Wimbledon 2024 Day Four Recap

Day four at Wimbledon is complete, and it was a mixed day for the seeded players, along with several five-set matches.

First on the centre was Novak Djokovic, who wasn’t at his best but, fortunately, only had to deal with Jacob Fearnley, who played well but fell short at the end of the fourth set.

Sascha Zverev made swift progress, dropping just nine games to Marcos Giron, while De Minaur also made solid progress in straight sets.

Fritz and Rune needed four sets to progress, while Dimitrov, Shelton, Musetti, Shapovalov, Tabilo, and Halys all overcame tough five settlers to move into the third round.

The biggest name to crash out was Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost in four sets to Emil Ruusuvuori. The Greek can’t get it together on quicker surfaces.

Hurkacz, Khachanov, Draper, and Etcheverry were the other four to falter, losing to Fils, Halys, Norrie, and Popyrin.

You can see all the results from day four below and a recap of some select matches.

Day Four Wimbledon 2024 Round of 64 Results

Djokovic Fends Off Fearnley

Novak Djokovic faced a tough challenge on Thursday at Wimbledon, but after three hours of intense play, he broke decisively at 5-5 in the fourth set to book his spot in the third round, defeating British wild card Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

Early doors it was hardly vintage Novak, but he still seemed set for a straight-sets victory when he broke Fearnley’s serve midway through the third set. However, Fearnley fought back, winning the set and overpowering the second seed to extend the match.

With the pressure on and Fearnley in the ascendency, Djokovic raised his game in the fourth set, breaking Fearnley in the 11th game to seal the win.

Despite knee surgery, Djokovic has shown little discomfort in his opening matches at Wimbledon, but he’s not looking super comfortable on the court, especially with his movement.

We’ve seen it several times: He struggles with balance and almost falls over after playing a shot, which happened several times today.

So, while his footwork wasn’t as crisp as he’d have liked, that issue typically goes for the next match, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

It was a great effort from Jacob, he played great. I had not had a chance to see him play before until two days ago. There is always an element of surprise and nothing to lose. Playing him at Wimbledon was always going to be tough. Most of the British players grow up being exposed to grass courts, quick surfaces, so they know how to play. I thought he served very well. It was very difficult to break his serve. He made me work. I was probably a bit lucky in the fourth not to go a break down. I could have won the match in three but this match potentially deserved to go into a fifth, with the way he played in the fourt. But I am very glad it didn’t. I was not really comfortable in my own skin in the third and fourth sets. Sometimes you have rough days where you are maybe not feeling your best. Of course it depends on your opponents across the net. Today Jacob played at a high level and he made me earn this victory. Djokovic on his trick match vs Fearnley.

Ruusuvuori Topples Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas is yet to make it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, and he fell even shorter this year, crashing out to Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6(6), 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3 in the second round.

I doubted that the Greek would find his game on grass, and Ruusuvuori could take his time away, firing 40 winners and winning 80 per cent of his serves.

It was difficult, I think it could have been a bit different if I won the second set tie-break. But I did try my best, and it didn’t work out. So I’m just proud of myself the way I fought and the way I never gave up. I will continue towards the path of getting better. Tsitsipas on his loss.

Norrie Dispatches Draper

Jack Draper has been the British man to watch of late, capturing the title and Stuttgart and moving into the top 30.

Norrie, on the other hand, has been on the slide, but he found his form on Thursday and neutralised Draper’s game with his flat backhand and rock-solid movement to record a 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(6) win in two hours and 36 minutes.

I didn’t expect much of Norrie, given his struggles of late, but one thing you know is he’ll always put in a shift, and I think the fact he knows he can outlast Draper physically gives him some freedom.

That and the fact he was presumably fired up by the all-British clash meant his game clicked into place, and he was the better man throughout,

I was more just happy with the level I was playing. I was feeling it. I was feeling good. I was really enjoying the tennis, enjoying moving the way I was, hitting the ball the way I was. That’s why I was fired up more than anything.

I’m feeling really good physically and I wanted to keep trusting my movement, trusting my legs. I knew I’d put in some really good practice and I had the level there.

It was nice to use it today and use my experience against Jack, but it was not an easy match. I really enjoyed it – it was a bit nervy towards the end of the tie-break but I managed to stay calm enough to get it done.

It’s an amazing tournament and it’s always nice to get the win in front of some friends as well. It’s a special day for me.

Norrie on his win.

Other Matches of Note

Fils Takes Down Hobbled Hurkacz: Arthur Fils is through to the third round after Hurkacz retired in the fourth set tiebreak. Fils led tiebreak to one when Hurkacz injured himself diving for a volley at 7-7 in the tiebreak and threw tiebreakowel at 8-9. Why you’d retire match point down is beyond me, as it’s just one solitary point to play.

Monfils Moves Past Wawrinka: Gael Monfils led by two sets overnight, and he quickly wrapped up proceedings by taking the third set 7-3 in the tie-break. A relatitiebreake match with only one break of serve, but Stan made too many errors and had little success on the return.

Shelton Survives Harris: The 14th seed secured his place in the Wimbledon third round after another gruelling five-set match, this time against qualifier Lloyd Harris. The 21-year-old American triumphed 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(10-7) in a three-hour, 14-minute showdown. Shelton’s next opponent is Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who also endured a five-set marathon to defeat Daniel Altmaier 7-6(3), 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(3), 6-4. An all-lefty battle of two talented shotmakers could be one to watch.

Dimitrov Comes Through Sheng: The 10th seed battled back from two sets down to defeat China’s Shang Juncheng 5-7 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 6-4. Sheng is a talented player with speedy footwork on grass, but Dimitrov got his act together, and it was probably his superior physicality that got the job done. He fired 19 aces and didn’t face a break point in the last three sets. Monfils is next, tomorrow, which is a quick tunraorund.

Wimbledon 2024 Day Five Round of 32 Matches