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<\/div>\nStefanos Tsitsipas beat Dominic Thiem in a five-set first-round Wimbledon epic to set up a Centre Court meeting with Britain\u2019s Andy Murray.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Greek won 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) in a match that lasted three hours 56 minutes.<\/p>\n
Novak Djokovic<\/strong>\u00a0continued his pursuit of an eighth title by beating Australia\u2019s Jordan Thompson 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elsewhere, there were wins for American seeds\u00a0Taylor Fritz,\u00a0<\/strong>Frances Tiafoe<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Tommy Paul,<\/strong>\u00a0but\u00a0Sebastian Korda<\/strong>\u00a0lost.<\/p>\n Murray beat fellow Briton Ryan Peniston\u00a0on Centre Court on Tuesday,\u00a0one of only eight matches to be completed on day two.<\/p>\n The 36-year-old home favourite would have therefore been pleased to see fifth seed Tsitsipas involved in a gruelling encounter with 2020 US Open champion Thiem, played out over two days on a packed Court Two.<\/p>\n Austrian Thiem took the opening set on Tuesday and led 6-3 3-4 before rain meant the match had to be suspended and finish on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Tsitsipas took the second set on a tie-break, then the third to go ahead, but he lost the fourth set, also on a tie-break.<\/p>\n The deciding set went to a match tie-break and Tsitsipas, watched by girlfriend Paula Badosa in the latter stages after her own win, clinched victory at the second attempt after missing an earlier match point.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not expecting anyone to support me,\u201d Tsitsipas joked before Thursday\u2019s match against two-time champion Murray.<\/p>\n \u201cAndy is someone who has done so much for the sport and and I have a lot of respect for the opponent I\u2019m facing.\u201d<\/p>\n Stefanos Tsitsipas threw his racquet in the air after completing his win over Dominic Thiem<\/em><\/p>\n Djokovic overcomes battling Australian Thompson<\/strong><\/p>\n Djokovic, aiming to match Roger Federer\u2019s men\u2019s record of eight Wimbledon titles, advanced to round three with a straight-set win over world number 70 Thompson.<\/p>\n Novak Djokovic has won Wimbledon seven times \u2013 in 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2014 and 2011<\/em><\/p>\n Thompson, 29, sent down 21 aces throughout the match, but he consistently struggled to make an impact against the Djokovic serve and failed to create a break-point opportunity.<\/p>\n A break for Djokovic in the seventh game proved crucial in the opening set, but the second was more closely fought as Thompson saved break points in the fifth and seventh games to force a tie-break, which Djokovic won, aided by two aces.<\/p>\n The third set looked to be following the same pattern, but Djokovic broke Thompson\u2019s serve in what proved to be the final game of the match for the win.<\/p>\n Djokovic, who has won this tournament in each of the past four times it has been held, will next face either 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina or 38-year-old Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam winner and old foe.<\/p>\n \u201cCentre Court, Wimbledon has been the most special court without doubt throughout our tennis history,\u201d said 36-year-old Djokovic, who has not lost on the court since going down to Murray in the 2013 final.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge privilege at this age and stage of my career, trying to push the young ones. We have a romantic and special relationship with the court.\u201d<\/p>\n A mixed day for American seeds<\/strong><\/p>\n There has not been an American men\u2019s singles winner at Wimbledon since Pete Sampras landed the seventh of his titles in 2000.<\/p>\n Indeed, no man from the United States has won a Grand Slam men\u2019s singles title since Andy Roddick\u2019s success at the 2003 US Open.<\/p>\n However, the US have three of the top 15 in the ATP rankings \u2013 and all were in action on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Fritz\u2019s match with Germany\u2019s Yannick Hanfmann began on Monday but could not be completed because of bad light, with rain on Tuesday also frustrating the pair.<\/p>\n Seeded ninth, Fritz won four games in succession upon the resumption on Wednesday to triumph 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-3.<\/p>\n Tenth seed Tiafoe, a grass-court event winner at the Stuttgart Open last month, beat China\u2019s Wu Yibing 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-4.<\/p>\n Paul, who is ranked 15th but seeded 16th at Wimbledon, defeated Shintaro Mochizuki 7-5 6-3 6-1.<\/p>\n Another American,\u00a0Ben Shelton,<\/strong>\u00a0seeded 32nd, overcame Japan\u2019s Taro Daniel in five sets, winning 6-4 6-3 3-6 4-6 6-3, but 22-year-old compatriot Sebastian Korda, 25th in the world, suffered a shock 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 6-2 6-3 loss to\u00a0Jiri Vesely\u00a0<\/strong>of the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s\u00a0Milos Raonic,<\/strong>\u00a0beaten by Murray in the 2016 final, secured his first win at Wimbledon since 2019 after suffering a host of injuries, notably an Achilles problem.<\/p>\n The 32-year-old served 28 aces as he beat Austria\u2019s Denis Novak 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to move into the second round.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s\u00a0Jannik Sinner,<\/strong>\u00a0the eighth seed, is into the third round after a 7-5 6-1 6-2 win over Argentina\u2019s\u00a0Diego Schwartzman.<\/strong><\/p>\n In other first-round matches, there were wins for Argentina\u2019s 18th seed\u00a0Francisco Cerundolo<\/strong>\u00a0and Canada\u2019s\u00a0Denis Shapovalov,<\/strong>\u00a0seeded 26th, but Spain\u2019s Roberto Bautista Agut and Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, the 20th and 26th seeds respectively, lost.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Stefanos](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/_130301323_stefanostsitsipas.jpg\")
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