Day 5, Part 1 Wimbledon

This is a national programme. We will take you over to Wimbledon. Her

Majesty will present the trophy to a British player. That is really on!

Oh, yes. Brilliant. Majestic. Superb!

SUE BARKER: Dave five here at Wimbledon and a day British tennis

fans have not seen the sometimes is that that is because the Fab four

have all made it through to the third round. Is it a record? Well

no, not quite. For the record, it is the first time in 20 years that four

Brits have made this stage in the men's and Ladies' Singles. They are

all in action today. So, Cuban music, it is time to play. -- cue

the music. What a performance from Heather

Watson! The British number three is through.

This could be a special day with all four British players looking to

reach week two. That has not happened since 1975. We hope that

red, white and blue will be the colours flying high. Aljaz Bedene

has never reached a Grand Slam fourth round that has been in fine

form and will be confident against 16th seed, Gilles Muller. Heather

Watson looks to be at her best foot she has been classy and consistent

this season. She is up against Victoria Azarenka. British number

one, Jo came through an epic three-hour battle showing true grit

and determination. Maria Sakkari is her opponent. Finally, he has been

here many times before. Andy Murray has dropped only seven games per

match so far. He looks fit and well but Fabio Fognini will provide a

tough test today. Here is how it looks.

Around the other main courts, Aljaz Bedene is first up on Court Number

Two against Gilles Muller. Simona Halep faces Shuai Peng. So, over on

Court two, this is where Aljaz Bedene will start. The fans are

waiting patiently for the players to make their long way from the locker

room. If you want to watch that match, you can, duties on the red

button. -- it is on the red button. This is the hub of the club, isn't

it? That breeze is drifting across your haircut. This area is players

only and some relatives and loved ones. The public area down there. We

can go where we want, largely. It is lovely to see the players in their

own environment full duck to see them close-up and the sound of the

ball coming off the rackets, where is the Slazenger challenge? Where

are the wooden rackets, that is what I say? Let's talk through the Brits

in action. Jo Konta is the bookies favourite to win the title. We have

lost so many big names. Concluding that win yesterday over Pliskova.

Now Jo Konta is favourite. I'm not sure whether I see it that way. But,

who else will you pick? Perhaps Venus Williams. I know she has had

some things to deal with off court but perhaps Jo Konta should be the

favourite. The best two matches this year have

been women's matches. When the nerves were really tingling, Jo

Konta came through for you only have to come through a couple of matches

like that and you'll certainly fortified as the torment stretches

into the second week. It shows what a competitor she is! I think she has

proved a lot to herself. She doubted herself on the grass. Also on the

big stage, with the pressure. She had a run-in with the guy from the

Daily Mirror newspaper. Asking if it was a disappointment losing in the

final. But she has pulled it ) and put up she does her thing, she

follows her process. She is quite robotic in her answers and her

delivery to the press. She is an extremely warm person. Very funny

and very outward going that this is how she does her business. It is

serving as well. 18 months ago, before she made the Australian Open

semifinal, she was 152, 300 in the world you have no idea she would be

this good. I did not see that coming. Not as quickly as she has

done. Every year adding some more. Mentally she was doubted herself by

getting the sports psychologist involved. Every time she approaches

a match, she just goes through this routine. It is probably something to

follow. The problem is when a routine this disrupted by what your

opponent does. That is the issue. That is what your opponent is for,

always disrupting and changing the pattern of play. We will see. I love

her backhand. The way she moves in, steps in and drives the volley, that

looks 100% secure foot if she gets her service percentage up... Why

not? If she is the bookies favourite, then fine. I'm not sure

what she will know about her opponent coming up today. I know you

had a gentle hit last night with Wayne Ferrer. That is why I am

leaning against this thing. One of our team is on the championship

Court, Mark Petchey, because he is the coach of Sakkari. Thank you very

much. Is hoping that mark might join me. Interestingly, they came out

together with no team around them. Mark was only put him as Maria's

each for this Wimbledon tournament. I interviewed her the other night

and she is a lovely person, absolutely relishing this match

against Jo Konta. Just her second time she has appeared here at

Wimbledon. She has a wizard she has not been a big fan of grass because

she has not had much opportunity to play on it or practice on it. After

putting out Christina Pliskova the other day, she said this is one of

her favourite services. You can see Mark, who has been looking over full

he has put a target down on the court and Maria has been working

hard here for ten minutes. Court ten has a lot of interest around it.

People are interested into finding out who Maria Sakkari is, who will

be taking on Joanna contact. Hopefully I will have a chance to

speak to Petchey later on. -- Jo Konta. She has a big day ahead of

her. You might want to let him sit down after that practice. You might

want to let him get his breath back a bit. He has his whites out of the

bottom drawer and he is looking fine. His legs are going that lovely

Essex shade of red. They never really get to Brown. He is looking

good. Still fit and strong. Very knowledgeable about the game. You'll

be so good for her. He is fantastic analysing these statistics. That is

he will be so good. It is about making Maria's game the most

effective. Maria's mother did not want her to play. She played here in

1986 and lost in the first round. Her mother was advised her, whatever

you do, do not playing tennis. That is what daughters do. They go

against the best advice of parents and follow their own dreams. To be

ranked 100 in the world or just outside. You are speaking from

experience. They do exactly what they want. Quite right as well.

Strong willed women, like you. Absolutely. First on Centre Court is

Heather Watson. To years ago we were thinking she would be going so far

up the rankings but it didn't. It has gone right just at the right

time. It is nice to arrive back at the place you have had great

success. She seems to be so keen to compete. Given her natural athletic

ability, she keeps knocking the ball back in the right place. If someone

is not 100% against her she will take advantage. She is such a

competitor. The transition forward, even these days on a grass court, it

is possible that she demonstrates it. She has a great split step. She

closes it down. I thought Heather would win the match against the top

20 player. I was watching it on the scoreboard. There were hoops and

hollers right from the word go. An excellent result. You know as well

as anyone, it is all about momentum, confidence and belief was that she

has in her game full she is a wonderful player. Certainly better

than the rankings show. She has proved she can play on Centre Court.

Two points from beating Serena Williams a few years ago. Victoria

Azarenka has only played two tournaments and she had her son in

December. Not a lot of matchplay. You just know she has experience. It

is amazing. She played at won in Majorca and did not do great. She

came here and I was watching her match on Court three against this

Nina and she is hitting the ball unbelievably. Something about

fitness against freshness. When you are fresh, look what Federer did!

When you want to play and are keen to be out on the court, competing

and gaining victories, this is what she is about. I think it will be

difficult for Heather to win. She is a former world number one. I think

it will be a big demand today. Who knows? Heather is moving great

around the court. She was practising out here earlier today. Victoria

Azarenka hits such a heavy ball. There will be some patching rallies

in this match. When she was playing Vesnina I could not believe how hard

she was hitting it. She will change the height over the net, the pace.

