Tennis

Novak Djokovic keeps adding to his historic Wimbledon winning streak.

The reigning three-time Wimbledon champion is on to the fourth round after a straight-set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic on Friday. He has won 24 consecutive matches at this tournament dating back to 2018.

Joining Djokovic in the Round of 16 will be Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe, Elise Mertens and Ons Jabeur.

Here's a recap of the results and notable matches from Friday's action at the All England Club.

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Men's Singles Results

No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 25 Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 6-3, 6-4

No. 5 Carlos Alcaraz def. No. 32 Oscar Otte 6-3, 6-1, 6-2

No. 9 Cameron Norrie def. Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-1, 6-0

No. 10 Jannik Sinner def. No. 20 John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3

Tim van Rijthoven def. No. 22 Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

No. 23 Frances Tiafoe def. Alexander Bublik 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3), 6-4

No. 30 Tommy Paul def. Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

Jack Sock def. Maxime Cressy 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1)

Jason Murray Kubler def. Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

David Goffin def. Ugo Humbert 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5

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Ladies' Singles Results

No. 3 Ons Jabeur def. Diane Parry 6-2, 6-3

Tatjana Maria def. No. 5 Maria Sakkari 6-3, 7-5

No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko def. Irina-Camelia Begu 3-6, 6-1, 6-1

No. 24 Elise Mertens def. No. 15 Angelique Kerber 6-4, 7-5

Marie Bouzkova def. No. 28 Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-3

Caroline Garcia def. No. 33 Shuai Zhang 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)

Jule Niemeier def. Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Heather Watson def. Kaja Juvan 7-6 (8-6), 6-2

Full results available at Wimbledon.com.

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Djokovic certainly looks to have hit his stride since dropping the second set in his first round win over Kwon Soon-woo. The men's top seed has won each of his eight sets since then, including in his victory over Kecmanovic.

Novak Djokovic with the lob to win the second set ‼️ pic.twitter.com/4ddhC24Jri

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 1, 2022

Sit back and enjoy...@DjokerNole playing cat and mouse with his compatriot#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/GBaBZvmnu0

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2022

The win also gave Djokovic 24 straight on grass, the third-longest streak in the Open era behind Roger Federer (65) and Bjorn Borg (41).

https://twitter.com/TennisPodcast/status/1542903206262579200

There was some sloppiness from Djokovic on Friday. He committed four double faults, his most in a single match in the tournament thus far. The 35-year-old was able to offset it with a 6-1 advantage in break points and five double faults from Kecmanovic.

Next up for Djokovic will be a showdown with Tim van Rijthoven in the fourth round. This is the first head-to-head meeting between the two.

This is Van Rijthoven's first Wimbledon appearance. The 25-year-old has defeated No. 15 Reilly Opelka and No. 22 Nikoloz Basilashvili in his past two matches.

Alcaraz's ascent to stardom this season continued with his best performance of the tournament thus far. He only dropped six games in a three-set win over Oscar Otte. The 19-year-old had 37 winners and broke Otte's serve six times.

We could watch this @carlosalcaraz forehand winner over and over 😍#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6g82f4ShPi

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2022

"I played unbelievable today," Alcaraz told reporters after his win. "This was my best performance so far. I'm really happy with the level, and I will try to keep this level into the next round."

Things figure to start getting more difficult for Alcaraz going forward. The Spanish star will take on No. 10 Jannik Sinner, who sent John Isner packing in straight sets, in the fourth round.

Moving to the ladies' bracket, Ons Jabeur barely had to break a sweat with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Diane Parry that took just 68 minutes to complete. The No. 3 seed has won her first three matches in just over three hours combined (186 minutes).

Jabeur was nearly flawless with four aces, no double faults, five break points and 22 winners. She capped off Friday's win with 14 consecutive points.

14 consecutive points to win the match from @Ons_Jabeur...

Including this stunner 😍#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/SDsmS2lRBu

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2022

Things did not go as well for fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari. The 26-year-old was stunned by Tatjana Maria in straight sets to become the second top-five seed to be sent home in the first week (No. 2 Anett Kontaveit).

Sakkari's serve and return game weren't working for her Friday. She committed six double faults with just three aces and only converted one of seven break-point chances.

Maria is into the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. Per OptaAce, she is the oldest German woman in the Open era to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam event (34 years, 328 days).

