Wimbledon is finally dry as organizers try to catch up following 3 days of rain

Associated Press
Thursday, July 6, 2023 9:39 a.m. | Thursday, July 6, 2023 9:39 a.m.

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Sofia Kenin of the US returns to China’s Wang Xinyu in a women’s singles match on day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 6.

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Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka returns to Argentina’s Tomas Martín Etcheverry in a men’s singles match on day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 6.

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Germany’s Alexander Zverev serves to Gijs Brouwer of the Netherlands during the men’s singles match on day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 6.

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World Athletics President Sebastian Coe smiles as he takes his seat on Centre Court on day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 6.

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Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko plays a return to Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova during the women’s singles match on day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 6.

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China’s Zhang Zhizhen returns to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in a men’s singles match on day four of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 6.

WIMBLEDON, England — The courts are finally dry at Wimbledon and the sun is even shining through the clouds at times, giving organizers hope of fitting in a full day of tennis on Thursday for the first time at this year’s tournament.

The first three days of action at the All England Club were affected by rain. Only eight matches were completed on Tuesday. Those matches were played on either Centre Court or No. 1 Court, the only stadiums on the grounds with roofs.

Because of the all the disruption, there were a handful of first-round matches being played on Day 4. Normally, the first Thursday of the tournament would wrap up the second round.

Among the winners was Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion from Switzerland. Wawrinka beat No. 29-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round.

The 38-year-old Wawrinka won his major titles at the other three Grand Slam tournaments, and his best result at Wimbledon was reaching the quarterfinals in 2014 and 2015.

In the women’s draw, Sofia Kenin and Elina Svitolina both advanced to the third round. Kenin eliminated seventh-seeded Coco Gauff in the first round, while Svitolina beat five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.

Later Thursday, two-time champion Andy Murray was to play fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court in the second round, while fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula was scheduled to meet Cristina Bucsa on No. 1 Court.

Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year-old qualifier from Russia who is ranked 102nd, reached the third round in her Wimbledon debut. She advanced when No. 10-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic retired from the match with a lower leg injury with Andreeva leading 6-3, 4-0.

Krejcikova won the French Open in 2021. Her best showing at the All England Club was reaching the fourth round the same year.