She will change the Spain, the looks. She will change the way she

returns serve. Always changing the view. That is a matchplay. Going in

against Heather Watson, playing in front of the home crowd is not like

playing Heather Watson anywhere else. She is inspired. When it gets

really tight in a match, ill be interesting how she deals with it

all. If Heather stays close early against the one who is a better

player than you and it has to be said Victoria Azarenka is better, it

is one on one. When the going gets tough, we will see whether the lack

of matches that Azarenka has will tell. She is very happy and very

happy to be out on the court as well. That is the first match on

Centre Court. The last match is Andy Murray. We are not mentioning the H

word anymore. He is not walking any differently than he normally does. I

keep on hearing it. I am watching the matches. I was commentating on

the first one. He is definitely walking poorly between points. It

does not matter what happens between the points. I was on Clapham Common

and the other day watching a greyhound rescued from Battersea

dogs home. It walks like it had a big history in racing. Then I threw

the ball for it. People stopped to watch it. Andy is the same. You

throw a ball to Andy, he is so fast. His first step in his other two

matches has been unbelievable. He has shown touch and feel. He has

just reacted so fast. His first step has been incredible and he has

chosen the right shots to play. That is a man with a terrible hip! You

sense that he is going to use every angle, make him run wide and up to

the net. He was. You have to go in with some sort of game plan when you

are playing world number one. Throwing in different looks and

spins, perhaps attacking the second serve. You have to go in with a

plan. He went in with a plan. It was not good enough because Andy was

phenomenal. He looks quite unspectacular compared with Rafael

Nadal and Roger, particularly. He hits every ball of the base. It is

concrete and unreal. To knock him off balance is not possible. There

was 1.I noticed particularly in one of the matches. It was a 130 miles

an hour serve. The ball came back and arrived on the shoelaces of, I

think, Dustin Brown. Murray is all about substance. For him, I think he

thinks the tournament is about him. Fabio Fognini, when you look at it,

it is 3-3 in the head to heads. On paper, this looks difficult but the

match is not one on paper, is it? On the grass court and he is heavy

favourite. It is not play. Fabio has won all his matches on clay. Earlier

on in the European clay-court season, Fognini at the Italian main

court, is extraordinary. He grows three inches. His chest expands full

he is Italian. He expresses himself. He is fabulous. Centre Court is a

lovely stage for him. He will really love it. Who knows? The first was

chaos and the second one was whatever it was. Fabio has very

short take back. He developed a lot of power on both wings from no take

back at all. A very dangerous opponent. Murray will respect him

100%. These are the sorts of matches we should see in the first three

days, not waiting for the third round. Fognini, it is he was not

seeded between 17 and 32, these are the matches you might see on a first

couple of rounds. That is why the women's matches have been more

interesting this year and the men's have not. You put the big names on

Centre Court and through injury or whatever, they have not been able to

produce. Today this is potentially a very dangerous match. Fognini is

class and he has not lost a set on the way through to the third round.

Aljaz Bedene is making his way onto court number two for his third round

match against Gilles Muller. This is the first point of the match. It is

on the red button. We'll be going out a few minutes -- in a few

minutes to join the match live. A brilliant return from Bedene. Game,

set and match. Congratulations. Through to the third round at

Wimbledon for the first time how does that feel? It feels really

good. The first match was tough. I was tired but made it. That is a

glorious shot. That was even better. It was a different game from the

first one. More rallies and a slower serve. Plus he is a good friend of

mine. It is never easy to play against him. I heard on the

grapevine that he wanted some borrowed kit. He did ask if he could

borrow some match shirts and shorts. He was playing today with my kit. I

am sure the crowd will be behind you today when you play 16th seed,

Gilles Muller. I played him a few weeks ago and lost him in three sets

in Holland. He won the tournament and then lost in the semis at

Queen's. So, obviously when he is playing well at the moment. But, I

have to focus on my game, stick to the plan. Hopefully it will work. He

has certainly had a good run so far. Gilles Muller is very tough. The big

lefty serve. He has done well on the grass. He has won his first two

titles. It is another one of these Karlovic matches. If you are on call

two, you could be there for some time. He knows against Gilles Muller

he cannot break too many times it is a question of being patient and just

waiting and hanging on in there. Fantastic that he is doing so well.

Miller had beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sam Querrey at Queen's. When

you're in the third round of a Grand Slam, talk about inspired. Bedene

is. He is one of the hardest workers out there. That match is on the red

button if you want to watch it. Reading some of the papers, so many

reports about the court surfaces and complaints by some of the players. I

am not sure how many players are complaining. The courts are too

slippery and suchlike. This was yesterday. This was before the

match. Coming out with Pam Whitecross, the Grand Slams

supervisor. She is a former player herself. Also we had the assistant

referee, also a former player. They said, yes, play on. Then that

horrible fall that she had. This was just in the second game of the

match. Both players are saying, I don't think the court is playable.

We have asked for a statement from the club. They said the court

preparation has been the same standard as in previous years. Grass

is a natural service and it is usual for the baseline to show signs of

wear and tear four days into the championship. That says it all. They

monitor moisture levels. The sports turf Institute gets together with

the All-England tennis club and monitors this. Neal Studley is the

overall groundsman, in charge of Centre Court specifically. He was

concerned. Grant said the temperature was 43.5 Celsius, not

good for the natural surface. The grant will and then dies if you

leave it like that for a couple of days. What he did was put the roof

over, he taught me that was his plan. Put the roof over and give it

a thorough soaking. Basically give it a drink and the rest, which is

what we'll need at times. It is a natural surface. Some of the grass

dies and it gets slippery. Players are not used to moving on this

surface. They do not play on it for long. In the old days he would be in

Australia for a few weeks and at the US Open playing on grass. Now they

are not used to it. They try to change direction at the baseline

where the grass has worn out. People are not volleying so much will stop

it is slippery down there. Of course the players will be listened to. No

one wants to see them falling over. It should be stressed that that

terrible injury was nothing to do with the surface. It was just an

unfortunate accident and we wish her well. We have heard she is having

more scans today in hospital. She just wanted to thank everybody.

Everybody in tennis sends her the best. Nobody wants to see anything

like that happen to any player. It does look quite serious. We wish her

well. The weather is a big dictator as well. Last year, if we compare

the courts this year to last year, last year it rained for about the

first four days. Last year it looked quite lush on the Friday morning.

Compared with how they look today... This is today. A lot more brown

patches around the baseline. That is the way it happens. This is the

glory and simultaneously the stupidity of these wonderful grass

courts. This is where the game came from. It changes every day. Over 13

days of play and 14 game is in total. The grass court has changed

completely. The height of the bands can change. Everything changes.

There was an adjustment to be made all the time. That includes movement

behind the baseline. The players have to understand, the vast

majority of them... This was caught AT last year. You're just compare it

to where it is. -- Court 18. It is nice to see a monitor in the

sunshine. What they were complaining about was it was starting to crack.

That will happen, went it? The cracks are largely off the playing

surface. I was noticing that on Centre Court yesterday. This is the

nature of the natural surface. You just have to get on with it,

unfortunately. While the players must be listened to, and it is

important, what do they expect? This sort of weather is unusual. It is

the hottest summer since 76. And I remember that! It was just so hot. I

remember the courts being brown as well. Memories of 76. Look at the

fashions! There we go. Everybody sweltered. Oh, no. No. Let's just

concentrate on the court, rather than the players. That was 1976.

