Wimbledon is a “magic place”.
She’s looking forward to meeting Ostapenko next but for now will enjoy her win and the atmosphere in the family she’s staying with; she seems extremely calm, and having won a major before, won’t shrink from here on in.
Krejcikova has got surprisingly good on grass, able to hit it hard but also use angles and spins; she meets Ostapenko next.
Ach, Collins can’t keep it going, wrongfooted on the baseline when Krejcikova lands a winner on the chalk for 0-40. Three match points to the Czech…
Rune races out of court to try a forehand down the line but clobbers a ballboy, who’s fine; Djokovic holds. And well done Danielle Collins, who raises break point – she’s hitting it a bit harder now – only to miss with a forehand. No matter, Krejcikova sends down a double and Collins takes control of the point with a nice forehand, but the follow up is cautious and invites the winner down the line that restores deuce. And from there, consecutive errors from the Czech cede one of her breaks! Collins will now serve down 5-7 3-5.
Holds for Collins and Rune, meaning Krejcikova will now serve for the match at 7-5 5-2, and Rune is up 1-0 in the second having lost the first.
It may be a coincidence, but it’s impossible not to notice how many players are struggling with injury. Obviously there’s Collins, Djokovic has a knee-brace, so did Zverev, and yesterday Keys and Dimitrov defaulted while Raducanu thought about it. And that’s just the last two days. Perhaps the players play too much, though I also reckon the depth of quality and how physical the game now is makes a difference; there are far fewer coasting opportunities.
Er yeah, Djokovic serves out to 15 and clinches a 6-3 first set. Rune has improved since losing the first three games to love, but you can’t give this lad a start like that and expect to emerge with anything. He needs to start cracking it from the back and probably coming in more, but perhaps more than anything, 59% of first serves landed is nowhere near enough against the best returner of all time, who will not be threatened by his second delivery. Elsewhere, Krejcikova holds to lead Collins 7-5 5-1.
Collins returns but she’s not moving freely and Krejcikova quickly secures the double break for 4-1. On Centre, Djokovic is serving for the first set at 5-3
A hold apiece on Centre, Djokovic now up 5-2 while, on No 1, Krejcikova keeps herself warm. It’d be a such a shame if this was the last we saw of Collins, though in fairness she looks close to the exit regardless of her injury.
Down 5-7 1-3 0-30, Collins calls for the trainer; she seems to have an issue with her left knee and perhaps her back. So she goes off for treatment, and in comms Jo Durie reckons this’ll be an ijury she was managing, not one she sustained in this match.
More gnashing form Collins as Krejcikova breaks then consolidates to love. She leads 7-5 3-1 and the American is struggling to adjust her feet to deal with the variable bounce you get on grass. On Centre, meanwhile, another comfortable hold for Djokovic and Rune is struggling to respond; it’s hard to see a way he can win this, and he certainly can’t by lasting longer in baseline rallies. He’s surely got to try and shorten points, coming to the net if necessary; at the moment, he’s serving at 1-4 deuce, again struggling to hold.
Wild cheers as Rune makes 15-0 – he smiles because what else can he do? – holding to 15 to trail 1-3. Collins and Krejcikova, meanwhile, are 1-1 in set two, the Czech having taken the first 7-5.
Another hold for Djokovic – he leads 3-0 – and Rune has still not won a point. He’ll have given himself a talking-to before going out there, discussing what he planned to do, ordering himself to stay calm, and, well.
Djokovic holds to love then breaks to love, and Rune trails 0-2 having not won a point. In comms, Mac thinks he’s trying to serve a bit harder, and for now, it’s not working out for him. Meantime, Collins survives break points in the process of holding at the start of set two to trail 5-7 1-0.
Rune has beaten Djokovic a couple of times before and the big advantage he has over many others is self-belief; I’m told he genuinely believes himself to be the best player in the world. He also hits the ball flat and hard which prevents Djokovic from shaping his own shots as he’d like, even though you assume he’ll find a way.
Apparently there’s a very significant storm imminent, so there probably won’t be much more play on outside courts. But our roofs are extended so we’re good to go in our main matches, and on Centre, Djokovic is about to serve.
Krejcikova has looked the likelier, eventually breaking for 6-5, and when Collins larrups a forehand long, she clinches the set having seemed to handle the business-end pressure the better.
It’s now 5-5 on No 1, Collins chastising herself as she nets to cede 0-15. I’d be staggered if either of these lifted the trophy on Saturday, just as I was when … Krejcikova won Roland Garros. It’s hard to look past Rybakina, I guess, but if Ostapenkz maintains her level, it’ll take something significant to stop here.
