British participation in the men’s singles came to an end on day five at Wimbledon with painful defeats for Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady.
The trio exited the tournament within a 90-minute window on a Friday evening that also saw victories for French Open champions Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek on Centre Court.
Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, two of the favourites for the respective singles titles at the All England Club, were the other notable winners on a bumper day of the Championships where temperatures hit 29C.
Tweet of the day
It’s always a pleasure, @andy_murray 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/QIgr9vRTwA
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2023
Picture of the day
Quote of the day
Brit watch
Shot of the day
An epic rally finished emphatically by @steftsitsipas 💥
Friday’s Play of the Day, presented by @BarclaysUK… pic.twitter.com/hvceHoznby
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2023
Stat of the day
At 38 points, the final-set tiebreak between Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan (won by Tsurenko 20-18) is the longest tiebreak in a Grand Slam women’s singles match in history.#Wimbledon
— ITF Media (@ITFMedia) July 7, 2023
90 minutes to forget
British hopes were high heading into day five, with Murray two sets to one up against Tsitsipas, Cameron Norrie set to face the unseeded Chris Eubanks and Liam Broady on a high ahead of facing 26th Denis Shapovalov.
Amid plenty of twists and turns, that hope turned to despair when each home favourite exited Wimbledon between 5.59pm and 7.29pm.
Norrie suffered the first knockout blow, going down to the canvas and never getting back up in four sets to Eubanks before Murray endured five-set heartbreak 18 minutes later.
Broady wrapped up the hour-and-a-half of pain as he missed the chance to serve for a two set to one lead before eventually losing in four.
It means Katie Boulter, who teamed up with boyfriend Alex De Minaur to good success in the mixed doubles on day five, remains the latest British singles’ player in the tournament.
And she faces the small task of trying to take out the defending champion Elena Rybakina on Centre Court on Saturday.