That was me playing Martina Navratilova when I was 3-1 up in the

third set and lost. That was the quarterfinal. There I was playing

some junior tournament in the under 12, watching the tubes go by,

wondering what they were. Like you, I am from the West Country. You led

3-1 foot at you can remember why you lost. I remember two drop shots at

15-40. I do not want to relive it anymore. Thanks everyone for a mind

to me of another famous lost here at Wimbledon. There are a few of them.

Stop it. Stop it. Sorry. We must move on. There are so many Brits in

action. Thanks so much, Andrew. Aljaz Bedene is out on Court two.

That is on the red button. 43 degrees yesterday. The courts are

really suffering. Will it continue? Let's find out from Carol. At the

moment, the temperature is 25 Celsius. It is really warm. It will

get warmer in the afternoon. Hot and humid probably sums it up. A bit of

fair weather cloud developing but nothing too sinister but it should

stay dry. Interview thing we're looking at a similar level of

temperature. Still plenty of sunny spells. For tomorrow there will be a

little more cloud around and we're looking at today. Nonetheless we

will have lengthy sunny spells. Not as hot. Temperature wise we are

looking at 23, 24, maybe 25. You will notice it will feel much

pressure. Pollen levels still hide today and tomorrow. Fresh sounds

good to me. Bank keep very much. You can see the crowds milling behind

Carol. -- thank you. Huge crowds because Andy Murray is playing, Jo

Konta is on court as well. Currently there are more people in the queue

than the allocation of centre and number one court tickets for

tomorrow, Saturday. The club strongly advises people to wait

until tomorrow to queue for the ground admission. The club are

saying not much point coming today because the Centre Court and number

one Court allocation is already taken. These are the scenes here at

Wimbledon. Another fabulous day to look forward to, basking in the

sunshine. Hot for everybody around here. We are heading off to see

their first Brit in action. He is on Court Number Two, Aljaz Bedene. We

have seen him up against the big server from Luxembourg, Gilles

Muller. Let's join our commentators on court, John Lloyd and Ronald

McIntosh. Plenty of activities up in the stands. People pouring into

court two. The third round matchup is currently on serve. Bedene took

Gilles Muller to deuce. He remained calm in the third game of this

match. Both players moving around comfortably. Gorgeous conditions

once again. Not a cloud in the sky. Not a breath of wind. Fourth game,

first set, we are on serve. Bedene serving, 1-2.

That is the first double fault of the match from Bedene.

Good serving after that double fault. His first of the match so

far. 123 mph down the centreline. His bird ace of the match. Muller

serving. What a second serve that was. 99

mph, but these spin on that, the way it swerves. Inside the other service

box. This sort of service power that he

has, not one of the biggest on the Tour but it is the radiation that

causes the problem. He will go in the body, wide to the forehand, his

bread-and-butter down the middle, swerving away from the right-hander.

He has got it all on this serves. Good return. Very good. No chance to

breathe on that return of serve. The wind is picking up slightly.

This court is like playing in a bowl.

That is the second double fault of the match from Muller. Pleading with

the tennis gods. Deuce for the second successive time. He has not

got his rhythm yet. Normally his first serve is such a big part of

his game. He pulled his shoulder down, did not stay up on the ball.

That is another chance. He had that deuce. In the first game he had the

second serve, Bedene, and returned it to the bottom of the net. The

same thing there. Sometimes when you're playing against a big server

you might only get one chance on a grass court and he has had two

chances and he has not converted either of them. He has not even made

him play, which is what normally happens.

We remain on serve. In this opening set. Bedene has had his British

passports and 2015. He is deeply that desire that he wants to play at

Tokyo 2020 as an Olympian and in order to do that you have to play

Davis cup for the nation you want to represent and to this point when he

has not played Davis cup for GB and he has had two appeals rejected

already... He is getting frustrated. He would love to play in the Davis

cup and we would love him to play as well. Leon Smith would be desperate

for him to play with Kyle Edmund and the team and Andy Murray, who plays

a lot of matches but sometimes does not. It would be pretty formidable.

Jamie Murray in the doubles. Still a very good team even without Andy

Murray if you can get him in the team. The powers that be are trying

hard but at the moment not having much joy. The others are these

working furiously to resolve that. We are on serve.

That is the longest rally of the match, 11 strokes.

Ace number four from Bedene. The line judge has had to take a little

bit of evasive action. 40 mph. Only just cleared. That is a clever

return from Muller. Terrific service game so far. Five

aces for the match. He is not known for a really big serve but it is

accurate. He finds corners. That was 117.

Neither player striking the ball that well at the moment. It is

almost like they are anticipating getting ready for the end of the set

and that is maybe when the best games will come. At the moment they

are a little bit flat, not quite there yet.

Terrific forehand. First break point. How well did he hit that?

Beautifully done from Muller. Content to hit these slices and he

gets an opportunity. It was a tough opportunity. He extended that

forehand so well. A big chance. He looks up at his coach. He was an

two minds whether to come in on that one. He sort of job that the ball.

That was a big opportunity. He is normally so solid on break points.

Really started to generate some power from that forehand, Muller.

Such a contrast with a slice and back spinning on that backhand.

Delightful. So clever, isn't he? He just sets up points so well. He

carved that backhand slice, it is stable, and his preparation at the

net is so perfect. The racket out in front, what the split step. Perfect

shot. Drop that volley shot. Excellent response. Break point

down. Ace number six. Break point for the third time. It

earned by Muller. Bedene responded with an ace on his previous serve. A

spot of pressure here. He has booted long. The first

service brake of the match goes to Muller. At the moment Bedene, both

players, I do not think Muller is playing that well, I think that game

was a little bit of a gift, that break of serve, I do not think

Bedene played a good game at all, Bedene does not look sharp at the

moment. It gives you an idea of the

amphitheatre that John was referring to earlier.

Muller ended up in no man's land. A glamour of an opportunity to fashion

a break point. Just not like him. Still looking to

find that rhythm. Consistently. On these ground strokes. Two break

points for Bedene. A big opportunity to break back immediately.

Opportunity is being thrown around by both players at the moment. That

is some response. Still break point. Could not do enough with the volley,

Muller. A bit of an awkward height for Muller to hit. It was not really

an overhead, in between shots, but he should have done better, he put

it straight to bed any's forehand and he said thank you very much.

My goodness. Unable to consolidate the break he built previously.

Bedene breaks back immediately. We are back on serve. You did not see

but when Muller was walking to his chair at the end of the double fault

he gave the thumbs up sarcastically to his coaching team. Everything is

not particularly well in his camp at the moment and Bedene played a

pretty poor game to lose his serve so at the moment it is, you want

this? I am not sure if they both have hangovers from... You can see

he is not quite there and he is up 4-3. You would think he is down a

set and the break. I do not know if this is a high over from his epic

match. Watch this. Thumbs up. That is very rare from him. He is

normally very good like that with his body language. That is showing a

sign of a little mental fatigue perhaps from that epic second round

match that he won in the fifth against Lukas Rosol. The .5 hours

for that match. Spectators making their way back in with refreshments.

