COURT REPORT: Britain’s Katie Boulter has a date to forget, Andy Murray’s quick turnaround after Wimbledon exit and Rafael Nadal’s extreme Covid courtesy
- Britain’s Katie Boulter was forced to watch her boyfriend’s four-hour match
- Andy Murray has entered in an American tournament after Wimbledon defeat
- Rafael Nadal and his team are still taking extreme Covid precautions
It was another busy day at Wimbledon, with plenty of notable events on and off the court.
From Rafa Nadal’s Covid courtesy to Katie Boulter’s date to forget, there were a number of interesting talking points.
Sportsmail‘s DANIEL MATTHEWS provides the inside track on the action from Wimbledon.
Britain’s Katie Boulter was forced to watch her boyfriend Alex de Minaur’s gruelling defeat
SECURITY GET SHIRTY
Wimbledon has been accused of trying to stifle activists wearing T-shirts asking: ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ Four men claimed they were told by security not to approach other fans about the Chinese player, prompting anger from the likes of Martina Navratilova.
An All England Club spokesperson confirmed the men were allowed to stay — and keep the T-shirts on.
RAFA WON’T BLOW IT IN A BUBBLE
Rafa Nadal seems to have decided — an opponent might deny me the calendar Grand Slam but Covid will not.
The Spaniard and his entourage have been wearing masks, while his team are no longer eating out, remaining in their bubble. Nadal had a tour of London, but footage suggests he never left his car.
Rafael Nadal has made it to the quarter-finals after beating Botic van de Zandschulp
HEATHER’S QUICK EXIT
Perhaps Heather Watson has other plans this week. She pulled out of the mixed doubles with a sore knee and then limped out of the singles in straight sets.
By 1.30pm on Monday, Watson was done with the women’s doubles, too, as she and Harriet Dart lost to Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok.
Talk about clearing your diary.
BOULTER’S DODGY DATE
While we are on the subject of British heartache, spare a thought for Katie Boulter.
She sat through boyfriend Alex De Minaur’s five-set loss to Cristian Garin for four hours and 34 minutes.
That is more time than Boulter spent on court en route to the third round.
Alex de Minaur (above) gave up two match points in his loss to David Goffin on Monday
‘NO CONTROL’ OVER LATES
Wimbledon has responded to complaints by Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that it is being changed by TV scheduling. After six of the first seven days ended with the Centre Court roof closed to finish matches, stars pointed out that the 1.30pm start makes that inevitable. But All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said: ‘We don’t have control over how long matches run for.’
MURRAY HITTING THE RHODE
Andy Murray has shrugged off his Wimbledon disappointment and entered next week’s event at Newport, Rhode Island, America’s only event on grass.
The 35-year-old Scot’s goal is to boost his ranking to be seeded at the US Open. He plans to play a number of tournaments before next month’s major.
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