COURT REPORT: John Isner closing in on an historic serving statistic

COURT REPORT: Nick Kyrgios complaining about a cough from the crowd, John Isner closing in on an historic serving statistic and the mystery around Wimbledon’s falling attendances

  • Australia’s Nick Kyrgios complained about a persistent cough from the stands
  • John Isner can make history by serving five aces against Jannik Sinner 
  • There is also mystery behind Wimbledon’s falling crowd numbers

It was another busy day at Wimbledon, with plenty of notable events on and off the court. 

Whether it was the mystery cough that bugged Nick Kyrgios or Alastair Gray’s unfortunate error, there were a number of interesting talking points. 

Sportsmail‘s Kieran Gill provides the lowdown on the action from day three at Wimbledon. 

Wimbledon crowd numbers have dropped – Monday’s total was 6,000 shy of the same day in 2019

Not satisfied with only one world record as the winner of the longest-ever tennis match, John Isner will attach another to his name today. The serve king from America needs just five aces against Jannik Sinner to overtake Ivo Karlovic’s all-time record of 13,728 on the ATP Tour.

IT COULD BE WORSE NICK  

‘It’s happened three times,’ said Nick Kyrgios, complaining about a cough on Court 2. Tennis’s outrage at the slightest noise is fascinating compared to other sports, like darts, where 3,000 fans at Alexandra Palace can berate Gerwyn Price as he tries to land a double. At least Kyrgios doesn’t have to deal with that. 

Nick Kyrgios began complaining about a persistent cough coming from the spectators

FRIENDS IN HARMONY AGAIN 

Tami Korpatsch wasn’t happy with Harmony Tan for giving her only an hour’s notice when she withdrew from the women’s doubles, the morning after her momentous win over Serena Williams. Korpatsch, who was due to make her Grand Slam doubles debut, called it unprofessional. But the pair are pals again after they had a heart to heart yesterday. 

RAFA’S ON FULL SHOW 

Rafa Nadal likes giving those with ground passes their money’s worth. He has been shunning the private practice courts and instead training where punters can see him, choosing Court 14 yesterday morning ahead of his match with Ricardas Berankis. 

Rafa Nadal has been giving fans their money’s worth by training on Court 14 recently

FALLING CROWD MYSTERY 

Wimbledon’s crowd numbers are curiously down on previous years. Monday’s total was 6,000 shy of the same day in 2019, the last tournament untouched by Covid. Tuesday’s was 4,000 shy and Wednesday’s 4,600 less. That, and the regular sight of empty seats on Centre Court, is slightly embarrassing for the All England Club. It is not a problem they are used to. 

EYES ON THE BALL ALASTAIR 

Britain’s Alastair Gray turned and celebrated, thinking he had saved set point. Little did he know Taylor Fritz had dived to meet the bouncing ball and delicately send it back over the net. It secured America’s world No 14 the second set en route to a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win. 




Share this article

Source: Read Full Article