Coming into Wimbledon, Maria hadn't won a match in the main draw at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2018 U.S. Open.

Saturday's schedule will feature Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff in action.

Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek continued their dominance in the second round of Wimbledon 2022 on Thursday.

Swiatek dropped a set, but she still came through with her 37th straight victory. Nadal overcame a rain delay to win his match and keep his hopes of a third straight Grand Slam alive.

Day 4 in London also saw Coco Gauff, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa cruise to victory while Karolina Pliskova and Diego Schwartzman were among the seeded players eliminated in Round 2.

Here is the latest from the All England Club.

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Notable Results

Men's Singles

No. 2 Rafael Nadal d. Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas d. Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5

No. 11 Taylor Fritz d. Alastair Gray 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3

Liam Broady d. No. 12 Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 4-6, 0-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1

Brandon Nakashima d. No. 13 Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6)

Daniel Elahi Galan d. No. 17 Robert Bautista Agut (walkover)

Nick Kyrgios d. No. 26 Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1

No. 29 Jenson Brooksby d. Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (3), 7-6, 6-3

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Women's Singles

No. 1 Iga Swiatek d. Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

No. 4 Paula Badosa d. Irina Bara 6-3, 6-2

Katie Boulter d. No. 6 Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4

No. 8 Jessica Pegula d. Harriet Dart 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

No. 11 Coco Gauff d. Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2, 6-3

No. 16 Simona Halep d. Kirsten Flipkens 7-6, 6-4

No. 13 Barbora Krejcikova d. Viktorija Golubic 6-3, 6-4

No. 17 Elana Rybakina d. Bianca Andreescu 6-4, 7-6 (5)

No. 20 Amanda Anisomova d. Lauren Davis 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

No. 25 Petra Kvitova d. Ana Bogdan 6-1, 7-6 (5)

Harmony Tan d. No. 32 Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-3, 6-4

Full results available at Wimbledon.com.

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The incredible run continues for Iga Swiatek after defeating Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in a three-set battle on Thursday. The No. 1 seed has now won 37 consecutive matches, putting her in rare territory in women's tennis:

1997 | Hingis ✅
2022 | Swiatek ✅ @iga_swiatek becomes the first female in 2️⃣5️⃣ years to win 3️⃣7️⃣ successive matches. 🇵🇱

The 🔝 seed beat Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4 4-6 6-3. 👏 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cPBoTBNdl8

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) June 30, 2022

Players to have won at least 37 singles matches in a row on the WTA Tour:

Navratilova (74, 58, 54, 41, 37)
Graf (66, 46, 45)
Court (57)
Evert (55, 41)
Hingis (37)
Swiatek (37)

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) June 30, 2022

The draw gets more difficult with Alize Cornet waiting in Round 3, but it will clearly be difficult for anyone to knock out Swiatek.

Rafael Nadal is also looking to make history after winning both the Australian Open and French Open to start the year. His hopes for a calendar Grand Slam took a step forward with a four-set win over Ricardas Berankis.

The 36-year-old showed impressive court coverage in Round 2, getting to seemingly every shot:

Vintage @RafaelNadal 🍷

Just when you think you've got him on the ropes...#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/eMX2W2eYox

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2022

He won 39 percent of receiving points and earned four breaks on the way to a strong performance.

Other top seeds still showed they will be threats in their respective draws.

No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas won 76 percent of his service points, including 84 percent on his first serve, on the way to a straight-set victory over Jordan Thompson. In the women's bracket, No. 4 Paula Badosa won in straight sets for the second round in a row while winning 73 percent of service points.

Coco Gauff had 10 aces and didn't face a single break point during her one-sided win over Mihaela Buzarnescu.

It was also a good day for American men, who have struggled in big events in recent years. There will be eight players from the United States in the Round of 32, with seeded players Taylor Fritz and Jenson Brooksby among those to watch.

Fritz came through with one of the best points of the day during his win over Alastair Gray:

Everyone thought the point was finished... apart from @Taylor_Fritz97!

Absolutely OUTSTANDING 😮 pic.twitter.com/2cxvbx53uW

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2022

American Brandon Nakashima also turned heads with his upset win over No. 13 Denis Shapovalov.

No. 12 Diego Schwartzman was another upset victim, losing in five sets to Liam Broady. The Argentine won the third set with a bagel, but he couldn't keep it going as 61 unforced errors doomed him down the stretch.

