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Such a nice fellow, poor old Hubert Hurkacz could have been forgiven for feeling like he was the man who shot Bambi the day he brought down Roger Federer for the final time on Centre Court.

What a way to go. The mild-mannered Hurkacz even subjected the great man to a 6-0 ‘bagel’ in the final set, not realising that he was effectively bringing the curtain down on one of sport’s most distinguished careers.

Ever since, Hurkacz, a fine player who’s yet to hit the heights, has been known as the last man to play Federer, but he protests ever so charmingly: “Hopefully, the people will remember me for something else as well.”




HUBERT HURKACZ
Today that chance arrives. ‘Hubi’, the guy universally recognised throughout the locker room as one of the good guys, faces another champion for the ages, Novak Djokovic. Surely, lightning couldn’t strike twice?

After all, this is not an older, impaired Federer we’re talking about, but a prime-time Djokovic - yes, crazily, seeming like an improving, better-oiled machine, even at 36. He’s been charting his course so clinically through The Championships that he even finished off his victory over Stan Wawrinka to near perfection just before the 11pm cut-off point. And there was Stan thinking only the Swiss had timing like that.

Hurkacz, these days a top-20 fixture, hasn’t had a stunning year, and Djokovic holds a 5-0 lead over him. Even so, the champion hails the Pole as “a super-nice guy and a very complete player who will definitely be the toughest challenge of the tournament so far for me after not dropping a set.”




NOVAK DJOKOVIC | WIMBLEDON BREATHES HISTORY
Well, neither has Djokovic had a blemish as we begin the fourth round, and world No.1 Iga Swiatek hasn’t put a foot wrong either in the ladies’ draw, winning three matches for the loss of just 13 games.

But just as for Djokovic, it starts to get tough now.

On Centre Court, the Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, feeling ever more confident after some early struggles this season with a coaching split and injury, stands in her way.

Yet the Swiss knows the enormity of her task, praising Swiatek as the best mover on court that the women’s game has ever seen.




BELINDA BENCIC
Jessica Pegula, America’s top female tennis player, continues to soar as she breaks new ground with a fourth round appearance. The No.4 seed may enjoy an advantage on No.1 Court if her opponent, Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, hasn’t quite recovered from her epic last-32 contest with Romania’s Ana Bogdan.

Tsurenko won the longest third-set deciding tie-break in WTA history, a 35-minute marathon in which she saved five match points before prevailing 20-18. Borg and McEnroe, eat your hearts out…

Now to some bad news. The carrots have gone home; yes, the intrepid band of fans who like to dress up as root vegetables to show their love for their red-topped, carrot-chomping idol Jannik Sinner, have had to decamp to Italy. The good news? Sinner, a bravura adornment to the men’s game, is still going so strong that the 'Carota Boys' will doubtless be back if the No.8 seed keeps merrily crunching his opponents, having lost just one set so far.




THE 'CAROTA BOYS'
Today, he tackles the world No.85 Daniel Elahi Galan, the man from Bucaramanga who’ll be taking Colombian tennis into new territory if he makes the quarter-final and is definitely not to be underestimated after knocking Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the US Open last year.

Wild card Elina Svitolina against No.19 seed Victoria Azarenka on No.1 Court looks an irresistible contest on so many levels. Two terrific competitors, both mothers, with double Australian Open champion Azarenka’s son Leo now six-and-a-half and Svitolina’s baby Skaï being looked after by husband Gael Monfils back home while mum continues her inspiring comeback.

The rain has also left some fascinating third round duels to be settled, with Grigor Dimitrov two sets up against the No.10 seed Frances Tiafoe on No.2 Court, and 16-year-old wunderkind Mirra Andreeva desperate to upset No.22 seed Anastasia Potapova on No.3 Court, a comparative veteran at the age of 22.




FRANCES TIAFOE
Finally, goodness knows what the buzz of another trip to Centre Court may do to make the No.23 seed Alexander Bublik even more of a showman than he normally is, especially with an equally electric talent Andrey Rublev, the No.7 seed, to tango with.

Bublik is liable to try anything. With the Kazakh, underarm serves are positively yawn-worthy. How about switching your racket around and trying to hit with the handle? If you want to know how off the wall he can be, just note that even Nick Kyrgios thinks he’s the mavericks’ maverick. Enjoy!

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