Top seed Carlos Alcaraz produced an entertaining mixture of power-hitting, fearsome returning and delicate dropshots to beat France’s Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 and reach the third round at Wimbledon on Friday.

But he made 41 unforced errors and did not have it all his own way against an opponent, who clearly enjoyed his first outing on the big stage.

Thrilling victory

Stefanos Tsitsipas fought off Andy Murray with a superb 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (2-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory in a gripping second-round match.

The Greek trailed by two sets to one after Murray edged ahead in three tight sets on Thursday before Wimbledon’s curfew halted play mid-battle. As the match resumed, fifth seed Tsitsipas won a tense fourth set on a tie-break.

In the fifth, Tsitsipas broke Murray’s serve for the first time and forged ahead. Despite squandering a couple of match points at 5-4 he made sure at the third time of asking with a booming ace.

Daniil Medvedev saw off Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to reach the third round. Danish sixth seed Holger Rune beat Spain’s Roberto Carlos Baena 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

An exhausted Lesia Tsurenko after winning match point against Ana Bogdan on Friday. Getty Images

Swiatek sails

Women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek advanced to the fourth round, defeating 30th seed Petra Martic 6-2, 7-5. This was the top-seeded Swiatek’s 41st win of the season.

Tunisian Ons Jabeur made quick work of Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan with a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Elina Svitolina defeated Sofia Kenin 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in the third round and will next face Victoria Azarenka in a battle of moms.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus recovered from a poor first set to beat Varvara Gracheva 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 and reach the third round.

The Australian Open champion struggled badly in the opening set which went to Gracheva. A huge upset looked on the cards before Sabalenka found her rhythm midway through the second set to level the match before clinching the third.

38-point tie-break

Lesia Tsurenko dropped to the ground in exhaustion after her third-round win over Ana Bogdan in which she won the longest tie-break in women’s singles grand slam history.

The duo split the opening two sets but an incredible battle unfolded at 6-6 as Tsurenko dug deep into her reserves to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (20-18).

Tsurenko saved five match points and converted her seventh to secure victory.

The previous longest tie-break in a women’s grand slam singles was 36 points, in the opening set of Denisa Allertova’s win over Johanna Konta in the first round of the 2015 French Open.

Bopanna advances

In men’s doubles, India’s Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia, seeded sixth, defeated the Argentinian pair of Guillermo Duran and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (10-8).

Manas Dhamne of India qualified for the boys’ singles main draw with a 6-2, 6-7(5-7), 10-8 win over AtakanKarahan.

Cornet points at inequality

London: Lower-ranked players are not treated as equals to the big names at Wimbledon, France’s former world No. 11 Alize Cornet said.

Cornet’s 16th Wimbledon was ended by defending champion Elena Rybakina on Thursday. Cornet, now ranked 74th, said she noticed the difference at the All England Club this year.

Asked to elaborate, Cornet said she had only been given two tickets for her first-round victory on an outside court but had received 40 for her match against Rybakina on Centre Court.

“Two tickets on the outside court is too little,” Cornet said. “You need to give a little more credit to players that play on the outside courts. This tournament exists because of all the players, not only the ones that play on the big courts.”

Reuters