Wimbledon Briefing – UK Results: Cam Norrie soars to quarters as Sonay Kartal’s brave run ends

The fourth round of Wimbledon is underway, and local favorite Cameron Norrie brought joy to the Brit crowd after overcoming a resilient Nicolas Jarry in a five-setter, to advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in his career. The 29-year-old is the only British player left in both singles draws.

Earlier in the day, the last British women's hope, Sonay Kartal, fell in a close match to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Once again, no British women have reached the quarterfinals – the last to do so was Johanna Konta back in 2019.

World No. 61 Cameron Norrie faced a tricky opponent in Nicolas Jarry. Despite his ranking of No. 145, Jarry was in impeccable form, arriving with six consecutive wins at the All England Club. his impressive streak included a perfect qualifying campaign and main draw victories over Holger Rune (8th seed), Learner Tien, and Joao Fonseca.  The 2024 Rome Open runner-up had already guaranteed his return to the top 100 and was seeking his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, but was not enough against an impeccable Norrie, who took the victory by 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3 after four hours and 30 minutes.

Norrie knew he wouldn't get many opportunities against an opponent known for his consistent serve. In the first set, Norrie started by saving a break point against him and then seized his only break opportunity in the 8th game to take the set 6-3.

Things didn't change much in the second set, where Norrie again had to save a break point early on. This time, Jarry pushed it all the way to a tie-break, even looking stronger than his opponent on serve. However, Norrie ultimately take the set by 7-6(4). Jarry had landed 12 aces and won 88% of points on his first serve, compared to Norrie's 3 aces and 80% first-serve efficiency.

With the full support of the home crowd for Norrie, the Chilean showed a lot of fight in the third set, but it wasn't enough when opportunities arose. Both players held firm on their serves, and a tie-break seemed inevitable. That was a rollercoaster tie-break. Norrie was up 5-3 with a mini-break, but a double fault gave the South American hope, leveling it at 5-5. The Brit then had a match point on his serve but couldn't convert. When Jarry had his own set point, he also committed a double fault, and the uncertainty continued. A forehand return winner gave Jarry the set 7-6(9-7), saving a match point against him.

In the fourth set, everything looked even, with both players saving break points, though the South American seemed almost unstoppable on serve. Again, it all stretched into a tie-break, where both managed to get ahead. Finally, a mini-break at 5-5 and an ace sealed the set for Jarry.

When the tension was palpable, Norrie calmly began with a strong service game, then seized his first break opportunity to take the lead. The Brit saved three break points against him in the third game, comfortably going up 3-0. From that point, he had to cling to his serve, and despite Jarry's efforts, the former World No. 9 showed his experience in decisive moments. He held his serve to clinch the victory with a final score of 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3.

He now advances to the quarterfinals, where he awaits a potential clash against two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who first needs to overcome Russia's Andrey Rublev this afternoon.

The Wimbledon women's draw lost its last local player early in the day, following the defeat of Sonay Kartal (No. 51) to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (No. 50). The 23-year-old Brit couldn't overcome the experience of the 34-year-old Russian, who secured a straight-sets victory, 7-6(3), 6-4.

Kartal managed to recover from a break down in the first set and even led 5-4, holding a set point on her serve. However, Pavlyuchenkova broke back when pushed to the brink and forced a tie-break, where the Russian ultimately prevailed 7-6(3). It was an erratic set for Pavlyuchenkova, who committed 36 unforced errors, double her opponent's 18 in that set.

In the second set, after an even start, Pavlyuchenkova secured a crucial break in the fifth game and then held onto her serve—not conceding any break points—before sealing the 7-6(3), 6-4 victory and leaving the women's draw without any local representatives.

This marks the 10th time the veteran Russian has reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal and her second time at Wimbledon—the previous being in 2016, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams. On the other hand, Kartal achieves her best ranking as world No. 44 and becomes British No. 2, only behind Katie Boulter (No. 40).

• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Sonay Kartal (GBR): 7-6(3), 6-4

• Cameron Norrie vs. [Q] Nicolas Jarry: To be played