Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic are both hoping to progress to the quarter-finals today (Image: Getty)
Day seven of Wimbledon sees the likes of Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner all return to court at the All England Club on a star-studded day of tennis. The trio are looking to book their places in the second week of the grass-court Grand Slam as the quarter-finals loom.
Express Sport brings you all you need to know for Sunday, July 5 at the All England Club…
Elite Centre Court line-up
Those on Centre Court today have a star-studded line-up to look forward. Novak Djokovic continues his bid for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam, which would be his ninth at Wimbledon, against Roman Safiullin who stunned Joao Fonseca in the last round.
After that, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka takes on fellow four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, the 14th seed. This is only their fourth meeting, and their first on grass. They played at the French Open last month when Sabalenka won in straight sets.
And the third match sees another player ranked first in the world, Jannik Sinner, play. The Italian is the defending champion at SW19 and takes on Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, who stunned Rafael Jodar on Friday. Djokovic and Sinner are heavy favourites but their underdog opponents will hope to win the support of the British crowd.
Aryna Sabalenka is the best women’s player in the world. She’s won four Slams since 2023, the Australian Open and US Open twice each. She was also a runner-up at the French Open last year. But she’s never got past the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
The Belarusian has lost in the final four on three separate occasions – Karolina Pliskova, Ons Jabeur and Amanda Anisimova. Curiously, all three of those players have then failed to win the final.
Sabalenka must get past 14th seed Osaka and could then face 10th seed Karolina Muchova before fourth seed Jessica Pegula, or seventh seed Coco Gauff, in the semi-finals. It is a tough path to the final.
Felix Auger-Aliassime was one of the most exciting young talents on the tour when he made his ATP debut aged 18 in 2019. The Canadian, now 25, has won nine titles but has never got past the semi-finals at a Grand Slam.
At Wimbledon he’s never been past the quarter-finals, dropping out in the first round in three of the last four years. This year he’s the third seed, and he has yet to drop a set here. His win over Michael Zheng was his first ever match on Centre Court.
And he said after: “Feels great. First time in Centre Court. First time in main media room. It was a great night. Start of the second week, it only gets tougher from here.” So can he get into the semis for the first time? If he beats recent Mallorca champion Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Djokovic awaits in the quarter-finals and the pair haven’t played one another since 2022.
Our five must-watch matches today
Roman Safiullin vs Novak Djokovic [7]
Aryna Sabalenka [1] vs Naomi Osaka [14]
Felix Auger-Aliassime [3] vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina [22]
Belinda Bencic [11] vs Coco Gauff [7]
Marcus Willis & Heather Watson vs Christian Harrison & Shuai Zeng [3]
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