Bedene serving with new balls. I do not know if Bedene so Muller,

his attitude, but that is a lovely tonic when you are playing someone

and you see the negativity come out, that gives you a big boost. He was

muttering furiously to himself. During the sit down. One wonders

what the nature of the conversation was. Whether it is all off of his

taste. Cheeky. Everybody retreated, even

the lines people were waiting for the overhead to be smashed at them

at 100 mph. I am just going to build this one so hard, no, I am not.

My goodness. Second serve ace. Only 95 mph but it completely bemused

Muller. Approving applause. Impressive sheets he had a run.

Bedene consolidates the break in the seventh game. On serve.

Well played. Muller hanging around in the point, the previous overhead

not put away by Bedene, the second one proving effective. That was the

longest rally. A tough shot to go for. Hard backhand smash, missed it

pretty comfortably. Well reached and well executed. Firm

handed volley. Good instincts at the net from Muller. He takes a split

step. Racket out in front. Hit play that nicely.

The one, two punch of the serve volley working really afflicted --

effectively for Muller and he is using it really well.

Second ace of the match to wrap up that service game. Remain on serve

in the first set. Tense times ahead. Bedene will come

out to stay in the first set and we will be back with it in a moment.

Kei Nishikori, the ninth seed, has lost his opening set to Roberto

Bautista Agut. Roberto Bautista Agut is a former fourth-round player at

Wimbledon. Kei Nishikori does not really like the grass. That is on

the red button. Caroline Garcia is up against Madison Brengle and has

taken the first set and will winning 1-0 in the second. She was the

player who put out Petra Kvitova in the last round. That is on the

website and the red button. We will keep you up-to-date with those but

let us head back to Court Two. Considering his body language was

rather negative at the end of his previous service game, that of the

terrific response from Muller. Bedene serving to stay in the first

set. Fantastic return from Muller. He did

well to get his feet there to get out of the way of the ball because

it was curving into him. He had to adjust and get the forehand down the

line. That tells you that their ball

caught the frame rather than the strings, the noise.

That is the second double fault of the match for Bedene.

So, now, it is set point for the 16th seed. Significant pressure on

the shoulders of Bedene now. My goodness! Just the right side of

the line from Bedene's and of view. -- point of view. Terrifically well

played from Bedene. During the course of that rally, he lost his

footing on the bare patch behind the baseline. Here is how he did it. His

determination to get back in was evident. He was all over the place.

He was so inventive, so clever. He executed it wonderfully. Terrific

variety from Bedene. I cannot believe he went for this at this

position. If he was behind the baseline, this was used. About to go

down set point. He had the courage and the belief and he made it. So,

Bedene saved the set point and rustled up some wonderful tennis to

hold serve. Both players may not have found

rhythm is consistently as they would have liked, won hands to think that

Bedene's is soaring. -- one house to think. Number four. Excuse me,

number three. He's saved me there. Just out of

sync with sound and vision. This is amazing! My goodness! It

curved as though it was the boomerang. If he makes this one, it

would be four in a row full probably go for it even if he loses his first

serve. That is amazing. Let me enquire of your greater expertise

and experience. Does it have a specific name? Annoying, if you are

his opponent. Unbelievable, this! Bedene was just

walking side to side. There we go, and queue. Unbelievable! Having said

that, Bedene saw that against Karlovic in the first match. There

was one game where there were four clean aces. He is used to it.

Against Karlovic, there were 44 aces hit at him. He is used to that. Now

he has Gilles Muller coming at him. It is like, please, what have I done

to deserve this? Well, Charles Miller, in the midst of his best

ever run. -- Gilles Muller. A sensational performance. 35 years of

age but his first two titles on tour this year. Part of a prominent wave

of success in Luxembourg sport. They put Rangers out of the Europa League

and also the Tour de France. Bedene serving to force a first set

tie-break. Both of them were digging up shots

that were at their ankles. Unbelievable! Had a chance to come

in the net, Bedene, on a short forehand and elected to hit the ball

and go back to the baseline again. He has launched a challenge

immediately, Charles Muller. The -- from the commentary position where

it looked to be pretty close. What says Hawk-Eye! Pretty close.

Perfect from Bedene. He really had to dig the backhand back into play.

I'd thought he was in trouble. An excellent return of serve from

Gilles Muller. Well reached will stop that was a

horrific point. The return was deep. The route to the net was

sure-footed. What a return! He was onto ball in a flash.

He had a chance to come in on that forehand. Half court forehand.

Bedene saved the set point in the ninth game. Another one here.

A couple of backhand slices from Gilles Muller that caused Bedene to

dig deep in that point. Terrific battling from Bedene. He's

sort of set point for the second time to hold serve in the tie-break.

Both players have received one additional challenge.

Interesting, enquiring to the welfare of the ball kid.

UMPIRE: The ball was called in. It was his point. He did not really do

too much to win that point. He has got the first mini-break

serving a volley on his second serve. That surprise tactic worked.

That was a classy shot. That is not an easy shot. 3-1 in the

tie-breaker. That was very difficult. See how low he stayed on

the ball. Look at that! Dutifully done. -- beautifully done.

Heap played such a good point. So cagey. The sliced backhand. Slicing

and dicing the opponent. Then this is the shot. Played it so perfectly.

This is, for him, a bad miss that does not normally miss the approach

shots. Could have been more. Again, Gilles Muller was so good at

managing the points. That was the wrong shot selection, to go to the

forehand and open up the passing shot. All even.

I am not sure what he was trying to do. That was a strange shot.

The mis-hit was punished ruthlessly by Gilles Muller.

A brawl of delight from Charles Miller as he takes the first set on

tie-break. -- a roar of delight. The 16th seed is leading 1-0 sets.

SUE BARKER: I am afraid we are leaving this match now. It is our

feature much on the red button. We'll be heading to Centre Court, as

that is just about to get under way with Heather Watson and Victoria

Azarenka. Four British players in action today. On Court Number One

Robbie Jo Konta. There she is on the practice courts today. -- it will be

Jo Konta. She came through her last match in three very close sets. It

was one of the best matches ever on Centre Court. 10-8 in the final set.

She has proved a lot to herself that she is playing a player she does not

know a lot about, Maria Sakkari, of Greece. She is coached by one of our

team, Mark Petchey. She was on the practice courts with her earlier

today. We caught up with him. Mark, we watched you getting put through

your paces. Was it the other way around? I spoke to Maria the other

day and she was talking how much she is looking forward to taking on Jo

Konta. Now it is match day, how is she feeling? She is looking forward

to it. We all want to get out onto the big courts and put our best

against the best. Jo Konta is one of the best players in the world right

now one of the favourites for the tournament. The ultimate challenge

today. What have you been saying to Maria? Obviously you go out and play

your game to start with. You're well aware of what Jo Konta is capable of

doing. Hitting the ball so big, that is super impressive. Harder than

Serena hit last year. There is an awful lot to content with, for

Maria. I looked at her game a lot. Sometimes it is not always that

easy. I played Boris in 97 felt I was confident. I realised very

quickly it was a different sport he was playing. It is about trying to

understand your strength and their weaknesses. It is only her second

Wimbledon. It is a big deal for her. It was a huge achievement. She had a

big low at the French Open. He has done very well to pick herself up.

