Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 1, 2021 General view as line judges are seen on court 12 REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Highlights of day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships on Thursday (all times GMT):

Top women's seeds continued to perish but world number one Ash Barty maintained her smooth progress as she reached the third round with a 6-4 6-3 win over Russia's Anna Blinkova.

Barty was not firing on all cylinders but the Australian never looked like suffering the same fate as six of the top 10 seeds who have already departed.

Elina Svitolina became the highest seed to fall in the women's draw as the Ukrainian slumped to a straight-sets defeat against Poland's Magda Linette.

The men's favourites are proving far more reliable with eight-times champion Roger Federer beginning to sparkle after a first-round scare as he dispatched Frenchman Richard Gasquet for the 11th time in a row without dropping a set.

Federer won 7-6(1) 6-1 6-4 to set up a last-32 clash with Britain's in-form Cameron Norrie.

Norrie thrashed Alex Bolt to join Andy Murray and Dan Evans in the third round -- the first time three British men reached that stage since 1999.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev crushed Spain's Carlos Alcaraz 6-4 6-1 6-2 while fourth seed Alexander Zverev beat Tennys Sandgren in straight sets.

Unseeded Nick Kyrgios lit up the day with his own brand of unorthodox but spectacular tennis as he beat Italian Gianluca Mager in three sets to reach the third round where he will face Canadian 16th seed Felix Auger Aliassime.

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British 18-year-old wildcard Emma Raducanu produced an inspired display to beat Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-2 6-4 and keep home hopes alive in the women's singles.

Romania's Sorana Cirstea rallied from 3-1 down in the final set to beat twice Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4 in just over two hours on Court One.

Roger Federer, eight-times Wimbledon champion, beat fellow veteran Richard Gasquet 7-6(1) 6-1 6-4 in an entertaining encounter on Centre Court to move into the third round for the 18th time in his career.

Nick Kyrgios, playing in his first tournament since the Australian Open, also progressed with a straight sets win, overcoming Italian Gianluca Mager 7-6(7) 6-4 6-4.

Former champion Angelique Kerber came through a tough second-round clash to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5 5-7 6-4 in a match lasting three hours and 18 minutes on Court Two.

American teenager Coco Gauff fired down nine aces in a comfortable 6-4 6-3 victory over Russian Elena Vesnina, reaching the Wimbledon third round for the second time in as many main draw appearances.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev overcame a slow start before seeing off Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz 6-4 6-1 6-2 to reach the third round.

Australian top seed Ash Barty advanced with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Russian Anna Blinkova. Barty served nine double faults but fired 33 winners and broke six times to set up a third round match with Czech Katerina Siniakova.

Italian seventh seed and Queen's Club champion Matteo Berrettini beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-4 7-6(4), reaching the third round with two breaks of serve while the Dutchman failed to convert any of his nine break points.

Briton Cameron Norrie was 3-0 down in the first set against Australia's Alex Bolt before claiming 11 games in a row, eventually winning 6-3 6-1 6-2 to book a third round clash with Roger Federer or Richard Gasquet.

Third seed Elina Svitolina, who reached the semi-finals two years ago, suffered a shock 6-3 6-4 defeat by Poland's Magda Linette in the second round. Six of the top 10 women's seeds have been knocked out so far this week.

German fourth seed Alexander Zverev fired 36 winners and 13 aces to beat American Tennys Sandgren 7-5 6-2 6-3 in their second round match on Court Two.

Spain's Paula Badosa, seeded 30th, served eight double faults but still beat Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-1, breaking the Kazakh player five times in the contest.

French Open champion and 14th seed Barbora Krejcikova moved into the third round with a 7-5 6-4 win over Germany's Andrea Petkovic.

Czech Krejcikova, a former doubles champion at Wimbledon, is playing in the singles main draw for the first time in her career.

Play on the fourth day of Wimbledon began on time under mostly sunny conditions, with the temperature hovering around 18 degrees Celsius (64.4°F).

Reporting by Manasi Pathak, Rohith Nair and Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond

Source: Reuters

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