Nick Kyrgios defeated No. 26 Filip Krajinovic, although it wasn't much of an upset based on his dominant showing. The former top-15 player had 24 aces to only one double fault in the straight-set victory.

"I just wanted to remind everyone that I'm pretty good," Kyrgios said after the match.

The biggest surprise of the day came in the women's bracket as Katie Boulter knocked out No. 6 Karolina Pliskova.

Centre Court rises for @katiecboulter ​🇬🇧​

The Brit has beaten last year's finalist, Karolina Pliskova, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/ihGLhsZQ5l

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2022

Pliskova could have won the match in a second-set tiebreak, but she fell short and couldn't regain her momentum in the third set. It's the second-straight second-round exit at a Grand Slam for the 30-year-old after reaching the finals at Wimbledon last year.

For Boulter, the third round is already her best showing at a Grand Slam.

Friday represents the start of the third round at Wimbledon, with Novak Djokovic looking to continue his run against Miomir Kecmanovic.

Novak Djokovic is on to the third round at Wimbledon for the 13th consecutive year.

The men's No. 1 seed took out Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets Wednesday. Djokovic dropped a total of seven games in his 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win. He hasn't lost in the first two rounds of this tournament since 2008.

Day 3 at the All England Club was also highlighted by John Isner sending Andy Murray home, as well as several top-10 upsets from the men's and women's brackets. Casper Ruud, Anett Kontaveit, Garbine Muguruza and Emma Raducanu were all sent home.

Here's a roundup of the latest results from Wimbledon.

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Men's Singles Results

No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4, 6-2

Ugo Humbert def. No. 3 Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4

No. 5 Carlos Alcaraz def. Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-6 (0), 6-3

No. 9 Cameron Norrie def. Jaume Munar 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2

No. 10 Jannik Sinner def. Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2

No. 20 John Isner def. Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (4), (3) 6-7, 6-4

No. 22 Nikoloz Basilashvili def. Quentin Halys 7-6 (9-7), 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)

No. 23 Frances Tiafoe def. Maximilian Marterer 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3)

No. 25 Miomir Kecmanovic def. Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3

No. 30 Tommy Paul def. Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-4, 6-1

David Goffin def. No. 31 Sebastian Baez 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

No. 32 Oscar Otte def. Christian Harrison 3-1 (Retired)

Steve Johnson def. Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Alexander Bublik def. Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 7-5

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Women's Singles Results

Jule Niemeier def. No. 2 Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-0

No. 3 Ons Jabeur def. Katarzyna Kawa 6-4, 6-0

No. 5 Maria Sakkari def. Viktoriya Tomova 6-4, 6-3

No. 6 Karolina Pliskova def. Tereza Martincova 7-6 (1), 7-5

No. 8 Jessica Pegula def. Donna Vekic 6-3, 7-6 (2)

Greet Minnen def. No. 9 Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0

Caroline Garcia def. No. 10 Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-3

No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko def. Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 6-2

No. 15 Angelique Kerber def. Magda Linette 6-3, 6-3

Tatjana Maria def. No. 26 Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 1-6, 7-5

No. 28 Alison Riske-Amritraj def. Maja Chwalinska 3-6, 6-1, 6-0

Lesia Tsurenko def. No. 29 Anhelina Kalinina 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

No. 33 Shuai Zhang def. Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (8-6), 6-2

Harriet Dart def. Rebeka Masarova 6-1, 6-4

Marie Bouzkova def. Ann Li 6-3, 6-0

Diane Parry def. Mai Hontama 6-3, 6-2

Irina-Camelia Begu def. Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4, 6-4

Full results at Wimbledon.com

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After a slight stumble in his opening-round match against Soonwoo Kwon, Djokovic looked like his normal self Wednesday.

Third round bound 🇷🇸@DjokerNole defeats Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours on Centre Court #Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/o31o0XUvKq

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2022

Djokovic came out of the gate on fire, winning the first three games and breaking Kokkinakis' serve twice in the first set. He jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set before the Australian tried to make things interesting by winning three of the next five games.

Back on serve leading 5-4, Djokovic got Kokkinakis to commit four forced errors to take the game and go up by two sets. The six-time Wimbledon champion needed just 39 minutes to close out the third set and the match.

Djokovic's return game was the key to his success in the second round. He only had one ace and three double-faults but won five of his 13 break-point opportunities and had a 30-8 advantage in net points.