Obviously, her confidence is a lot higher than it was in Paris. It is

the two horse race. Definitely safe fighting chance. From what I have

seen of Maria, she is a real battler. She scraps around the

baseline trying to get everything back. Shall be doing a lot of

running on Court Number One. Jo Konta will be hitting into the

corners. Big crowds here at Wimbledon. Another very hot, sunny

day. The fifth one we have had in a row. If you want to watch any of the

tennis on any of the courts come on the BBC, the app and the red button,

just a reminder that Aljaz Bedene's the feature match, is on the red

button. Now we are going to focus on Centre Court. First up, Victoria

Azarenka takes on Heather Watson of Great Britain, he looks to be at her

best. She had fallen out of the top 100. She is through to the third

round foot here is her story far. I felt great within my game. Happy.

I am playing really well. Terrific. First match I got clout of the

blocks quicker and ran with it. Her smile says it all. Heather Watson,

through to round two. I thought I was pretty flawless in

the first set. For the second set, Ike Specter turned to raise her

level, which she did. I was pleased how I stayed calm and kept my focus.

What a performance from Heather Watson! Heather Watson will be

stepping out onto this famous court in just a moment. She loves it here,

as does one of our special guests, Kim cloisters. She is joining our

team. You used to love it out here, didn't you? It is a very special

court. You played here to celebrate the roof. I played against Steffi

Graf and Andre Agassi and played with Tim Henman. It was a very

special occasion. It is a very special occasion. Wonderful for

British tennis. Four players through to the third round. This is huge

Heather. A lot has happened in the last two years since she was out

here against Serena Williams. I don't know if that will come out in

the match or have any bearing on what happens. Heather is not that

keen on the practice court. She loves the big stage and fans. We

have a new darling at Wimbledon and that is Heather. They love her

because she smiles and just looks so happy on the court. A wonderful win

in the last round. I don't know if you watch that much against Serena

Williams. She was two points away from doing it... She just looked

like a top 20 that day. She does will stop what I like about her is

the energy she brings on the court. She fights for every shot. If you

are not playing your best tennis, she is a really dangerous opponent.

Serena is Serena. She steps it up when she has to. That is what she

did here. She is absorbing the power, isn't she? That is her game.

If you can absorb the power of Serena, you can cope with anyone.

She will need to do the same today. You have played Azarenka. She is so

up on her baseline. She keeps squeezing until you miss. She takes

the ball very early on the rise was not especially with the return much

she likes to go really deep. When you serve deep into the court, it is

tough. It will be tough for Heather. She has the game where she can throw

Azarenka off a bit. I don't think we talk enough about her. Lotsa people

say she does not have much power. The way she reads the shots. Heather

is one of the best balanced players on the tour. You need that on a

grass court. You have to dance across it. She can match or beat

better than Azarenka athletically. That is a big plus. She came in

having done well at is born. That is important. You build confidence and

victories. -- at Eastbourne. You get extra belief to come out here and

play some of the biggest players. She will need that confidence today.

Also, it is so much a mental game. Heather is bit. It is having that

belief. Sometimes when you do not believe, the shots do not happen. I

think the belief is at the surface and gets thrown out of you at times.

She has done it here before. I am really interested in this match.

She'd dropped way down out of the top 100. She brought in two new

coaches. It has made a difference, hasn't it? Most athletes are not

crazy about change, especially when you have had a lot of success like

Heather. Dropping out of the top 100 means you are not in the slams

anymore. That had a big impact. For Heather, she had hit the bottom.

That is all to your window to make change be more open to new ideas.

Maybe her coaches are saying the same as other coaches. You must

listen. Heather did need to do a few different things. I think she is

really listening and her practice sessions are getting more intense.

The conditioning is getting better. She is in a fantastic place where

things have been pretty awful with injuries. It could not get worse.

That was her moment. Good on her for doing it. Not everyone would want to

do that. After her last match, she said how big she was seeing the

tennis ball. In the life good when that is happening? If any that was

the case all the time. It is all a matter of how you cope with the

situation when you're not seeing the ball that big. She will have to see

it big today to win. I look forward to it for to build the good matchup.

There they are, just waiting to on. Victoria Azarenka and Heather

Watson. It is a long walk from the locker room. You want to get on with

it. I did the walk with Andy Murray for that he said he started to doubt

himself when he was walking but when he gets on the court, he starts

believing and gets motivated again. The walk is not easy. It is a

special walk. I have thought OK, I will turn around and you get so

nervous. It is very special. One of the highlights for me was playing

Steffi Graf it is very special. There they are on the court. We

can't gloss over that, Kim, you were talking about playing Steffi out

here, was that your special...? It was not here, but she was my idol

and I admired her for many years when I was a child, her footwork, I

try to imitate how she played. I was able to play her in her last

Wimbledon, that was the highlight of my career. Wonderful. Look at that

sky. Sam, this is unheard of. They are trying to water the courts at

night but this is memories of 76, the drought year? About it is

hardening it up, we really have that dry spell mid-June which hardened

the courts. But did anybody tell Vika that it was hot, she came in

her tracksuit?! She had a baby in December, it is

only her second tournament, what do you read into that? Not much

matchplay and her perspective has probably changed? You don't forget,

you get out there and your habits are the same and physically it takes

a little bit of time, mentally lots of things connect straightaway and

it is almost like, at least for me, that I was not a way for that long.

She is in a similar situation. Let's hear from Victoria Azarenka, we

asked her about returning to the tour just six months after the birth

of her first child. You have different chapters in the

boot, and this is one of the chapters that is starting for me.

On this performance, it looks like Victoria Azarenka has never been

away. Do I have mummy brain or something now? I feel like now is a

different chapter, for sure. Did you think you would be back playing so

soon? I wasn't planning on playing Wimbledon, so I am very happy that I

was able to get in shape and be able to play. I said anything before my

actual start date is just a bonus to me, I am really happy I have been

able to come here and keep winning. Are you the type of person to set

goals and expectations going into a tournament, or maybe you were and

now you are like, I am here, bring it on? I put high expectation on my

efforts, being there and being prepared is important, but I need to

be patient. It is not my best quality.

But so far I have been enjoying myself and want to continue down the

road. What a performance from Heather

Watson. You have Heather Watson in the next round, does it make a

difference playing a home player in a major tournament? I embrace it, it

is a great opportunity to play on a big court. Hopefully I am up for it.

She is certainly coming back on tour and really rejuvenated, she lost her

first set against Sissy Bellas but has got better and better. You just

play from memory. She is so experience?

Very experienced. Every time she has played better and better, every set,

getting more confident. We will see. She knows she will have to play well

today, let's see if she steps up. There will be testing rallies, Sam?

