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After a well-fought two sets against Australian Rinky Hijikata, Ben Shelton was one game away from advancing to the third round of Wimbledon. But instead, he’ll have to wait until Friday to finish the job.

Shelton and Hijikata’s second round match was suspended at 9:29 p.m. local time in London due to darkness, as the sun had set about 10 minutes earlier. At the time that officials called the match, Shelton was leading Hijikata 6-2, 7-5, 5-4 — and on serve while one game from a straight set victory.

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Shelton was understandably unhappy after the call, speaking heatedly with the officials as Hijikata exited the court. The crowd had a strong reaction as well, booing the ruling and seeming to chant “one more game.”

Part of Shelton’s frustration was that, as the sun went down, both players had broached the idea of suspending the match earlier, but the officials had told them to play on. The match took place at No. 2 Court, which has no roof or stadium lighting.

Due to scheduling, Shelton and Hijikata did not start playing until after 7 p.m. local time. The court had four other matches take place prior to theirs, with one of the men’s matches taking nearly three hours and the second lasting two and a half.

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Shelton did have the chance to lock up victory prior to the officials’ call: The 22-year-old American went up 40-0 in what could have been the match-winning game, before dropping five straight points to Hijikata. As a result, Hijikata won the game to bring the set to 5-4 — and force it into a second day.

Shelton, ranked No. 10, is one of the top two American men remaining in the tournament.

Novak Djokovic has shown signs he is easing into the old routine at Wimbledon, with the seven-time champion sauntering into the third round, while defending women’s champion Barbora Krejčíková has also made it through. 

This year’s Championships have been littered with seeds biting the dust early, but day four offered some big statements from those fancied for deep runs on the lawns.

• Day four Aussie wrap: Aussie caught up in Wimbledon farce, as Kasatkina and de Minaur win

Former women’s champion Elena Rybakina may have arrived very much under the radar but has reached the third round for the loss of a mere seven games, the 11th seed destroying Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes.

Five-time grand slam champion Iga Świątek, surprisingly yet to go past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, is another who will quietly fancy her chances and the Pole looked impressive as she hit back from a set down to beat Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

Djokovic struggled past Alexandre Müller on Tuesday when he struggled with stomach issues. Two days later, however, he was at his ruthlessly efficient best in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of popular Briton Dan Evans on Centre Court.

The 38-year-old is bidding to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record eight titles and claim an unprecedented 25th grand slam crown and, while the talk is of top seed Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz disputing the final, the Serb should be dismissed at your peril.

He has reached the last six Wimbledon finals and clearly believes he will still be around on July 13.

“Technically, tactically, I knew exactly what I needed to do and I executed perfectly,” Djokovic said after his 99th match win at Wimbledon since making his debut in 2005.

“Sometimes you have these kind of days, where everything goes your way, everything flows and it’s good to be in the shoes and holding a racket on a day like this.”

Czech Krejčíková, a surprise winner last year, found herself out on court two where the 17th seed produced a typically businesslike display as she battled past American Caroline Dolehide, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

She will face a much more dangerous American next in the form of Emma Navarro after the 10th seed crushed Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2.

With four of the top five women’s seeds already gone, the draw looks wide open for the likes of seventh seed Mirra Andreeva who beat Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 7-6(4).

Nearly half of the 32 men’s seeds have perished before the third round with 13 failing to clear the first hurdle.

Czech teenager Jakub Menšík, the men’s 15th seed, beat American Marcos Giron 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to underline his credentials.

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, playing in his 59th successive grand slam, may no longer be considered a genuine title threat but more than a decade since reaching his sole Wimbledon semifinal showed he is still a class act as the 19th seed beat tricky Frenchman Corentin Moutet 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

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In a quarter of the women’s draw which included the eliminated Paolini and Chinese fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, American Amanda Anisimova has perhaps benefited most.

The 13th seed would not face anyone ranked higher than 30th seed Linda Noskova until the semi-finals, where she could meet world number one Sabalenka – although the unseeded Naomi Osaka, a four-time major winner, remains in her quarter.

In the men’s singles, Russian Karen Khachanov can reach the quarter-finals without facing a fellow seed, following defeats for Zverev, ninth seed Daniil Medvedev, 16th seed Francisco Cerundolo and former runner-up Matteo Berrettini.

Norrie could also make it to the quarter-finals without encountering another seed, with Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca or qualifier Nicolas Jarry awaiting in the fourth round if the Briton can first overcome Mattia Bellucci.

Between 2002 and 2019, men’s singles seedings were determined by a surface-based formula reflecting recent grass court achievements, before it aligned with the world rankings used for the women’s draw.

On whether the amount of early shocks this year provides a case for bringing that back, former world number five Durie said: “I do think there should be a consideration because grass is really unlike all the other surfaces. I think it was a good thing at the time. It would be interesting if they brought that back.”

Nakashima has beaten Bu Yunchaokete of the People’s Republic of China and fellow USA player Reilly Opelka, both in four sets, to make it to the round of 32. His previous best result came three years ago with a run to the fourth round in 2022.

It helps that he feels right at home in London, making the most of his preparation week in the capital to walk the streets and explore. “I have a lot of close friends that live around here, so it’s always nice to see them,” he explains.

Now firmly in his stride and with the all-important self-confidence, what else can the San Diego man produce in south-west London?

Wimbledon 2025 – Brandon Nakashima’s growing grass game

Growing up with Japanese and Vietnamese heritage in California, Nakashima has spent the last 20 years of his life on the tennis courts; naturally in the States, that means his favoured hard courts, but Wimbledon is his favourite tournament.

The world number 34 went into the Championships 2025 with a 4-2 record on the surface this year, managing the rapidly forced adaptation from the classy clay swing into the condensed grass season.

“It’s two completely different surfaces,” Nakashima explains, “the footwork, the speed at which you play, the tactics out there on the court too. I feel like we’ve handled the transition pretty well, I’m feeling more and more comfortable on the grass.”