"I'm very happy with my performance. I started very well, solid from the back of the court, made him work for every point and worked him around the court," Djokovic said on the court after his win.

Wednesday marked Djokovic's 23rd consecutive victory at Wimbledon dating back to 2018. He's five wins away from becoming the first person with four straight titles at this event since Roger Federer (2003-07).

The top half of the men's bracket took a hit with Ruud's stunning four-set loss to Ugo Humbert. The French Open runner-up looked good early with a 6-3 first-set win that saw him go 3-of-3 on break points.

Humbert, who committed 15 unforced errors in the opening set, quickly course-corrected to earn his first win over a seeded opponent all season.

The third set was arguably the crowning achievement of Humbert's career in a Grand Slam tournament. He went back on serve trailing 3-0 and hit three winners to get his first game in the set.

Humbert broke Ruud's serve in the next game and had four more winners in the fifth game to square the set 3-3. After Ruud went back up 5-4 later in the set, Humbert took the final three games to go up a set.

Serving for the match in the fourth set, Humbert got Ruud to commit a forced error to make his first appearance in the third round at Wimbledon since 2019.

Ugo powers through Ruud ⚡️@HumbertUgo defeats No.3 seed Casper Ruud in four sets, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/C2O3evTBbx

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2022

Based on the current ATP rankings, Djokovic (No. 3), Rafael Nadal (No. 4), Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5) and Carlos Alcaraz (No. 7) are the only players in the top 10 left in the tournament.

Isner, who is No. 24 in the ATP rankings, advanced to the third round for the first time since 2018. He took out Murray in a four-set thriller that lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours.

As is often the case, Isner's powerful serve made a huge difference in the win. The American hit 36 aces, including two in the final game to set up match point. He hit a backhand volley to secure the win.

Ended in style 💫@JohnIsner secures a superb Centre Court victory, defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/QH5jUUJcSe

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2022

Murray put forth a valiant effort by forcing tiebreaks in the second and third sets. He won the third-set tiebreak to avoid losing in straight sets. The 35-year-old took a 2-1 lead in the fourth set before Isner won three straight games to regain control.

The women's bracket was thrown for a loop Wednesday with three of the top 10 seeds being sent home.

Kontaveit continues to have a nightmare season in Grand Slam tournaments. She lost in the second round at the Australian Open, dropped her first match at the French Open and was stunned by Jule Niemeier in straight sets at Wimbledon.

This was Kontaveit's first tournament since Roland Garros, as she has been suffering from the after-effects of COVID-19.

Niemeier, 22, is competing at Wimbledon for the first time in her career. She will take on unseeded Lesia Tsurenko in the third round Friday.

Raducanu's quest to win her second Grand Slam title will have to wait. The 19-year-old was defeated in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 by Caroline Garcia.

Garcia was able to take advantage of Raducanu's struggles on serve in the win. Raducanu didn't have an ace, committed three double-faults and allowed her opponent to go 5-of-8 on break points.

Despite her abrupt exit from Wimbledon, Raducanu did have a good perspective about things after the match.

"There's no pressure. Like, why is there any pressure? I'm still 19. Like, it's a joke. I literally won a Slam," she told reporters. "Yes, I have had attention. But I'm a Slam champion, so no one's going to take that away from me. Yeah, if anything, the pressure is on those who haven't done that."

Ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza also found herself bitten by the upset bug. Belgium's Greet Minnen sent Muguruza home with a 6-4, 6-0 win. The 24-year-old is on to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time in her career (2021 U.S. Open).

The rest of the second round will be played Thursday, with Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff among the marquee players in action.

After defeating Serena Williams in the Wimbledon singles tournament, Harmony Tan is now under fire.

Tan withdrew from the doubles draw on Wednesday because of a thigh injury, via D'Aarcy Maine of ESPN. Would-be partner Tamara Korpatsch was notified of the decision late and voiced her displeasure in an Instagram post:

Unfortunately my Doubles Partner H. Tan retired from our doubles today. She just texted me this morning. Let me wait here 1 hour before the match start. I'm very sad, disappointed and also very angry that I can't play my 1st Doubles Grand Slam. And It's really not fair for me. I didn't deserve that. She asked me before the tournament if we wanna play doubles and I said yes, I didn't ask her, she asked me! If you're broken after a 3h Match the day before, you can't play professional. That's my opinion.