You talked about Heather absorbing the pace, it is about her not being

pushed back from her baseline, if she is then it opens up all the

angles for Vika and things can move along very quickly for Heather. The

start is important, but not stepping back and spec -- and stepping

forward. That is hard for Heather, she is more other counterpuncher. I

would love to see her play with freedom, something she really

struggles with, be free at the big moments. That has been part of the

problem with the ranking over the last couple of years, big moments.

Against Serena, we saw that she is likely stop the racket head. It is

so hard to do. Easy to say, so hard to do. -- we saw that she slightly

stopped the racket head. What do you tell yourself in those big moments,

to stop being negative? Stop thinking it is a big moment is an

important thing! She likes to attack early in the rallies, a tax return

and the shot after the serve, Heather will have to try to do that

as well, be more aggressive from the start of the rally. Heather has to

go forward, you have to do that on grass, try and attack. That is what

she said she has done in her first two matches. She wants to defend but

she has is to try to be up to the baseline at least? It is not her

hitting the cover of the ball, that is not her game. It is core to

position the me. Heather has wonderful bodies, she needs

opportunities to get up the net. In this grass court period,

particularly at Eastbourne, Heather is serving far better than a couple

of years ago. A little more powerful but lots more accurate. Her serving

is outstanding in the first couple of rounds. She is hitting harder,

which is giving her a good platform to get on the French vote for the

first ball, holding serve a lot more easily. We'll see how she copes with

an Azarenka return, I can't imagine what that is like. How tough is it?

Sometimes you worry about it before you have hit your serve, you serve

and you want to be in a position where you are ready to counterpunch.

It becomes a mind game a lot of times. It is a very good return, one

of the best with Serena. It is good that she has been improving her

serve, it will be very necessary. So do you try serve towards the body,

mix it up? Try to mix it up and use the body serve so you don't give her

a good angle to go for. A high first serve percentage will be very

important for any player, the first serve percentage has to be high.

These two will be facing each other later in mixed doubles, and Heather

Watson as defending champion, we forget. It was a great story last

year, I followed it all the way through. That would have helped

colleges keep the confidence going, the singles was not going well. This

fairy tale emerged, that gives you a boost. Nadir papered over the cracks

of what is happening with his singles career and it is only in the

last few months that she has been falling off the diving board,

literally, and done something about it. But it gives you more time.

Isn't it nice that we are talking about a British player, we are not

saying will she be all right, will she crumble? I have zero worries

about Heather coping with this environment. She loves that. Won the

mixed doubles. It is something in the mindset of coming back to the

place where you feel happy and have done well? And you feel the support.

I am from Belgium, not far, but for the British players it has to be

something unique and so special to be able to play at home and to feel

the support from the crowds. It is such a bonus to be able to use that

energy. Do you recognise him? David Beckham sitting in the Royal box.

Craig Reedy behind. It is such a special tournaments, everybody wants

a ticket. When you are on this Court, do you look at the Royal box

and see who is in? Of course! That is probably more intimidating than

Serena. We had better make a move, they are about to play. Lovely to

see you both, enjoy the match. I hope it is good. They are heading to

the commentary box to join Chris Bradnam.

CHRIS BRADNAM: very warm conditions, listen to the buzz around Centre

Court. Heather Watson, an historic day for British tennis, can she do

it against former world number one Victoria Azarenka? She has never

beaten her before. But it is a long time ago. Azarenka won the spin of a

coin and chose to receive. So sharp, straightaway. The sound is

familiar. KIM CLIJSTERS: yes, it is. Lots of people always ask me does it

bother you when you stand in front of somebody like Azarenka or

Sharapova? As a player, I did not hear it.

SAMANTHA SMITH: It is very early but, to me, Azarenka looks like she

is picking up Heather's serve very easily. Her distribution of her

ground strokes looks frightening at the moment.

Serve has improved. It has, it will be very important to serve well

today. She is facing one of the best returners in the women's game.

Terrific! What a holds that is from 15-40.

That'll help settle those early nerves. They had some really good

rallies in the first game. Promising some good things for this match. You

were number one in the world at 20, Heather Watson got her first top ten

just two years ago. Where will the self belief come from in this match?

She is playing at home, playing in front of this crowd where she has

had amazing experiences, winning the mixed doubles last year, playing

about unbelievable match against Serena. It is very easy to pick up

your level and your confidence when you get to this Centre Court.

A long look at the line from Heather, but no challenge.

She saw the drop shots coming, but Azarenka picked the right side. Good

eyes, there. We talk so much about Vika's ground strokes but we forget

she is such a good doubles player as well, won the mixed doubles at the

Olympics on this court in 2012. Maybe Azarenka, too. She had a

little look at the Sun, probably trying to adjust. Averaging four

double faults a match, both Azarenka and Heather. That is for this

tournament. Talk is through that forehand, Sam?

I think what was better was the face that Kim made when she saw it. That

was heading into the Royal box if it kept going. David Beckham was

cupping his hands again! If we are talking about Watson's nerves, I

think Azarenka is much more uptight so far.

Kim, what really surprised me when she came back is she has changed

completely different make of racket, from one end of the spectrum to the

other. Very surprising to me. Caroline Wozniacki did that a few

years ago when she was playing really well, then changing rackets

and just losing a little bit of the confidence and rhythm. We will see

how SAMANTHA -- Vika does with it. The smiles seem to get wider, the

points are won when somebody is at the net.

What a beautiful sound that serve made. Mum Michelle, who has been

hurt Vigurs support since they headed over from Guernsey to Florida

when she was 12 -- who has been her biggest support. Her mum went with

her. SUE BARKER: What a start from

Heather, no sign of nerves and Centre Court. 3-0 up, we will be

right back on centre. We can update you on Alijaz Bedene, who dropped

the opening set in the tie-break to Gilles Muller. It is three games

all, there has been one break apiece in the second set. That is the

feature match on the red button. On Court three, Kei Nishikori is

fighting hard, he has struck the first set to Roberto Bautista Agut.

It is a second set tie-break. That is also available on the red button

and BBC sport website. One from early today, Caroline

Garcia, the 21st seed from France, has beaten Madison Brengle. A

straight sets win for Garcia, 6-4, 6-3. She awaits the winner of Jo

Konta or Maria Sakkari. Jo Konta on Court One later today. Bedene held

serve, he is 4-3 up. COMMENTATOR: Azarenka looking to get

on the scoreboard after 11 minutes at 0- three.

Azarenka wanting the ball on one particular side. It can vary from

match to match, sets to set. Do you have habits like that, Kim? Yes,

whatever feels good on the day. I love the balance that she has on

Court. When she moves, her upper body is still. Her legs move from

side to side and her upper body does not go out of balance at all.

Beautiful to see, especially from where we are sitting.

Morgan Phillips. I think she read that ball toss a little bit. A

little bit to the right, I think she anticipated there would be a serve

outweighed and she reacted very quickly. -- a serve out wide.

I don't want to jinx it but she has been serving very, very well so far.

Eight from ten on her first serve, two from just four second serves.

Hawk-Eye tells us that first serve was in. Really? Oh, yeah.

