Just as the evening crunches were coming to a boiling point, down came the rain. And the roof was closed on Centre Court as well as on Court 1 so at least some people got their money's worth.
Love match
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz was up against it during his third round match against the 25th seed Nicolas Jarry. The 20-year-oldSpaniard dropped the second set and was looking very creaky in the fourth set where he had to save two points to stop Jarry from taking a 4-0 lead. Alcaraz turned it around and then he turned it on. "This match gave me a lot of confidence honestly," said Alcaraz. "Every match that I win on Centre Court is better for me to get into this court, this atmosphere."
Regal feeling
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Anna Blinkova. It was all over in 81 minutes - a blink of an eye. Sabalenka reached the semi-finals the last time she played at Wimbledon in 2021. And the 25-year-old Belarusian appears delighted to be back in south-west London. "I mean, I think Wimbledon, it's a special place," she effused. "I don't know. I feel it's more history behind it. I mean, the royal family is here. It's just different, you know? It's bigger than anywhere else." The lovely thing is that the players go to all the Grand Slam tournaments talking about how "special" the place is. They play on grass and in white kit. That is different.
Rain? Wimbledon?
The rain came down so hard at around 7.30pm that play was stopped on the outside courts for the rest of the day. At least the joys continued on Court 1 and Centre Court (until the 11pm shutdown). Just before Ons Jabeur and Bianca Andreescu came back onto Centre Court, a couple of men in blue jackets went round the court stooping down and touching the grass. They wiped their hands on their jackets and spoke animatedly. People get paid for that?
Billie-Jean on the scene
Last year's beaten finalist Ons Jabeur stared defeat in the face against Bianca Andreescu as former champion Billie Jean King looked on from the Royal Box. The 28-year-old Tunisian was a break down in the final set but came back to win it 6-4 and take her place in the fourth round. Afterwards, Jabeur joked that Andreescu was – like her – a bit of a tricky player. "I now what it's like playing against me," she jested. "It was a little frustrating, her drop shots and slices were kind of annoying," said Jabeur. "I was going to ask Billie Jean and say: ‘What should I do?’" More of the same would have been the reply.
What Katie did next
There was partisan support aplenty for Katie Boulter in her third round match against the defending champion Elena Rybakina. But the world number 89 could not live with the brute force of the third seed. Rybakina started to crank up the power in the third game and broke to lead 3-1 in the opener. And though the 26-year-old Brit battle gamely, she was outgunned. Rybakina completed the 6-1, 6-1 annihilation in less than an hour. Stil,l there'll be cheers and roars galore for Boulter in the mixed doubles. She's playing with Alex de Minaur, her beau, and they're into the second round. Romantic.
