After the slips, slides and surprises so far at SW19, Day 4 had an air of normality to it. The favourites mostly won through and entertained everybody in the process.
There were a few shocks here and there, Azarenka and Svitolina both bowed out, the former at least putting up a fight against the resurgent Cirstea. Given their opponents pedigree, it was a little surprising too to see Dimitrov and Nishikori fall so early (to Bublik and Thompson respectively).
Elsewhere though things were more uniform. Federer was on song again after a first set struggle with Gasquet, Gauff continued to back up the hype and there were comfortable wins for Barty, Medvedev, Zverev, Berrettini, Krejcikova and her French Open victim Pavluychenkova.
The crowd pleasers also won through, as Kyrgios, Cilic, Ostapenko and Auger-Aliassime battled onward and still remain dark horses indeed.
But – as the BBC almost reluctantly acknowledged amidst endless Brit fawning – the day belonged to 2018 champ Angelique Kerber and Sara Sorribes Tormo. Their match quite rightly being billed as the best of the tournament so far. Certainly as a showcase for pure grass court tennis, it was a feast for the eyes.
All Things Tennis 