I don't think you can be safe out here against Azarenka in the big

moments. This entire tournament and the match

so far, Heather has not served a single first delivery at the body. I

just wonder if Azarenka will pick this up at some point. It is very

accurate but there is a clear pattern.

it up the impressive start continues.

You have the record of being the last moment to win a Grand Slam.

Azarenka gave birth to Leo in December, just December last year.

Physically, what did you find you had to cope with coming back to

play? One of the biggest differences with me compared to SAMANTHA SMITH:

and Serena is I did not think I would come back, so I did not start

training until after I had the baby. It was only a year later that I

started playing tennis again. After I was invited to play here on Centre

Court for the opening of the roof. I really had more time than they did.

They needed to focus on recovery or getting ready for tennis couple of

weeks after they had the baby. It is really hard for me to comment on how

it was, I was not in that situation. Azarenka seems to be moving so well.

Nothing has changed, it seems, from when she was last playing. The look,

the determination. She always has the look of the Hunter, not the

hunted. We always try to train our core stability, everyday that is

what we do and something that you have to train very hard after a

baby. So quick. She sees it very well, she

anticipates well and then she has great feats to back it up. That's

why she got there so early. Just a lot of very quick, light steps. She

sees it so early. It is just beautiful. The way she

stayed down on that. Is it in? It looked it.

Come on. It is really strange to see Azarenka playing on court just over

20 minutes. Normally, she gets is a -- she matches on her terms very

quickly and she has not been able to do that this afternoon, and that is

unusual. Self coaching needed on that forehand. She looked over at

her coach for some help. It is an interesting matchup with Michael

Joyce who worked with Maria Sharapova for some many years, he

would have set in Maria's Players' Box when she was playing Vika, so he

would have had all the notes on her and weaknesses and strengths. And he

has not worked with anybody sense? It was working with a young American

player for a couple of years and he wanted to stay -- to take a step

back of the tour, he wanted to get in the big-time again and they lived

near each other in LA. So geographically, it worked, which is

important. Of course. I saw Vika and her coach practice on

Aorangi Park a couple of times this week and he hits the ball very well.

A good rhythm. He gets a lot of balls back. It looked like she was

having fun but at the same time, working very hard in practice to get

as much of a rhythm as she can. That is the return that she loves to

hit, straight through the middle, back at you. When you just finished

landing in the court with your serve, it is very tough to adjust to

it. It is the first time we have seen

some loose shots from Watson. Three more break points for Azarenka.

That is a silencer. Azarenka regs back to love. -- breaks. Kim, the

women's game at the moment is probably the most open it has ever

been with Serena Williams expected. Self belief, the mental strength. It

is up for so many in the locker room to win this title. Your thoughts on

that, dealing with that? Yes, there are some girls like we saw at the

French Open really use the opportunity, but there are also

girls who put too much pressure, they put too much pressure on

themselves. And they struggle dealing with it. So it is very

interesting. In the last couple of days, EC a lot of the media do

interviews and that is a question I get every time, who do you think

will be standing after seven matches? It is very tough, there are

a lot of players I'm really curious to see how they will cope and how

they will react. And some I also think have a great chance but not a

lot of people are talking about them. The side anybody, I'm very

curious to see how this draw unfolds. -- just like anybody. Venus

has a heavy burden on her shoulders, but she is the only one who has won

this title. I thought she could really win coming into the

tournament, but with the off court situation, it will teach -- it will

take something, incredibly tough. I think you pick the least likely

person and that is who I will put my 50p on! New balls in play, back on

serve, Azarenka, 3-4. I feel this is the moment where

Heather, the instinct and the default setting is to step back. It

is the moment she has to step forward because Azarenka is getting

better and better out here. Starting the press and play faster and

pressurise, and take time away, say you can't breathe. That is what

makes you of the press. You have to walk a very fine line. -- of the

press. There is something special when you -- when you have beaten

Serena Williams four times in finals. That is pretty special as

well. Yes, it was. Azarenka has always been very good even when she

is not playing her best tennis like she is now, she has not started well

but she hangs in and she fights for each shot. When you lose your level

of little bit, that is when she picks Herzog and tries to step over.

-- she picks up. Errant ball boys chasing that one.

That is when you say thank you! For Heather, obviously. Two more break

points. Great length. Low over the net,

hard. Watson is going to serve for the opening set.

What a day for British tennis, four in the third round. The best for 20

years. Slams her racket into the grass,

Azarenka. Those numbers but right, they might just surprise some

people. Yes, for sure. I think Heather doesn't have enough pace off

the ground. These are the sort of points,

remember these? Oh, yes, I do. This is where Azarenka is very good. She

knows the targets, she has to hit the passing shot and without

hesitation, she goes for it. I wonder if she will pick the serve up

in the direction. That is a surprise mistake, to me.

This match since the comeback. The memory is there, it is the doing it!

Set point. What a fabulous set of tennis from

Heather Watson! Quite a few standing here, I don't think they are just

stretching their legs. 34 minutes, Watson is a setup. That is a really

good start. Very good. Very positive from Heather. One of the biggest

things to me is how well she has been serving. Obviously, she is

moving really well and she is putting pressure on Vika. One of the

things that I saw when I saw Vika for the first time practising here

was that she looks leaner. I think she has lost a little bit of muscle

since she has had a baby. And the power of her shots, they don't seem

to be quite as powerful. I feel like she is very steady, she is

consistent. Normally. But she always had that one extra shot where after

a rally of six, seven shots, she was able to step in and hit the extra

with a little more pace and I really don't feel like she has that back

yet in her game plan. It will take time, but that is definitely the

shot she is going to have to get back into her game. Also today, if

she wants to break through the wall of Heather Watson. Yes. And unforced

errors from Watson, just four. The winners, two more. Great set of

stats. Azarenka has work to do to stay in the second set, the second

time in the tournament having to come from a set behind to win. The

former World Number 1. In tennis, we call that a good

mistake! She went for it, she tried to attack the second serve. There is

no need to get negative about this. You tell yourself, OK, this is a

good mistake. The serve does look a little

different technically, the style of it. Her feet seem a bit further

apart, she is working on the cadence more. Yes, she has been off a little

bit. Still looking for that rhythm and adjusting.

She is so aware of what is happening with her serve, Azarenka, such a

good matchwinner. A very accurate first serve and she got herself on

top of the points. She wants to get dominating with these ground strokes

and that changes the terms of engagement.

It is fascinating watching the Azarenka on this come from. Soaking

it all up again, back on the Centre Court. She is under pressure because

I think when you came back, came, you played two tournaments and you

won the US Open. Yes. They are all saying, thanks, ever so much. No

pressure! With that return, she just pushed,

Heather had to take two steps back. She tried to still be aggressive,

but she overhit it a little bit. It is pretty tough to be aggressive

from a couple of metres behind the baseline. That is what Azarenka does

to you. The forehand is a little more

unreliable, if you like. With that forehand, I think she did not even

finish her shot completely and she was already moving back to the

middle, knowing there was a shot coming into the". That is something

you can't do, you have to finish a shot. She is quick enough to

retrieve it. Challenging straightaway. But she is not very

hopeful. It is something that we have seen, she just gets so a lot on

her forehand. -- so locked. Is that a practice thing, is it believing in

yourself to do what you need to do on the bigger points, pushing

yourself through it? I also think in these type of moments, it is your

habits. They can be good or bad, but sometimes, they come out.

