Wimbledon 2023 LIVE: Andy Murray vs Stefanos Tsitsipas set to resume as Alcaraz and Djokovic return

When looking down upon Centre Court, it is easy to construe the surface as some unearthly plain, to see the players who glide across it as some otherworldly beings. But truthfully, these are just people, and this is (glance over your shoulder, whisper it to a trusted friend) just grass.

In that same vein, Sir Andy Murray is merely a man. His faults prove that, even if his feats belie it. His clanging metal hip is a manmade accessory, not an astral invention. His brain ponders the ideal timing of a forehand and what awaits for dinner, not the bewildering basis of human existence and its place in the cosmos. Murray, like us, is human, no matter how many miracles he conjures on court. That is the reality.

Yet on the fourth night of Wimbledon, reality flickered in front of the Centre Court crowd and fizzled into something else altogether. This addictive, augmented reality read: ‘Andy Murray 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 Stefanos Tsitsipas.’

By Alex Pattle on Centre Court

Jan Choinski has targeted a Wimbledon return next year but wants to get there in his own right.

German-born Choinski, the son of an English ballet dancer, was handed a debut wild card and rewarded tournament organisers with an impressive first-round win against world number 56 Dusan Lajovic.

But his fun ended on Thursday when his former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz won a tight match 6-4 6-4 7-6 (3) on Court 18.

The 27-year-old, who changed his nationality to British in 2019 and is ranked 164th in the world, got the taste for SW19 and wants a 2024 repeat.

“I would be very happy coming back next year,” he said. “Maybe even without needing a wild card for the main draw, try my best to get my ranking to a position where I can enter the tournament by myself.”

Liam Broady admitted it took a monumental effort to realise his childhood dream as a career-best win over Casper Ruud on Centre Court made him the first British male into the third round at Wimbledon.

Broady outlasted world number four Ruud on Thursday to win 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 in an enthralling contest that lasted three hours and 27 minutes.

Victory over Ruud, who had made the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open during the past 12 months, was even sweeter for the Stockport left-hander given it took place in front of a buoyant Centre Court crowd.

“It was a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience coming out at Centre Court on Wimbledon, but it’s been my dream since I was five-years-old,” Broady reflected, having lost his only other match on the venue to Andy Murray in straight sets in 2016.

“I played on Court One in the finals of the juniors (in 2011). I was a set and a break up. I completely choked it, completely guffed it. That has kind of haunted me my entire career, to be honest. It always bothered me coming back, playing on the bigger courts and never really feeling like I was comfortable and had performed. Losing to Andy on Centre, losing to (Milos) Raonic on One, then (Alex) De Minaur on One and never winning so much as a set.

“That’s why it felt good. I feel like it’s taken a monumental effort for me personally to be able to win a match on Centre Court at Wimbledon. I mean, Novak (Djokovic) hasn’t lost a match on Centre in 10 years, which is a testament to how good of a player he is, as well, but that was a big one for me.”

Katie Boulter hurled her fist into the air, her ponytail swishing from side to side. A magnificent victory was claimed against Viktoriya Tomova on Court 12 at Wimbledon. Riding a wave of momentum, Boulter has galloped into the third round. The reward for some audacious tennis is the opportunity of her career, in all likelihood: Centre Court against the defending champion Elena Rybakina.

Boulter has previously lit up SW19, beating former finalist Karolina Pliskova last year, but there is now a fiery determination to her game, swatting 36 winners across a pulsating hour and 43 minutes. Tomova, left helpless for much of this game, could only applaud at times. It is no coincidence her breakout comes on the grass, either.

“I think I embrace it a lot. I’m an aggressive player,” Boulter said. “I enjoy going for it, I feel I have more of an opportunity to play my game on the grass. Sometimes you’ve got to back yourself and trust the process. If you go for it and lose, you can take it.”

It wasn’t all about Andy Murray yesterday and Jack Rathborn took in British women’s No 1 Katie Boulter reaching the third round:

We go again. Wimbledon is picture-perfect this morning with the best weather of the week so far. It’s set to be a hot one today, with a temperature of 28c or 29c expected later this afternoon.

That, of course, is when we are expecting Andy Murray’s second-round match with Stefanos Tsitsipas to resume, in what will be completely different conditions to last night’s epic action under the roof.

There’s a real sense of anticipation already both inside and outside the grounds – almost like the day of a final. The Wimbledon queue is absolutely insane already – with a sea of people making Wimbledon Park look like an afternoon at Glastonbury.

When Andy Murray won his maiden grand slam, at the 2012 US Open, the reality of the situation was lost on the Scot for the briefest of moments. As Novak Djokovic propelled a forehand beyond the baseline inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Murray gave a trademark pump of the fist. ‘A point well won.’

It was approximately two seconds later that Murray, 25 at the time, actually realised what he had done – perhaps not the wider magnitude of it, but at least what it meant in his own life.

He had not just won Britain’s first major men’s singles title in 76 years, he had removed one of the most persistent and ferocious monkeys from his back. Yet there was another still clinging to the Scot’s spine, one that would delight in screeching: ‘You’ve never won Wimbledon.’

Alex Pattle tells the story of Andy Murray’s 2013 Wimbledon win:

Meanwhile, on the other show court, there are also some intriguing encounters to light up this Friday afternoon.

British men’s No 1 Cam Norrie will hope to land a knockout punch on Christopher Eubanks, while women’s contenders Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur are also scheduled to play.

Here’s the order of play for Court No 1.

1 Varvara Gracheva (FRA) vs Aryna Sabalenka [2]

2 Cameron Norrie (GBR) [12] vs Christopher Eubanks (USA)

3 Ons Jabeur (TUN) [6] vs Zhuoxuan Bai (CHN)

All eyes will be on Centre Court at Wimbledon today, as not only does Andy Murray finish his developing epic against Stefanos Tsitsipas but men’s No 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz, women’s No 1 seed Iga Swiatek and a certain Novak Djokovic all play their third-round matches.

Here’s the full order of play

CENTRE COURT – 13:30 START

1 Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) [1] vs Alexandre Muller (FRA)

2 Andy Murray (GBR) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [5] T/F 6/7(3) 7/6(2) 6/4 0/0

3 Iga Swiatek (POL) [1] vs Petra Martic (CRO) [30]

4 Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2]

If you were thinking of heading down to join the famous queue at Wimbledon, the All England Club are very much advising against it…

It seems as if SW19 will be at capacity and beyond today

The second-round is developing into an epic after a routine win over Ryan Peniston in the first round on Centre Court.

The two-time champion sports a fairly unique kit compared to his rivals and the sport’s best male players such as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

Sponsored by AMC, the branding has been clear across the Scot’s chest throughout his warm-up tournaments and practice towards the end of last week.

AMC has been across Murray’s social media in the build-up to SW19 too. So what is AMC and what do they do? Here is everything you need to know about Murray’s kit sponsor.