Wimbledon wrap: Delpo wins big & Djokovic on the brink

Blimey. Upsets, drama, and Novak on the edge. Wimbledon not only turned on the rain (yet again), but also the dramatics on a disrupted Day 5.

The men’s action:
Was it the weird weather? Was it just one of those Fridays? Whatever it was, there was a little bit of everything on the men’s side of the draw at SW19.

There was emotion: Until today, it had been 1,092 days since Juan Martin Del Potro had set foot on Centre Court. Stan Wawrinka will surely be wishing it had been a few more. The injury-ravaged Argentine produced a sublime display to beat the No.4 seed 3-6 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3. Delpo could barely contain his emotions after securing the biggest victory of his comeback (so far).

“It feels amazing. I beat one of the guys who is playing great tennis this season and I couldn’t have expected this before today,” Delpo gushed. “I was really sad for the last two years and now I am enjoying playing tennis again. My hands are shaking is a great sensation for me because I’m playing tennis again and I feel alive.”

There was drama: Novak Djokovic might not be out of Wimbledon yet, but he’s not far off. The World No.1 – on course for a rare Golden Slam – was trailing Sam Querrey 6-7(6) 1-6 when the heavens opened and arguably kept his Grand Slam dreams alive. He’ll be back on Saturday to try and overturn the big serving American’s advantage.

There was consistency: One of the few men who won’t be back on Saturday is Roger Federer. The Swiss superstar dismissed Briton Dan Evans in a relatively straightforward match, coming through 6-4 6-2 6-2.

Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios won the battle of the entertainers, beating Dustin Brown 6-7(3) 6-1 2-6 6-4 6-4 in a fiery five set encounter; Tomas Berdych continued to fly under the radar, downing Benjamin Becker 6-4 6-1 6-2; Tsonga cruised past Juan Monaco in three; and John Isner ended Matt Barton’s Wimbledon dreams with a tight-as-can-be 7-6(8) 7-6(3) 7-6(8) win.


The women’s action:
At a Grand Slam, it doesn’t matter how you win so much, as long as you do win. Both Serena and Venus Williams might have made life hard for themselves at SW19 today, but both secured their spots in Week Two.

Serena was up first against fellow American Christina McHale. And in a stunning twist to the prescribed script, the World No.65 snatched the first set in the tiebreak. Normal order appeared to be resuming when Serena powered through the second, but McHale pushed hard in the third and ran the World No.1 close. In the end, the reigning champ took the victory 6-7(7) 6-2 6-4.

Venus was also pushed to the edge during a topsy turvey match against Wimbledon debutante Daria Kasatkina. Rain disrupted the match on no fewer than three occasions – one of those on match point for the five-time champion – before Venus secured a dramatic 7-5 4-6 10-8 win.

“This was like something out of a movie,” a relieved Williams mused after the match. “It wasn’t easy to play out there today.”

Elsewhere, Sveta Kuznetsova downed Briton Tara Moore 6-1 2-6 6-3; Pavlyuchenkova battled past Putintseva 7-5 6-1; Annika Beck beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-1; and Carla Suarez Navarro thumped (not literally) Erakovic 6-2 6-2.

Ones to watch:
First question: Can Novak Djokovic dig himself out of this Sam Querrey shaped hole? While it won’t be easy, given that it’s a new day you’d probably have to back the Serb in this one.

Simona Halep faces a tricky tie against Kiki Bertens, while Alize Cornet v Madison Keys should be fun. On the men’s side of things, if it doesn’t rain then Kyrgios v Lopez will be worth a watch, while John Millman is guaranteed a raucous reception when he takes on Andy Murray on Centre Court.