also have to give her credit – she played a very, very good match.' Kasatkina will make a whirlwind trip to Melbourne to try and find a home, and continue her case to be an Australian citizen, which she needs to be before representing her new country in the BJK Cup. The world No.18 also needs ITF approval after already playing for, and winning the BJK Cup title with, Russia in 2021. She told this masthead before Wimbledon that there was an outside chance of her playing in Australia's BJK Cup tie in Hobart in November. 'In the next couple of days, I'm going to fly to Australia. I know that it's winter there, so it's the first time in my life I'm going to experience an Australian winter, not a summer,' she said. 'I'm going there for [only] a couple of days because the calendar is pretty tight. I need to become a citizen first [before playing BJK Cup for Australia], and after that, they can move forward. But before that, there is not much room for progress.'
Sydney Morning Herald
30 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
It's 2am and Nick Kyrgios wants to kick on. Welcome to Wimbledon Village
No nightspot in Wimbledon Village stays open later than Hemingways Bar. But with the 2am closing time rapidly approaching on Wednesday night, Nick Kyrgios wanted to kick on. The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up, a big basketball fan, knew NBA guard Jordan Clarkson – who was at the award-winning cocktail bar on Monday to celebrate his free agency commitment to the New York Knicks – was in London to watch the tennis. Kyrgios dialled Clarkson's number and told the ex-Utah Jazz sharpshooter to meet him outside Hemingways. Soon enough, an Uber rolled up, and they were off to party in east London. Welcome to just another night in the usually 'sleepy' Wimbledon Village, which springs to life with tourists and sports stars during the Wimbledon tennis fortnight. There is nothing like it at any of the other three grand slams. The village is located at the top of the hill near Wimbledon Common and a natural extension of the grasscourt major, with a traditional English vibe and lively dining and bar scene, including the famous Dog and Fox hotel (of which Kyrgios is a regular). There is also an annual competition where village businesses go head-to-head to design the best and most creative tennis-themed window decoration, with centre court tickets to semi-finals day up for grabs.
