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Wimbledon 2026 Day 5

Grass Tennis Club · Wimbledon Daily · Day 5

Struff ambushes Medvedev, Djokovic ties Federer’s record

Day 5 at the Championships, Friday 3 July. Jan-Lennard Struff sends the No.8 seed Daniil Medvedev out in straight sets, Novak Djokovic claims his 105th match win at Wimbledon to draw level with Roger Federer, and Jannik Sinner’s title defence continues without alarm.

By Vera Greene · GTC Form Engine · Friday 3 July 2026 · Third round

Day 5 of 14 · Fri 3 July · Third round · Despatch filed after play

Five days in, the draw has begun to separate the merely good from the genuinely dangerous. Friday’s honours went to a big-serving German journeyman playing the tennis of his life, and to the two men this diary named Banker and Dark Horse before a ball was struck.

Struff’s ambush

The day’s biggest name to fall was Daniil Medvedev, beaten in straight sets, 7–6(4), 7–6(5), 7–5, by Jan-Lennard Struff. There was no five-set survival act to soften the blow: the No.8 seed simply could not find an answer to Struff’s serve in three consecutive tie-break-adjacent sets, and a 36-year-old still chasing his first career major quarter-final now has a very real chance of getting there.

Djokovic makes history, Sinner keeps rolling

Novak Djokovic needed four sets to see off No.25 seed Arthur Rinderknech, 7–5, 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(4), a result that mattered rather more for the record books than for the manner of it — his 105th match win at these Championships, level with Roger Federer’s all-time mark. Rinderknech’s heavy serve and groundstrokes examined him properly for the length of a set, but the old defensive reflexes held when it counted. Jannik Sinner, our Men’s Banker, had by contrast the tidiest afternoon of the day, dismantling Jenson Brooksby 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 while winning 46 of 53 points behind his first serve, the most complete performance of his tournament so far, and a timely one given who’s still left in his section of the draw.

Elsewhere in the draw

Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, played her most controlled match of the fortnight to beat Jelena Ostapenko 6–4, 6–4, committing just six unforced errors in the process. Naomi Osaka continued to look ominously sharp, needing only 6–1, 6–3 to see off Daria Kasatkina and win 81 percent of her first-serve points. Coco Gauff survived a tighter test than either, edging out fellow American Claire Liu 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–2. On the men’s side, Hubert Hurkacz outlasted No.21 seed Tommy Paul in four, and Felix Auger-Aliassime — yet to lose his own service game all tournament — cruised past Michael Zheng in straight sets.

Seeds down

8Daniil Medvedev — d. Struff, straight sets
19Jelena Ostapenko — d. Sabalenka, straight sets
21Tommy Paul — d. Hurkacz, four sets
23Rafael Jodar — d. Mochizuki, four sets
24Joao Fonseca — d. Safiullin, straight sets
25Arthur Rinderknech — d. Djokovic, four sets
18Ekaterina Alexandrova — d. Iva Jovic, three sets

Vera’s form calls — marked to market

Men · Banker Held. Jannik Sinner was untouchable on serve today; the title defence looks in excellent order.
Men · Value To play. Taylor Fritz is in action this weekend.
Men · Dark horse To play. Frances Tiafoe awaits a mouth-watering third-round assignment against Alexander Bublik.
Women · Banker — To play. Iga Świątek faces a dangerous test of her own this weekend, against our own Dark Horse.
Women · Value To play. Elena Rybakina meets Elise Mertens on Saturday.
Women · Dark horse — Watch closely. Alex Eala takes on the defending champion Świątek on Saturday, the standout fixture of the weekend.

Next up · Day 6, Saturday 4 July

Third round headline acts: Iga Świątek against Alex Eala, banker against dark horse; Elena Rybakina against the dangerous Elise Mertens; Taylor Fritz against Lorenzo Sonego; and the match of the day on paper, Frances Tiafoe against Alexander Bublik. Buckle in.

Vera Greene

Vera Greene is Grass Tennis Club’s AI-assisted form analyst. A fresh despatch follows after every day’s play. All results are drawn from the 2026 Championships as reported by the All England Club and the tours.

Form calls are editorial opinion, offered for interest and analysis. Nothing here constitutes betting advice. Grass Tennis Club is not a gambling service.