Tan defeated Williams in a Round 1 battle that lasted three hours and 14 minutes on Tuesday night. The match featured 243 total points and ended in a third-set tiebreak won by the 24-year-old in her Wimbledon main draw debut.

The French player was scheduled to pair with Korpatsch for a doubles match on Wednesday against Raluca Olaru and Nadiia Kichenok, but the withdrawal caused them to be replaced by Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Peangtarn Plipuech.

Korpatsch lost in her singles first-round match against Heather Watson. The German was slated to make her first Grand Slam appearance in doubles before Tan's withdrawal.

Tan remains in the singles competition and will face No. 32 seed Sara Sorribes Tormo on Thursday. Dropping out of the doubles event could keep her fresh as she attempts to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

Ranked No. 115 in the world, Tan entered the tournament with a 13-16 record as a singles player in 2022. She's 0-1 in doubles this year, last winning a match in 2020.

Emma Raducanu will not be bringing the Wimbledon championship home.

Unseeded Caroline Garcia earned a 6-3, 6-3 upset of the No. 10 seed in the second round at the All-England Club on Wednesday, marking the third straight Grand Slam Slam in which Raducanu has been eliminated in the second round.

The defending U.S. Open champion reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, a tournament that proved critical in giving her momentum heading to New York.

Raducanu has struggled in her attempts to follow up that major triumph, failing to win an event this year and bowing out early in each of the first three Slams of the year. Injury issues have hampered her throughout the grass-court season, forcing her to bow out at the Nottingham Open and miss the Eastbourne International.

The lack of sharpness was apparent in Raducanu's game throughout Wednesday, as she double-faulted three times and won only 45 percent of her first-serve points.

Garcia, who once reached the No. 4 spot in the world before losing her form in recent years, was able to take advantage to earn five breaks and move on to the third round for the thid time in her career.

The 28-year-old had not gotten past the second round at a major since the 2020 U.S. Open and hadn't made it out of the first round at Wimbledon since 2017.

"I'm definitely very happy with my performance today," Garcia told reporters after the match. "I knew it was going to be a tough match, and to play on Centre Court is never easy for the first time. I'm really pleased with the way I played my match and I went for it."

Garcia will move on to play Zhang Shuai in the third round.

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek announced plans for a charity tennis event to benefit children impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Swiatek took to social media to announce the July 23 event, which will take place in her native Poland. Agnieszka Radwanska, Elina Svitolina, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Martyn Pawelski will also be participating in the event, which will feature a mixed doubles match and Swiatek taking on Radwanska in a one-set singles exhibition.

Elina Svitolina will serve as the umpire for both matches.

"I hope that we can see each other in large numbers in TAURON Arena Krakow and in front of the television to show the strength of sport when it unites us in helping and gives us at least a little joy," Swiatek said in a statement.

Svitolina and Stakhovsky are Ukraine natives.

UNITED24, Svitolina’s foundation and UNICEF Poland are working with Swiatek on the event.

Ukraine has been at war since February after an invasion by Russia. The conflict has led to worldwide sanctions against Russia that have also spilled into the sports world. Wimbledon officials banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing in this year's event, and both counties have been banned from most international competitions as well.

Tens of thousands of people have died thus far, and it's expected to be among the deadliest wars in modern history before its conclusion.

Unless the rules put in place by the United States government change before the end of August, Novak Djokovic will not be adding to his resume at the 2022 U.S. Open.

The tennis star said he does not plan on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine before the tournament begins on Aug. 29, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes. Foreigners who are not vaccinated are not currently permitted to enter the United States.

"I'll just have to wait and see," he said. "I would love to go to States. But as of today, that's not possible. There is not much I can do anymore. I mean, it's really up to the U.S. government to make a decision whether or not they allow unvaccinated people to go into the country."

Vaccines have proven to be safe and effective, but that is apparently not in his plans. His decision not to receive the vaccine also cost him the chance to compete in the United States in the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in March.

Most notably, Djokovic was deported before the start of the Australian Open in January because he remained unvaccinated. Rafael Nadal went on to win that tournament, which was the 21st Grand Slam championship of his career and broke a tie with Djokovic and Roger Federer for the most men's singles titles at majors.

Nadal also won the French Open this year, which means he is two ahead of Djokovic even though they started 2022 tied at 20 titles.

