Key events<\/p>\n
Bouzkova now holds for 4-3 just as De Minaur does against Cobolli, both matches still working out what they\u2019re going to be. On Centre, Eala and Paolini are ready, and I fancy the former, who I think can be special \u2013 but if the Italian can out her serve under pressure, she\u2019s in big trouble.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n On Centre, Eala and Paolini are out; on 2, Bouzkova breaks back for 3-3, having burned a coupe of opportunities; and on 1, a hold apiece means De Minaur and Cobolli are level at 3-3 in the first.<\/p>\n Formula One racing driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli awaits the action on Centre Court. Photograph: Matthew Stockman\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.43 EDT<\/p>\n De Minaur does enough to hold, then makes 0-30 on Cobolli\u2019s go .. only to miss a crucial volley set up by a fine return; 30-all, when it should\u2019ve been two break points at 15-40. And from there, Cobolli holds for 2-2, the same score as between Bouzkova and Mertens, but the latter is at 0-40, the former serving. And when Mertens clubs a forehand on to the baseline, the response is netted, meaning a 3-2 lead for the Belgian.<\/p>\n Alex De Minaur eyes a shot. Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.40 EDT<\/p>\n Now Cobolli holds to 30, and he\u2019s into the match \u2013 all the more so when he goes backhand to forehand, than picks up a terrific half-volley to secure 15-30. And he\u2019s the better player currently, a error from De Minaur offering break point \u2026 confiscated with forehands. To deuce we go while, on 2, Mertens has broken Bouzkova back for 1-2 in the first.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Cobolli lays down some smack, assaulting a weak serve, but at 40-30, De Minaur thwacks a forehand winner down the line for 1-0; back on two, game two is still going \u2026 and, as I type, Bouzkova hits hard to the corner, then paddles a drop across the face of the net, and she leads Mertens 2-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean today will be his day \u2013 De Minaur has greater nous and experience. But Cobolli has such competitive charisma that I reckon he\u2019ll find a way to win, especially as he now knows what it\u2019s like to go the distance in a grand slam final \u2013 a level of security and confidence his opponent is still chasing<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Back with our men\u2019s match, I wonder how the Demon is feeling today. He knows he lacks the definitive weapons that mark out the best and might feel the same about Cobolli. I\u2019d suggest Cobolli is perhaps the 2.0 version of him, though, his forehand bigger and speed even more intense; I can say for certain that I don\u2019t think De Minaur can win a major, but I think Cobolli might just find his way to one thanks to his extra gas off the ground.<\/p>\n Flavio Cobolli on the move. Photograph: Marko \u0110urica\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.23 EDT<\/p>\n Bouzkova raises a break point, so Mertens retorts with a service winner \u2013 her ability to do that repeatedly \u2013 or not \u2013 may decide this match. Which is why it\u2019s taking her a whole to secure her hold.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On No 1, we\u2019re almost ready for De Minaur and Cobolli \u2013 I can\u2019t wait for this one \u2013 while on No 2, Bouzkova holds for 1-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bouzkova and Mertens are out and I fancy the latter, who has a bit more power and will surely be feeling herself after binning Rybakina in the lat round. Boukova will hope to use her strength against her, but the match is not, I don\u2019t think, on her racket.<\/p>\n Elise Mertens stretches for a forehand. Photograph: Cameron Spencer\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.16 EDT<\/p>\n Naomi Broady fancies Osaka to go all the way, and what a popular champ she\u2019d be. I do, though, quite fancy Muchova to give her trouble, especially at net, whether by hauling her in with drops or winning exchanges; if she\u2019s at her best, I\u2019d back her all-round game to get it done, though it may be that Osaka is just too powerful from the back.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Also going on:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I very much fancy Kostyuk to reach the final from the bottom half of the draw. Of course, Eala is on one, while Keys has the power to blow anyone away. But in terms of all-round game, never mind sense of communal mission, the Ukrainian is the class of the field and ready to step up a level.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Next on No 2 Court: Marie Bouzkova (21) v Elise Mertens (25).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I still cannot process this happening,\u201d says Kostyuk, also noting how hot it is. \u201cThe longer you stay on this surface, the worse you feel.\u201d She adds that the court wasn\u2019t easy given the heat and wind, especially against an opponent on a roll having played 17 consecutive matches on grass \u2013 more than Kostyuk in her entire career. So it was very difficult and she still can\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n She was struggling to break the whole match so is really happy with the last two service-games she faced, and then thanks the crowd for their contribution.<\/p>\n Finally, Kostyuk customarily performs a blackflip when she wins a tournament so is asked if she\u2019s been practising, advising that people keep asking her and she\u2019ll only do it when she wins her first grand slam. That is not too far away.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Marta Kostyuk (12) beats Ashlyn Krueger 6-4 6-4<\/p>\n Kostyuk enjoys her now-customary twirl and she\u2019s delighted, establishing herself among the elite of the elite, as we hoped. Krueger gave it all she had, but Kostyuk is a future champion now at one with her game and self; make no mistake, she can win this. Next up for her: Paolini or Eala.<\/p>\n Joy for Marta Kostyuk after sealing a place in the fifth round. Photograph: James Marsh\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.43 EDT<\/p>\n Again, Krueger goes long; 0-15. But then, at 15-all, an excellent volley falls in, just, and Kostyuk is two points away. And just as she looks in trouble, reaching behind herself for a forehand get, she somehow converts it into a delightful winner cross-court, raising two match points.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Yeah, coming a mile off. At 40-30, Krueger goes long, a double donates advantage, and another error means that 6-4 5-4 Kostyuk, broken not long ago, will shortly serve for the match.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n That last game was very impressive. It\u2019s not that Kostyuk playing amazingly in it, more that she consciously upped the aggression and her opponent couldn\u2019t respond, class asserting itself through behaviour that is generally the preserve of the best around: consciously resolving to step it up, then forcing the issue. I\u2019d not be at all surprised to see Kostyuk run away with things from here.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kostyuk turns up the gas \u2013 it\u2019s maximum effort time \u2013 but at 30-all, Kruger guides a backhand down the line for a winner \u2026 only flap another wide. And then, when then the ball bounces mid-court, the American is lost in the supermarket, unable to decide which of the many shots available to her she\u2019s going to play. So she bungles into the net and must now face advantage, Kostyuk\u2019s booming line forehand only just wide; back to deuce we go. Kostyuk, though, is on one, a fine point sealed with a putaway at net, and a fine forehand then incites Krueger to go for too much, and that\u2019s the break back; Kostyuk leads 6-4 4-3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n At 15-30, Kostyuk puts together a lovely point, finished with an overhead, then serves out wide \u2026 only to direct her clean-up wide. Then, down break point, she nets, and Krueger has the break at 4-6 4-2. But can she hold on to it?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kostyuk holds through deuce, then Krueger holds too, and I get the sense the former is still learning her way around a grass court. She\u2019s got plenty of power and moves nicely \u2013 to be expected from an ex-gymnast \u2013 but she\u2019s not quite as light on her feet as on other surfaces, and though her volleying is good, her point construction is still developing.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In our one singles match away so far, Kostyuk leads Krueger 6-4 1-2 on serve. She\u2019s clearly the better player, but it\u2019s close in set two and though her collapses are less frequent than once, they\u2019re not totally behind her.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.03 EDT<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n