Aryna Sabalenka got sucked into what she described as "a nightmare" on Saturday but the Belarusian was thankful to emerge unscathed as she kept alive her Wimbledon dream with a 6-2 6-3 third round victory against Russian Anna Blinkova.
A day after the Belarusian was left screaming in frustration as little-known Varvara Gracheva threatened to trample her Wimbledon aspirations, the Australian Open champion was back to her sublime ball-striking best as she extended her record over Blinkova to 3-0.
In a match between two players who were both barred from competing at the All England Club last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sabalenka made her experience count against an opponent who has never reached the fourth round of a major.
The second seed broke Blinkova three times to take the first set and when she pinned back the Russian with some thunderous returns to take a 4-2 lead in the second, the world number 40 was left shaking her head in resignation.
If Sabalenka thought Blinkova was holding up the white flag, she was sorely mistaken because in the very next game Blinkova gave the second seed the run around for over 14 minutes.
In a nerve-shredding game featuring eight deuces, four break points for Blinkova, aces and double faults, Sabalenka hung tough despite all the drama to emerge unscathed for a 5-2 lead.
"It was like a nightmare, it was a tough game. Somehow I managed to finish that game with a win, but it was crazy and I was super happy to handle myself in that situation," a smiling Sabalenka told the crowd in a courtside interview.
Two games later a searing ace, her ninth of the day, sealed victory and a clash with another Russian, 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
As for her assessment on Saturday's performance, Sabalenka said: "It was definitely better tennis than yesterday.
"It was a tough game, she played really well. I am super happy I was able to win it."
Petra Kvitova (above) reached the fourth round for only the second time since triumphing at the All England Club nine years ago with a 6-3 7-5 win over Serbian qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in a rain-disrupted encounter.
The Czech ninth seed needed four set points to seal the first set as menacing dark clouds hovered over Court Two, with her 225th ranked opponent slapping a service return long.
At 1-1 in the second set, Stevanovic was left rather agitated when Hawkeye confirmed she had hit an ace but the umpire ruled she would have to replay the point since the linesperson's call would have prevented Kvitova from attempting to return the ball.
A clearly distracted Stevanovic struggled to forget the incident and ended up being broken after Kvitova's service return kissed the line.
Although the 28-year-old, who had beaten former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, broke back in the next game, she struggled to cope with Kvitova's powerful attacking game and dropped her serve again to trail 2-3.
However, Kvitova, who also won the grasscourt major in 2011, saw her serve falter and she allowed Stevanovic to take a 5-4 lead as the heavens opened over southwest London.
Following a two-hour rain break, Kvitova appeared determined to make her greater firepower count, although the final game turned into an almighty tussle of wills.
Stevanovic, who overcame a life-threatening cyst on her liver when she was 21, stretched the Czech to six deuces, three break points and even won the longest rally of the match, capping off a breathtaking 20-shot exchange with a forehand winner into the corner.
After watching three match points disappear thanks to Stevanovic's dogged resilience, Kvitova finally triumphed on her fourth attempt to seal a last-16 place.
"It's been a while since I was in the second week of Wimbledon, so I am very happy," said the 33-year-old, who is on an eight-match winning streak after winning the grasscourt title in Berlin.
"I love playing on grass and when my serve is working well I love it even more."
Fourth round ticket booked 🎟️@Petra_Kvitova is through after defeating Natalija Stevanovic 6-3, 7-5 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/rgaZohfF4s
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2023
Last year's runner-up Ons Jabeur survived a scare and a lengthy stoppage due to a wet Centre Court surface to progress into the fourth round with a battling 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Bianca Andreescu.
After Jabeur hit back from losing the first set to level, the Tunisian found herself 3-1 down in the decider, but crucially broke back against the former US Open winner before heavy rain arrived at 7.36pm.
With the Centre Court roof open, the grass surface briefly took a hammering of rain and a 50-minute delay occurred while it was left to dry.
But once play resumed, Jabeur showed her mettle on her first return to the venue since last year’s final.
Two break points were held by the world number six in her first service game after the resumption before she broke to love in the ninth game and sealed her place in round four with an ace.
"I felt like I didn’t play my best today, I wanted to be more aggressive and play my game but I am playing against a grand slam champion," Jabeur said before admitting to almost asking spectator Billie Jean King for advice mid-match.
"You have to do what you do and Billie was watching so I was going to ask her what should I do. I swear I was going to turn to her.
"Very emotional coming back here after a great final last year. It is one of, if not my favourite court. I love the grass, love the energy and hopefully I can come back and play more matches here."
The wet weather disrupted some of the early play on Saturday but Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the rain to down Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 on Court Three before a suspension meant there was no time for an on-court interview.
Madison Keys, who won the Rothesay International in Eastbourne last week, continued her fine form with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
Katie Boulter was blown away by defending champion Elena Rybakina as British singles interest at Wimbledon came to an end.
Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last 32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.
Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering.