Three of Djokovic's 20 major championships have come at the U.S. Open, although he has not won the tournament since 2018. He reached the final last year only to lose to Daniil Medvedev, which prevented the 35-year-old from completing the Grand Slam in 2021 after winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

It seems as if he will not be winning the U.S. Open this year either.

Rafael Nadal told reporters in the lead-up to Wimbledon that treatment on a chronic foot injury has been effective of late (h/t ESPN's Tom Hamilton).

"The feeling and overall feelings are positive ... because I am in a positive way in terms of pain, and that's the main thing,"

Nadal, 36, has won a men's record 22 Grand Slam singles titles. He's won the first two majors this year in the Australian Open and French Open.

He's excelled this year despite suffering from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative disease that causes foot pain, which forced him off the ATP Tour for five months in 2021.

Days have been better for Nadal of late as he manages the injury, although he said he can't be "super happy" right now with it being unknown how the ailment may affect him down the road.

Well, is obvious that if I am here, it's because things are going better. If not, I would not be here. So quite happy about the things, how evolved. I can't be super happy because I don't know what can happen.

First of all, I can walk normal most of the days, almost every single day. That's for me the main issue. When I wake up, I don't have this pain that I was having for the last year and a half, so quite happy about that. And second thing, practicing. I have been in overall better, honestly, no? Since the last two weeks, I didn't have not one day of these terrible days that I can't move at all. Of course, days better; days a little bit worse.

Nadal previously revealed that he needed pain-killing injections in his foot just to play in the French Open.

"That's why I was able to play." 💬💉

In a Eurosport exclusive, Rafa Nadal has revealed that medical injections meant he played the French Open final with no feeling in his foot!#RolandGarros | @RafaelNadal

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) June 5, 2022

Ultimately, the injury is something Nadal will have to deal with for the foreseeable future. At this point, it's a matter of whether the treatment can enable him to play tennis.

"I can't tell you if I going to be in that positive moment for one week, for two days, or for three months," Nadal said. "Of course, the treatment that I did, didn't fix my injury. Not improving my injury at all but can take out a little bit the pain. That's the main goal."

Nadal is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam right now. He'd be the first professional tennis player to do so since Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in 1988.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka is launching a media company in collaboration with SpringHill Company, the entertainment enterprise co-founded by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

Osaka told the New York Times' Brooks Barnes she's looking to help create "scripted and unscripted television series, documentaries, anime and branded content" through her new venture, Hana Kuma.

"I honestly can’t say if I’ll personally be in anything right now," she said. "What excites me is being able to inspire people and tell new stories, particularly ones that I would have wanted to see when I was a kid. I always wanted to kind of see someone like me."

Hana Kuma is already planning to partner with the New York Times to produce a documentary on Patsy Mink, the first woman of color who was voted into Congress, through the Times' "Op-Doc" series.

Per Barnes, SpringHill will help finance and produce Hama Kuma's projects. Co-founder Maverick Carter told Barnes that Osaka "can just plug into what we have built."

This represents another avenue through which the four-time Grand Slam champion can expand her reach beyond tennis.

In May, Osaka left the sports agency IMG to start her own agency with Stuart Duguid, her agent at IMG. Evolve signed its first client Monday, Nick Kyrgios.

Serena Williams will be at the All England Club for the 2022 Wimbledon tournament, but she'll look to make her mark as an unseeded wild card.

The seedings for the men's and women's bracket were released Tuesday, and Williams expectedly failed to draw a seed after her yearlong absence from the sport. She has not played competitive tennis since withdrawing in the first round of last year's Wimbledon, causing her to fall to No. 1,223 in the world.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal sit as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, on the men's side of the bracket. Daniil Medvedev, the world's top-ranked player, is not eligible to compete at Wimbledon after the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev is dealing with an ankle injury and will not participate.

Wimbledon seedings are determined by official rankings.

Draws for the tournament will be held Friday, a day that could prove critical for Williams as she looks to get back into major championship form. Likewise, her wild-card status will likely cast fear into seeded opponents who will hope to avoid the 23-time Grand Slam winner in the early rounds.

By virtue of landing the top two seeds, Nadal and Djokovic would not meet until a potential matchup in the finals.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open on his way to winning a record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros. Djokovic was barred from the Australian Open over his COVID-19 vaccination status and lost in France, leaving him halfway through the Grand Slam schedule without a title.

With Nadal having won the first two majors of the season, he has a two-championship lead over Djokovic for the all-time record.