He’s back: Del Potro beats Wawrinka in 4 sets at Wimbledon

Serena trailed early in her clash with McHale before the rain arrived and forced organisers to cover Centre Court, and although McHale would have her service broken she was able to take the first set in a tense tie-break.

But as of Friday evening, there were still second-rounders in singles that had not concluded – one men’s match, and three women’s.

Two-time defending mens champion Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, was trailing Sam Querrey 7-6 (6), 6-1 in a third-round match on No. 1 Court before play was suspended for the day on the outside courts because of rain.

The third-round match between Canadian Milos Raonic and American Jack Sock at Wimbledon was postponed Friday due to rain.

Friday was a busy – and stressful – day for Price, who has watched plenty of tennis in her lifetime.

Spectators take shelter from the rain during day five of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 1, 2016.

Serena Williams composed herself after a first-set loss and a burst of anger that made her smash her racket, to beat tenacious fellow American Christina McHale in a tense second-round match at Wimbledon on Friday. “In fact, I look at it like I didn’t crack one at the French Open or Rome, so I was doing really good”, Williams said, via ESPN.

The 34-year-old said she always knew she could back her mental strength in times of need. “And I knew (being down) a break in the third that I was going to have to put my mind in it — and that’s what I did”. But Venus, owner of five titles at the All England Club, persevered, too, barely getting past 29th-seeded Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 to become one of only two women already into the fourth round.

The match on No. 1 Court was delayed four times by rain, including once with Williams holding a match point at 7-6 in the third set.

After a three-year absence from Wimbledon, Juan Martin del Potro is making another strong run at a Grand Slam.

Williams will face 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round after the Spaniard defeated Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-2.

“My hands (are) shaking, ” del Potro said after walking off Centre Court to a loud ovation.

While Williams moved one step closer to Graf’s record using a new racket, Novak Djokovic’s dream of becoming the first man to win a calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969 is in serious jeopardy.

Even del Potro’s stats weren’t great: 23 winners and 25 unforced errors. “He’s a great guy, a really good player, big champion”.

After winning her match in a dramatic third set, Williams found her cracked racket, autographed it and gave it to a young fan at courtside.

Williams was broken in the first game of the third set and was behind 2-0 and 40-15 in the third game before rallying to break McHale. McHale then saved three break points to go ahead 3-2.

“I was out there playing for my life at that point, trying to play to stay in the tournament”.

Four games later, the eighth-seeded Williams broke to end the contest, with Kasatkina slapping a forehand into the net on the final point. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever played a 10-8 set, so that was pretty intense. Easier said than done”, Venus said.

After poor weather conditions wreaked havoc with the schedule once again, tournament organisers have now confirmed that there will indeed be play on middle Sunday for the first time since 2004 and only the fourth time in history.

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