Daijiworld Media Network – London

London, Jul 3: Sixth seed Amanda Anisimova battled past fellow American Sofia Kenin in a three-set thriller to book her place in the third round of Wimbledon, while defending champion Iga Swiatek, Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina advanced with comfortable victories on Thursday.

Anisimova fired 20 aces, including three in the deciding tie-break, to overcome Kenin 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3). She recovered from 1-3 down in the deciding set to seal victory after a hard-fought contest on Court No. 2.

The American, who was consoled by Kate, the Princess of Wales, following her one-sided defeat to Swiatek in last year's final, admitted she had relied heavily on her serve.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but thank you to my serve today," Anisimova said after the match. She will next face compatriot and 26th seed Madison Keys.

Top seed Swiatek continued her title defence in dominant fashion, brushing aside 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 in just 70 minutes. She will next take on rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala, who rallied to beat Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina also cruised into the third round with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Caty McNally and will face Belgium's Elise Mertens for a place in the last 16.

In the men's draw, sixth seed Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5, firing 19 aces to continue his impressive run at the All England Club. Fritz, a semifinalist last year, advanced without dropping a set and will look to maintain his momentum in the next round.

Seventeenth seed Frances Tiafoe also progressed after defeating Jan Choinski 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.

Elsewhere, second seed Alexander Zverev and fifth seed Alex de Minaur registered straight-set victories, while Matteo Berrettini defeated 20th seed Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to move into the third round. Berrettini will next face Grigor Dimitrov, who overcame 15th seed Jakub Mensik in four sets.