No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia extended his domination of Stefano Tsitsipas on Wednesday, routing the unseeded Greek 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round of Wimbledon for the 20th time in 21 appearances at the All England Club.

Djokovic, the former World No. 1 currently ranked No. 8, improved to 13-2 against Tsitsipas — whom he beat in the 2021 French Open final — by outplaying his opponent in every facet. The Serbian legend notched 33 winners, committed only seven unforced errors and did not have his serve broken. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas endured 24 unforced errors and had his serve broken four times.

During a key sequence in the second set, Djokovic managed to block a pair of smashes by Tsitsipas and went to break serve for a 5-4 lead en route to winning the set on the next point. After breaking Tsitsipas’ serve to go up 5-2 in the final set, Djokovic produced three winners in the final game to wrap up the easy victory in one hour, 38 minutes.

“You feel very happy, satisfied and joyful on the court when you are playing this way,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “Once you get the momentum going. … That game when I went 5-2 up was one of the best return games I’ve played in a while. I just went for my shots. I was a bit more relaxed, a little less tension in my head.”

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy also won in straight sets, though he had to put in extra effort during a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over unseeded Nuno Borges of Portugal.

In a two-hour, 32-minute triumph, Sinner eclipsed Nicola Pietrangeli for the most main-draw match victories at Grand Slams among Italian players with 95.

Aiming to become the 10th man in the Open Era to win back-to-back titles at Wimbledon, Sinner notched 47 winners against 29 unforced errors and broke his opponent twice early in the final set. The Italian star also posted 22 aces to just six for Borges, No. 48 in the world rankings.

No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada cruised to victory on Canada Day, disposing of unseeded Dino Prizmic of Croatia 7-6 (2), 6-3, 7-5, to earn his second straight-sets victory in as many matches.

Auger-Aliassime amassed 15 aces to just three for his opponent while winning 86% of points on his first serve. The Montreal native converted two of four break points and did not give up a break.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 8 seed, dropped the first set but quickly rebounded to take down unseeded Daniel Merida Aguilar of Spain 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. Medvedev converted five of six break points and totaled 38 winners against Merida Aguilar, who made his Wimbledon debut this week.

In a first-round match that was halted after the third set Tuesday night due to darkness, No. 9 seed Flavio Coballi of Italy eliminated Argentina’s Mariano Navone 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (8). In addition to losing the first set, Coballi trailed 4-2 in the second set before rallying.

No. 16 seed Learner Tien was one of two seeded players to fall as unseeded Marton Fucsovics of Hungary pulled off a hard fought 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory. Fucsovics saved an impressive 14 of 18 break points, posting 41 winners against his American opponent.

Tien’s countryman, No. 21 seed Tommy Paul, advanced to the third round with a straight-sets victory against South Korean qualifier Kwon Soon-woo 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Paul collected 43 winners while converting four of eight break point chances and posting 19 aces to six for Soon-woo, who had just 19 winners and five double faults.

Four other seeded players moved on, including No. 22 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 rout of unseeded Italian Fabian Marozsan. Joao Fonseca of Brazil, the No. 24 seed, took down unseeded Netherlands native Jesper de Jong 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, while No. 25 seed Arthur Rinderknech of France defeated unseeded American Martin Damm 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Unseeded American Jenson Brooksby upset No. 31 seed Ignacio Buse of Peru in impressive fashion, prevailing 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. The 81st-ranked Brooksby will face Sinner next after converting seven of 11 break point chances while Buse converted just one of four.

–Field Level Media

SEATTLE — Belgium will extend their stay in the Pacific Northwest following the latest dramatic ending in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.

Trailing by multiple goals to Senegal with five minutes remaining in regulation at Seattle Stadium on Wednesday, the Red Devils furiously rallied to tie the game. Later in extra time, just moments from the game going to decisive penalty kicks, Belgium captain Youri Tielemans drilled home the game-winning goal on a PK awarded following a VAR review.

Belgium still needed to survive a final free kick from just outside their penalty box on the final play of the game, but in the end they advanced to the round of 16 with a 3-2 win.

It sets up a potential showdown against the United States back in Seattle on Monday. The USMNT play their round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina in San Francisco on Wednesday night.

“Now we must recuperate, recuperate, recuperate, because it is hard on the legs,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. “In extra time it’s like two boxers, we kept fighting and fighting.”

Whoever the next opponent ultimately is, it will come in familiar surroundings. Belgium’s World Cup base camp is just a few miles down the road at the Sounders FC Performance Center, and the Red Devils opened their World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Egypt in another dramatic game.

“I believe in the quality of this side,” Garcia said. “It’s not the best of all time, but tonight we wrote history.”

Senegal dominated the first 85 minutes of the match, with the Lions of Teranga mercilessly pressuring Belgium’s overwhelmed backline. After Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a diving attempt to thwart an early attempt, Senegal opened the scoring on a rebound by Sunderland midfielder Habib Diarra in the 25th minute.

