Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was pushed to the limit by Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff before prevailing after some luck towards the end of the match.
Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was given another tough litmus test by plucky German Jan-Lennard Struff but the second seed battled his way to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory and reached the fourth round on Friday.
An off-colour Alcaraz had flirted with danger in his five-set opener against Italian veteran Fabio Fognini before mowing down British hope Oliver Tarvet in the last round, begging the question of which avatar of the Spaniard would turn up.
The 22-year-old, who was taken the distance by Struff before winning their meeting at the All England Club in 2022, began the match with a double fault and sprayed errors on Centre Court but rediscovered his rhythm to book a clash with Andrey Rublev.
Alcaraz saved two breakpoints in his second service game and then broke for a 3-1 lead, gaining the foothold he needed in the match before wrapping up the opening stanza on serve, hitting a huge ace on set point.
But in a Jekyll and Hyde type switch, with shadows engulfing the main showcourt, the five-times Grand Slam winner surrendered the next set as Struff recovered an early break and went on to level the match comfortably.
An untimely double fault from Struff in the second game of the third set gave Alcaraz the platform to re-establish his lead and the twice Wimbledon champion never looked back from there until he closed it out with another big serve.
After going to deuce in each of his first four service games in the fourth set, Alcaraz pounced on Struff's sloppiness at the net when the German missed a simple volley, before pulling away with a break and completing his 21st straight tour-level win.
Serve, set, match! Shelton reaches third round in 55 seconds
Talk about a man in a hurry -- 10th seed Ben Shelton required just 55 seconds to finish off Australian Rinky Hijikata and reach the Wimbledon third round on Friday as he completed a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory.
The American was left frustrated the previous evening when the contest on Court Two was suspended because of fading light with Shelton about to serve for the match.
That did not sit well with the 22-year-old who was heard to shout "just one more game" to the umpire.
After a night to sleep on it, Shelton made no mistake when play resumed, serving three aces and an unreturned second serve to take his place in the last 32, with the crowd chanting, "One more game".
The big-serving Shelton has enjoyed a consistent run in the Grand Slams, now having reached at least the third round in his last eight appearances, including a semi-final run in Australia at the beginning of the year.
Shelton will play Hungarian lucky loser Marton Fucsovics in the next round when victory would see him match his best result at Wimbledon having reached the last 16 this time last year.
Fritz seals last-16 spot
For a brief moment it looked like Taylor Fritz's Independence Day celebrations could be ruined but some final-set fireworks propelled the American into the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
It had all looked to be going so well for the world number five, who had been taken to five sets in his last two encounters but raced into a two-set lead against Spain's Davidovich Fokina on a sunny Centre Court.
He was a break up in the third and serving for the match when his normally reliable delivery spluttered as the 27th-ranked Spaniard finally converted a break point and then forced a tiebreak which he won in a tense tussle.
With his tail up, it felt like momentum had switched, but Fritz, whose languid manner never gives up a hint of frustration, swiftly rediscovered his form and turned the tide, breaking three times in the final set to wrap up victory.
Bidding to become the first American men's Grand Slam winner since Andy Roddick in 2003, Fritz has shown that if stamina alone determined the Wimbledon champion, he would be hard to beat.
Chile's Jarry reaches last 16
Nicolas Jarry has been to hell and back in the last year but on Friday on a sun-kissed court in south-west London the towering Chilean put the dark days behind him to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career.
Those with tickets for what was billed as a South American showdown on Court Two had expected to see Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca underline why he is tipped as the next big thing.
The 18-year-old showed flashes of the shot-making that will surely make him a contender for Grand Slam titles but it was the 29-year-old Jarry who produced a display of skill and guts to win a slow-burner 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).
Fonseca could be excused for thinking Jarry was serving down from an Andean peak in the opening two sets as he seemed powerless to make any impact on a weapon that produced 25 aces throughout the contest, many on crucial points.
But as the seats that were empty early on began to fill with chanting fans the atmosphere suddenly became more Copacabana than leafy west London and Rio-born Fonseca came to the party.
Fonseca took the third set and as the crowd greeted his winners with a chorus of 'Joooaooww...Fon-Seca' it seemed the match was swinging his way.
Jarry saved three break-points at 3-3 in the fourth set, one with a stunning half-volley pick-up, and was staring down the barrel two games later at 0-40 as Fonseca, who twice needed treatment during the contest, whipped up the crowd with a couple of stunning passes
Undaunted, Jarry served his way out of a hole and then reeled off five points in a row from a 2-4 deficit in the tiebreak to claim victory and match his grandfather Jaime Fillol who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in 1974.
Such was the impact of the condition that after reaching the Rome final last year, his form fell off a cliff, the wins dried up, and his ranking plummeted outside the top 100.
He had to qualify for Wimbledon this year, winning three matches, but now he is looking forward to the prospect of a clash with Britain's Cameron Norrie on Sunday.
Monfils reflects on career after five-set loss
Tennis showman Gael Monfils bowed out of Wimbledon in five sets — but the Frenchman was more sage than sour as he reflected on a career that has danced between the sublime and the spectacular.
The 38-year-old fell 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in a match carried over from last night, yet emerged from defeat with the perspective that comes from two decades in professional tennis and a life now enriched beyond the baseline.
"I've been fortunate enough to be a tennis player in such a big sport," former top-10 player Monfils said after his exit, before recalling his first intoxicating moment on a tennis court more than 20 years ago.
"A moment that stands out for me is 2004, my first Bercy (Paris Masters)," he said of playing before a raucous French crowd. "Unreal energy ... that was a special moment."
While Monfils admitted he struggled with conditions when play resumed at Wimbledon on Friday after an overnight suspension, he refused to indulge in any what-ifs.
"To tell you that I would have won the match is too much. I don't really know. I wish I could win this match today, but that's sport. I'm going to rest a couple of days and go back on court and try to be ready for the US tour."
More revealing, though, was his evolved view of the sport's place in his world. Married to fellow player Elina Svitolina and now a father, Monfils offered a refreshing take on priorities.
"Tennis is part of my life, but tennis is not my life," he said. "My life outside of tennis is my real life."
The Frenchman smiled when he was asked what it meant to be on the tennis tour together with Ukrainian Svitolina.
"It's a tough question in a way, because you see my wife as a tennis player; I see my wife as a wife. It's completely different. But of course, it's great that we can share the same passion. I'm lucky enough to raise a child, and hopefully we'll get more someday ... just grateful every day."
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