London - 03/07

Good morning and welcome back to TIE-Breakfast: all the tennis you need over breakfast.

Ace Cream's daily newsletter during Masters 1000s and Grand Slams, every morning at 8:30.

Today is Friday, July 3rd, in London it's 07:30 and it's 19 degrees. Ok, let's go.

On the menu today

• 🇮🇹 A perfect day for the Italians: Berrettini, Sonego, Cobolli and Paolini all into the third round
• 🇪🇸 Rafa Jódar, 19, reaches the third round like Nadal and Alcaraz
• 🇵🇱 Swiatek overwhelms Pliskova and stays on track for a repeat
• 🇺🇸 Serena Williams postpones the doubles with Venus to Saturday
• 🇷🇸 Djokovic opens play on Centre Court against Rinderknech
• 🇮🇹 Sinner leaves Centre Court: today he faces Brooksby on Court 1

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY:

🇮🇹 An Italian Day: Berrettini, Sonego, Cobolli And Paolini Into The Third Round

On Thursday at Church Road, Italian tennis pulled off a four-of-a-kind that doesn't come around often: Matteo Berrettini downed Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, Lorenzo Sonego closed it out in the fifth set (6-2) against Gabriel Diallo, Flavio Cobolli withstood three hours against James Duckworth to win 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1, and Jasmine Paolini got past Viktorija Golubic 7-6(0), 6-4. Four Italians through on the same afternoon is a figure that stands out, especially on a grass where Italian tennis tradition has never really felt at home. It's not yet time to add up the tournament totals, because the draws tighten quickly and the next opponents - Khachanov for Cobolli, Dimitrov for Berrettini, Sakkari for Paolini - are no pushovers. But the feeling, looking at the four results lined up, is that something in the way these players approach grass has changed.

🇪🇸 Jódar Emulates Nadal And Alcaraz

Rafael Jódar, a nineteen-year-old from Madrid making his career debut on grass, came back to beat compatriot Pablo Carreño Busta 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round at Wimbledon. He is 19 years and 298 days old, and only the third Spaniard of the Open era to reach this round as a teenager: before him, only Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. The comparison is a heavy one, almost unfair to make about a kid who until a few days ago had never played an official match on this surface, and it would probably be wrong to treat him already as an heir. Still, certain names, when they start appearing in the same sentence, always have a reason to be taken seriously.

🇵🇱 Swiatek Overwhelms Pliskova

Defending champion Iga Swiatek dispatched Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 in just seventy minutes, winning 32 of 46 points on return and finishing with 17 winners to her opponent's 7. These are numbers that tell of almost total dominance, the kind of match in which the opponent seems to be chasing the rhythm more than the score. What stands out most is the ease with which the Pole is moving through these early rounds on a surface that, historically, has never been her most natural; the next round, against Maya Joint or Alexandra Eala, will tell whether this version of Swiatek on grass is a flash of form or something more structural.

🇺🇸 Serena Postpones The Doubles To Saturday

The doubles match with Venus, initially expected between Thursday and Friday, has been moved to Saturday to give Serena more time to recover from the knee she swelled during her first-round loss to Maya Joint. Wimbledon and WTA medical staff excused her from media duties, and her agent confirmed she left the tournament walking unaided, even though crutches had been offered to her. It's one of those pieces of news you read with a mix of apprehension and curiosity, because the postponement itself doesn't yet say whether on Saturday they'll actually take the court against Sierra and Osorio, or whether the story ends here. In the meantime, the fact remains that the most talked-about comeback of the season is being played out, literally, on the edge of physical recovery.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:

• Djokovic vs Rinderknech (ATP, third round) - Opens play on Centre Court at 14:30 Italian time: for the Serb it's the first real test of the tournament against a player capable of hitting hard off the forehand.
• Sabalenka vs Ostapenko (WTA, third round) - Second match on Centre Court, roughly around 16:30 Italian time: the world number one runs into an opponent who has often taken away her rhythm with her aggression in their previous meetings.
• Sinner vs Brooksby (ATP, third round) - For the first time in this tournament the defending champion leaves Centre Court for Court 1, where he plays after Kasatkina-Osaka (not before roughly 15:00 Italian time): across the net the American Brooksby, world number 81, never easy to read with his unorthodox tennis.
• Gauff vs Liu (WTA, third round) - An all-American derby, after Gauff's struggle in the previous round settled in a deciding tiebreak against Sierra.
• Auger-Aliassime vs Zheng (ATP, third round) - Closes the Centre Court programme: the Canadian arrives off a solid tournament so far and faces the American surprise Michael Zheng.
• Jódar vs Mochizuki (ATP, third round) - On Court 18, not before 13:30 Italian time: the Spaniard tries to extend his fairy tale against the Japanese player.

Further reading

• 19-Year-Old Rafael Jodar Reaches Wimbledon Third Round, Following Alcaraz and Nadal
• Serena & Venus Williams Set For Wimbledon Doubles Match. Here's How To Watch
• Wimbledon: Cobolli beats Duckworth in four sets, and reaches the third round
• Berrettini into the third round at Wimbledon: time, when he plays and where to watch on TV
• Wimbledon 2026, Paolini into the 3rd round: Golubic beaten. Grant out
• Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon 2026: result and report of the win over Nuno Borges

Enjoy your breakfast and have a great day.

See you tomorrow at 08:30 with TIE-Breakfast