Senegal made it 2-0 in the 51st minute on an outstanding goal by Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr, who took a long ball from Moussa Niakhate off his chest, shielded a defender and knocked his shot past a helpless Courtois.

Belgium appeared headed for a World Cup exit with little in the way of a threat on Senegal goalie Mory Diaw. Garcia brought Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku on at halftime and later subbed off Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne.

Garcia urged his players during the second half hydration break to try to find one goal and then “anything can happen.” And it did when Lukaku found the back of the net with an 86th-minute goal.

With their World Cup hopes resuscitated, Belgium continued to press. Tielemans scored his first goal of the game just three minutes later when he fought through a pair of Senegal defenders to head a ball past Diaw, who had ventured out of his goal.

That set the stage for a dramatic ending for the sellout crowd of 66,925.

Extra time remained scoreless, with Belgium’s Dodi Lukebakio sending a solid look over the goal in the 109th minute. That was after the ball had passed by Tielemans, who went down on a tackle by Senegal midfielder Lamine Camara.

Referee Said Martinez was alerted to a VAR review, and several minutes later returned with the decision that a penalty kick had been awarded. Lukaku initially had the ball, before handing it to the Red Devils captain.

Tielemans, who had made one of two previous career penalty kicks for the national team, calmly drilled it into the upper right-hand corner for the game-winning goal.

“This Senegal side is one of the best teams in the tournament. Technically, physically and tactically, it was really tough,” Lukaku said. “But when we stepped up the intensity of our pressing, when we were there for the second ball, our team spirit shone through and we won the match.”

Garcia, who called Senegal the best African team in the tournament, said the penalty call was “justified.” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw was also asked multiple times for his opinion, but declined to offer one.

“Some people said there should not be (a foul given),” Thiaw said. “I do not want to interpret the referee’s decision. There’s always room for interpretation. I’d rather not comment on him. I’d rather not comment at all.”

Thiaw acknowledged that his team did not recover its energy after Belgium scored late in regulation, and that the loss marked a “cruel” end to his team’s World Cup.

“A football match is not an 85-minute one,” Thiaw said. “Belgium came back and we were not able to handle that.

“Football is a cruel sport. It’s not easy for me, it’s not easy for the players. I feel like they gave it their all. They wanted it for their country, but it did not work out.”

–Derek Harper, Field Level Media

Spain will try to win their first knockout match at a World Cup since capturing the 2010 title when they face an Austrian side that should be unmoved by high-quality European opposition.

Spain entered the tournament as one of the oddsmakers’ favorites after winning the 2024 European Championships. They carry a record 34-match unbeaten run in competitive fixtures into the knockout phase.

Even so, there is a sense that two of Spain’s three group stage performances failed to meet expectations. In their opener, they settled for a 0-0 draw against tournament debutants Cape Verde. In the finale, a mistake from Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was the difference in Spain’s 1-0 win to top the group.

In that context, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said it’s understandable his nation’s fans may be less than impressed.

“It would be strange if they didn’t make any demands from us,” de la Fuente said via an interpreter. “But we are very self-demanding. We like to compete. We are sportsmen and we love to improve day by day.”

The best news from that group finale for Spain may have been Lamine Yamal playing 76 minutes. That was the longest outing from the prodigious 18-year-old since he went the full 90 in the second leg of FC Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League semifinal defeat to Atletico Madrid in April.

Yamal suffered a hamstring tear in his next appearance on April 22, and has been eased back into national team action over the tournament — scoring the opener in Spain’s 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in their middle group game.

Meanwhile, de la Fuente said while winger Nico Williams will miss the match following a tackle suffered against Uruguay, he’s hopeful the new issue is minor and that the wide man could return if Spain progress.

Austria will be seeking their first knockout-phase victory in a major tournament after losing in the round of 16 in the 2020 and 2024 European Championships. Austria progressed to a second group phase in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Austria have proven capable of handling Europe’s most powerful sides during those Euro appearances, in 2020 finishing second in a group that included the Netherlands and Ukraine, and in 2024 topping a foursome that included the Netherlands and France.

They haven’t faced the Spaniards since a 2009 friendly. Their last win over them came way back in 1990 in another friendly fixture.

“Of course, we know that the Spanish are very secure on the ball and have outstanding individual players,” said Austria captain Florian Grillitsch via a translation. “I think we have to be a nuisance, counter them with our intensity and our pressing. We need to keep their forwards, their one-on-one players, in check as best we can and then wait for our opportunities.”

Manager Ralf Rangnick’s squad required a dramatic 3-3 draw with Algeria to reach the next phase, with Sasa Kalajdzic’s header in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time cancelling Riyad Mahrez’s go-ahead strike minutes earlier.

That followed a 2-0 loss to Lionel Messi and Argentina after opening the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Jordan.

–Field Level Media