Images from Day 3 of the Wimbledon tennis championships played in London, on Wednesday.
Clinical Djokovic glides past Anderson into third round
Top seed Novak Djokovic clinically dispatched big-serving South African Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday to glide ominously into the Wimbledon third round.
Defending champion Djokovic, bidding for a sixth Wimbledon and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title, was imperious during a grasscourt masterclass on Centre Court.
In a repeat of the 2018 final, the Serbian broke Anderson's serve once in each set and offered up only five unforced errors. His only minor concern were a couple of tumbles to the turf on the lush grass, but he remained unruffled.
Twice Grand Slam runner-up Anderson, who is battling back after knee problems, did not play a bad match but Djokovic was at his ruthless best as he won in an hour and 41 minutes.
"It was almost flawless today, I hope my coach agrees with that," the 34-year-old said on court.
Few would disagree.
Berrettini continues winning run on grass
Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini continued his winning run on grass with a confident display against Guido Pella of Argentina to roll into the second round of Wimbledon with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory on Wednesday.
One of the many players yet to play their first round due to rain interruptions on the first two days, the 25-year-old Italian arrived at the grasscourt Grand Slam brimming with confidence having won the title at Queen's.
But his first meeting against the 59th-ranked Pella was considered a tricky one as the Argentine had proved his mettle on grass by reaching the quarter-finals when the major was last held in 2019.
There were not many break points on offer early as the duo served strongly and Berrettini and Pella both converted their lone chances to share the first two sets.
Forehand unforced errors from Pella helped the Italian nose ahead in the third set when he got the break in the 10th game.
Berrettini, seen as a dark horse for the Wimbledon title in the absences of Rafa Nadal and Dominic Thiem and the first-round exit of Stefanos Tsitsipas, moved up a gear in the fourth set.
He won the last eight games and breezed through the set in just 23 minutes.
Berrettini, who served 20 aces and hit 46 winners overall against 21 from Pella, will next meet Dutch lucky loser Botic Van De Zandschulp who ousted French qualifier Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-6 (3).
Svitolina battles past Van Uytvanck in opener
World number five Elina Svitolina was made to work hard in her Wimbledon opener on Wednesday as the Ukrainian sealed a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory over unseeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck.
The pair traded breaks at the start of their second career meeting before Svitolina gained the upper hand following a tight game to go up 4-2, and the third seed held off a late fightback to claim the first set.
The aggressive Van Uytvanck mixed up her shots, with rifled drives and delicate drops, and took every chance to approach the net to break Svitolina for a 3-1 lead in the second set before levelling the contest at one set apiece.
Both players wobbled on serve before 2019 semi-finalist Svitolina, who won the pair's last clash in three sets at Indian Wells six years ago, rediscovered her rhythm in the decider on Court One to close out the victory.
In the second round, the 26-year-old faces Poland's Magda Linette who rallied from a set down to defeat unseeded American teenager Amanda Anisimova 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Andreescu fails to break Wimbledon jinx after defeat by Cornet
Bianca Andreescu has yet to find her grasscourt feet as the Canadian fifth seed once again lost in the first round at Wimbledon after being walloped 6-2 6-1 by French nemesis Alize Cornet on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old became the highest women's seed to perish at this year's grasscourt major after Cornet capitalised on 34 unforced errors from Andreescu to leave the 2019 U.S. Open champion still searching for her first win at the championships.
Andreescu, who was also beaten by the 58th-ranked Frenchwoman less than two weeks ago on grass in Berlin, struggled to hit anything on target and even luck deserted her on Court Two.
At match point, Cornet mis-hit a lob with her racket at full stretch while she charged across the back of the court and both players were left bemused as the ball clipped the corner of the baseline to end Andreescu's ordeal.
Cornet will hope her win over the fifth seed gives her the springboard she needs to do well at Wimbledon because in 13 previous appearances, she has only made it as far as the fourth round once.