Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureRight, that’s it for a sodden but memorable second day. Mixed fortunes for the Brits, with Andy Murray sweeping elegantly into the second round, Cameron Norrie surviving a wobble to beat Tomas Machac but Dan Evans beaten in four sets in an evening up-and-downer on Centre. Elsewhere, the top women - 2022 Women’s winner Elena Rybakina, her defeated fellow-finalist Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka - all sailed through to fight another day. And Djokovic’s closest rival Carlos Alcaraz won as easily as expected. Thanks for reading, we’ll be back tomorrow where the tournament organisers must squeeze a quart into a pint pot, including Iga Swiatek and Djokovic’s first foray towards yet more greatness. Good night!And last, but not least, Paul MacInnes’ diary:And Barney Ronay swerved left from Lord’s to cover Andy Murray’s sweet straight-sets win.But there was good news for the British No 1 Cameron Norrie, who squeezed past the twinkle-toed Tomas Machac in four sets.Updated at 21.29 BSTIt’s been a disappointing year for poor old Evans, who was dumped out in the first round of the French Open by Thanasi Kokkinakis, when he described his game as”not good enough.”Dan Evans's nightmare year continues. The British No 2 is beaten in four sets by France's Quentin Halys.Looks pretty gutted, as you can imagine.#Wimbledon— James Gray () July 4, 2023
British No. 2 Dan Evans loses in the first round 6-2 6-3 6-7 6-4A double fault takes Halys to match point. And then it is all over with a cracking Halys return.Evans gets a standing ovation as he walks off, bag over one shoulder, a sigh in his eyes. He was full of vigour this evening but it was a hard job from 2-0 down. Halys, on his first appearance at Centre Court, has impressed the crowd and the experts.Britain's Dan Evans reacts during his defeat. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/ReutersUpdated at 21.29 BSTOooof: 30-30 after Evans goes long. The crowd try to pump him up.We’re continuing to go with serve in the Halys v Evans evening thriller. Now Evans must serve to stay in the match.Updated at 21.14 BSTEarlier on this court, Sabalenka lightly thrashed Udvardy. Read Simon Cambers’ take on that game and Jabeur’s defeat of Frech below.It is baseline boom-boom here on Centre Court, but Evans whips in to volley a backhand winner to take it to 30-0 on his serve. The youthful Halys is non-plussed. Serve held. 4-4.Evans so nearly breaks, but the passing shot goes just long. And so Halys holds . That will be dispiriting for Evans after getting so close. 4-3. Tie break fast approaching ahead.Updated at 21.06 BSTThe line judge in a a cardigan and baker boy hat watches intently as Evans double bluffs Halys to win the game. It goes with serve again. 3-3. Halys then goes 30-0 up on his serve up before hitting a wild forehand out of the court. Is the pressure getting to him?Some rapid serves from the tall Halys and an Evans’ lob goes long, to hand him the game. 3-2 with serve. The telly tells me that Evans reached a career high singles ranking of 22 in the autumn of 2021. he’s now ranked 30. So should be winning this according to the numbers.Dusk is starting to fall over a damp Wimbledon, where the puddles are gathered all around the covered courts. Evans darts and squirts to hold his serve, fist pumping his way through the points. 2-2.Back on centre court, both Halys and Evans held their first serves of the fourth set to love. Evans then scraps back into contention from 40-0 down on the Halys serve, but Halys holds. The players get a rest and Halys munches some kind of jelly sweet.Over on No. 1 Court, Miralles is pulling back against Etcheverry, 4-3 up in the fourth set, after losing the first two. A great chance for these two to strut their stuff on a show court.Evans wins the tie-break to stay in the match!Evans gets the set! He squeezes his eyes shut, bends his knee and punches the air, muttering obscenities words of encouragement to himself. Halys damply dabs his face with a towel. The game goes into a fourth set, with Halys two sets to one up. 6-2 6-3 6-7.Halys aces, then fluff his volley to give Evans set point.A wild return from Evans, but Halys then hits long to make it 4-4. Evans has his teeth round the bone and won’t let go, moving 5-4 up…Tie-break third set Halys v EvansHalys takes a 3-1 lead, but Evans pulls back with a beautiful back hand. And draws level when Halys hits into the net. 3-3.Quentin Halys of France plays a forehand against Daniel Evans of Great Britain. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesUpdated at 21.01 BSTHalys is 40-0 up but mis-hits twice to hold the tension until he buttons up the game with an ace. Right, we’re going into a tie-break. Evans must win to stay in the match.Magnificent! Powered by the south London crowd, Evans holds his serve, and adjusts his ankle socks in preparation for Halys’ booming serve. Evans leads 6-5 in the fourth, but two sets down.But Halys holds. Now 5-5 in the third set. Evans must hold his serve to stay in the match.The ball boys and girls are in nautical blue and white stripes this year. Halys must serve to stay in the third set after Evans squeezes every drop out of his service game to hold it and go 5-4 up. And the tide seems to be with Evans, he plays a beautifully judged lob over the elegantly lampost-like Halys to g0 15-30 up.Ah, there is another game underway – squeezed under the roof of No 1 Court - where Tomas Etcheverry is two sets to one down to Bernabe Miralles: 6-7 5-7 6-3 1-1It must be muggy beneath the roof on centre court, as most spectators are still in short sleeves. Evans moves freely to hold serve, but Halys win his next service game to love. 4-4.Halys moves very slowly between serves – I don’t know if that is just his way or if he’s gingerly feeling his leg. He doesn’t look completely convincing and his serve goes to deuce before an ace takes him to advantage and Evans returns his next into the net. 3-3.Evans is scrapping, his own best cheerleader, pumping his fist and shouting encouragement. He holds his serve, winning with a lob, 3-2. He sits on his chair and gobbles half a banana.And Halys wraps up the game when Evans hits into the net. Still pretty full on Centre Court despite the evening slipping away.Over on Centre court, Halys is 1-2 down in the third set (but 2-0 up in the match) after slipping on the greasy grass at the back of the court. Apparently he’s had some treatment and is fit to continue. It is deuce on Halys serve.Apparently Andy Murray and Cam Norrie are in the same half of the draw…Norrie beats Machac 6-3 4-6 6-1 6-4Machac pulls back one match point but he can’t do anything about the next, a serve which flies off his racket into the stratosphere. They shake hands at the net then Machac gets a huge round of applause from the crowd who have enjoyed his beautiful touch tennis. Norrie looks relieved, but is safely into the second round.Britain's Cameron Norrie reacts during his win. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/APUpdated at 20.35 BSTOn No 1 court, Norrie has broken Machac to go 5-4 up and – suddenly out of the woods - is now serving for the match.They’ve restarted on Centre, where Dan Evans has a lot of work to do. He begins with an ace which delights the crowd, who have just watched Sabelenka cruise into the next round.“I feel great,” she told the crowd. “I’m feeling good. It is really good to be one of the favourites in this beautiful tournament and I will do my best to see if I can get as far as I can here in Wimbledon.”Norrie starts the next game with a double fault, then Machac goes 30-15 up. Norrie pulls back two break points, the pendulum swings again, but Norrie eventually wins the game with a booming serve down the middle. This is absorbing stuff. Now 4-4 in the fourth set, Norrie leads 2-1.In the intriguing match on No. 1 court, Machac takes a 4-3 lead in the fourth set, dainty on his feet, fast to the net. Wins with an ace.On Centre court, now that Sabalenka has whistled into the second round, Dan Evans will complete his match with the Frenchman Quentin Halys. Halys leads Evans 6-2, 6-3.Sabalenka beats Udvardy 6-2 6-1Sabalenka races through the second set to take the match 6-2 6-1, striding on those long, long legs to sympathise with her opponent at the net. A cracking start for the player who spent last Wimbledon at home trying to avoid the television coverage because it upset her too much.Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka runs to return the ball to Hungary's Panna Udvardy during her victory. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty ImagesUpdated at 19.30 BSTAnd Machac wins the mammoth game – to take it to 3-2 in the fourth – with more beautiful net work and tan ace.Updated at 19.20 BSTWith the roof on, the acoustics of No. 1 court sound like the five-a-side court of your local leisure centre. Norrie comes back to 2-2 in the fourth set then looks as if he is gong to break Machac, who is wearing in a back to front white cap and has a well-tended beard. Machac volleys like an angel at the net to get back into the fifth game, before Norrie gains advantage with a passing shot….And Norrie breaks back immediately – despite an acrobatic dive at the net by Machac mid game. Meanwhile over on Centre court, Sabalenka has taken a 4-1 lead in the second set, with the first set already in her pocket.I should probably say that this isn’t my usual habitat, I’m more often found on the cricket pages, so please do drop me a line to point out any bloopers or educate.Machac, whose right hand was troubling him towards the end of the last set – imagine Luke Skywalker fiddling with his mechanical wrist – holds his serve. Then immediately breaks Norrie to go 2-0 up in the fourth set.Thanks Daniel! Very handy for both matches to have just completed a set before I take over, with Norrie and Sabenka well on their way on No. 1 and Centre courts. A quick birds eye view of Wimbledon shows a flurry of purple and green umbrellas wandering away.Righto, my watch is over, so here’s Tanya Aldred to chill with you until the end of today’s play. Thanks all for your company and comments – I’ll see you tomorrow, but ta-ra for now. Peace.Norrie serves out to love and leads Machac 6-3 4-6 6-1; Sabalenka holds to 30 and takes the first set 6-3, which is a pretty good result for Udvardy, who looked like being blown off the court in the early exchanges.Updated at 18.55 BSTIn comms, Martina notes that she’s never seen a match in which the return is regularly coming back harder than the serve, but Udvardy is taking pace off and Sabalenka hits the ball harder than perhaps any woman I’ve ever seen. She’s forced to serve for the set at 5-3 though, while Machac feels something in his hand during a rally – it looks like cramp – and on break point so, after saving two he loses one and Norrie will now serve for a 2-1 lead at 5-1 in the third.Updated at 18.56 BSTAn ace gives Sabalenka 5-2, meaning Udvardy will now serve to say in set one; on No1, Norrie leads 6-3 4-6 4-1.Norrie rapidly consolidates, then Machac secures a good and necessary hold for 1-3 in the third and Sabalenka thwacks an overhead long which allows Udvardy 2-4.Updated at 18.55 BSTA poor shot from Machac allows Norrie to spirit a forehand winner cross-court that gives him 15-30, but another drops long for 30-all. So we wend our way to deuce, whereupon Norrie first hoiks a forehand winner cross-court, then returns a fine serve and Mahac nets. The number 12 seed really really wanted that break and he’ll feel in control again, while remembering what happened the last time that happened. And elsewhere, Udvardy is on the board, also trudging through deuce but securing a hold that gives her 1-3.Updated at 18.55 BSTUdvardy is trying to take pace off the ball, forcing Sabalenka to generate it all for herself. It actually gets her a break point at 0-2, but she can’t convert and is soon back struggling to hold at 0-3.He’s to go through advantage for it, but Machac secures his hold and with it set two. I daresay Norrence relaxed a tad after breaking in game one, and Machac made him pay, hitting 13 winners to seven and creating a match out of a situation that looked grim for him.Updated at 18.55 BSTSabalenka just pulverises the ball – it’s rrridiculous – and Udvardy’s serve is, I’m afraid, absolute powder-puff. The only surprise is that the break requires deuce because so far, admittedly after only two games, this looks a mismatch. Unlike on No1, where Machac is feeling himself, but we’re about to see how much because Norrie has forced him to serve for the set at 5-4 and will, I’m certain, put as many balls into play as he can in the expectation his opponent tightens.Updated at 18.56 BST