SUE BARKER: Were leaving Centre Court, this continues on BBC One. If

you want to continue watching, switchover to BBC One. We are

heading off to see Aljaz Bedene. But Kei Nishikori is in trouble against

Roberto Bautista Agut and trailing by 2-0. But we are heading now the

Court Number Two, Aljaz Bedene against the 16 seed and the

left-hander Gilles Muller of Muller -- of Luxembourg. It is two games

all, so let's join John Lloyd and Ronald McIntosh.

Successive service aces to hold serve from Gilles Muller. Including

one at 128 mph. His fastest of the match. Bedene serving, fifth game.

Oh! He thought he had him there. Patient, well constructed point from

Muller, just working his opponent around. When he gets that approach

shot, the slice stays so low. Trouble here for Bedene.

Big trouble now. Three break points. First time we have really seen

frustration. He has kept calm even though he has been down.

So he saved the first. Massive pressure on the Bedene serve. He has

served a lot of aces today, Bedene. Some good lines. But he needs a

couple now. And unforced error from the backhand

makes it a tame surrender of serve. So Muller in a really commending

position now, two sets to love up, a break to the good point And if

Bedene hopes the progress through to the fourth round, he has to force it

to a deciding set. Not yet has he had to come back from a two sets to

love deficit, massive challenge facing the Bedene now. He has looked

a bit fatigued today and a bit lately. There has been evidenced in

some of the shots he has tried off the court, looking for winners

instead of getting back into the rally. He has not looked quite

right. He is fighting, he is of a writer and he has tried desperately,

but he is just not there today. There have been too many

combinations playing one or two good points and two or three bad errors

in a row, he throws them in bunches. And I don't think Muller has played

his best match but he has been mentally tough up on the big points

when it comes down to it. Competitiveness and battling have

been the hallmarks of this match so far, but it has not sought to great

heights of consistent tennis. Both men fighting furiously but Muller

heart is number of unforced errors between the first and second sets.

He is serving to consolidate the break he has just won inset number

three, leading 3-2. Until the second set, where Muller

broke Bedene in the 11th game, the trend was for service breaks one way

to be followed up by a service break on the other side of the net. Bedene

is desperate for that trend to return. Excellent Court coverage at

the net. UMPIRE: Mr Muller challenges the

call. The ball was called in. He elected to let its sale over his

shoulder and now he is going up on the services of Hawk-Eye. And look

at that. UMPIRE: Mr Muller has two challenges remaining.

Muller has used the chance already. He is looking long and hard at the

line after that serve was called out. Two remaining.

Bedene is mad at himself. We have seen lots of that with him today,

second serves when it is right in his hitting zone, and then just

making an error. Bedene consolidates the break --

Muller consolidates the break. Bedene really has to dig deeper.

Surfing, trailing a break, 2-4, third set. -- serving macro,

trailing a break. Did well to get that out of the way.

It came into his body. Good footwork. That inside out forehand.

Muller continuing to turn the screw. And pose questions.

Oh, well played! Once again for the third time in the match, Bedene has

lost his footing. He went over but managed to regain

his balance. He was not perturbed by it. That was a huge point as well.

He did well. Good effort. No change in his demeanour, but a

good hold of serve from Bedene. Well, there is the magnificent

splendour of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The British players are

enjoying their best showing here since 1997, the year five British

players made it through to the third round. In 2017 we have four of them.

On Centre Court, Heather Watson in her third-round match against

Azarenka. Later, Murray competing on Court Number One. That is the room

and a construction to the top of the screen. Johanna Konta will be

playing there. Here on Court two, as we tilt down, we are at the bottom

end of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Court number two. Bedene is

battling ferociously to try to make it through to the fourth round. The

last time Great Britain had multiple representation in the fourth round

was in 2002 when Tim Henman reached the semifinals and Greg Rusedski

lost in the fourth round. So tough to read that serve. He

swung back down, outweighed on left court. It can also go to the

forehand side very comfortably. The same ball toss.

We have seen that a couple of times with Bedene not moving up to the

ball, waiting for the ball to come to him, as he did there, and then

lunch at the last second and mis-hits the ball. If you cracks in

what has been an otherwise impeccable facade from Bedene. -- a

a few cracks. So Bedene faces the prospect of

serving to stay in Wimbledon. Terrific passing shot from behind

baseline. See how though he got on that

passing shot. -- see how low he got. You can be sure that he will not

give it up without a fight. So deep in the baseline, he was off

court and then goes for a clean winner down the line instead of

getting a bad crosscourt. His shot selection today has not been great.

-- instead of getting it back across court.

The crowd really encouraging the efforts of Bedene.

We talked about what a terrific tournament it has been from a

British perspective, but Muller, the only man from Luxembourg to have

competed in a Grand Slam tournament in the open era stop you have to go

way back to the 1940s to find another man from Luxembourg to have

competed at a Grand Slam event. That was at Roland Garros. But this man's

temperament has remained rock solid throughout. A couple of outbursts

when things were not going his way bet he got it back and increase the

solidity is the match went on. Is such a good year this year. He has

won two titles, it breeds confidence, you feel confident in

what you are going to do, when you need to, at crucial times. That is

what he has done today. A very close match, but on crucial point is this

man has come through. He made it through to the semifinal at Queen's.

A rousing reception for the players as they take up their positions for

this tenth game, Muller serving for the match.

He has used that serve to terrific effect throughout this match.

Oh, that's outrageous. Serve for the match, 15-15 and you hit a second

serve ace like that. This is just tremendous. He is going, seriously?!

You will not even let me have a chance to have a go at that second

serve? And what a way to close it out, the

19th game of the match for Shiel mother, it sees him through to the

fourth round of Wimbledon. -- for Gilles Muller. Muller found a

greater solidity, along with some moments of magic. He makes it

through to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time in his

career. Bedene battled LaRoche is Lee, tried to overcome the bad

patches. But ultimately he has been beaten in straight sets here, on

this his fifth appearance at Wimbledon. One that he will remember

for a very long time. It is his best ever showing at SW19, Bedene, but

this man, Muller, goes through to the fourth round. Bedene exits Court

number two, and the tournament. But Muller had a superb performance to

go through to the fourth round where he will face the winner of Nadal and

Khachanov. SUE BARKER: He has been in such good form in this grass

court season, winning in her top and Bosch and getting through to the

semifinals of Queen. We knew he would be a tricky opponent on the

grass court. But Alijaz Bedene had a very good Wimbledon, a couple of

very good wins prior to today. Muller goes through on Court two.

Just to let you know on BBC round at the moment, we are following Heather

Watson on Centre Court against Victoria Azarenka. She took the

first set but the former world number one has come storming back

and is serving for the second at 5-1. That match is on BBC One, it

could be another 3-set thriller. We have had a few of those on Centre

Court. On Court Number One, this happens a

short time ago. Steve Johnson diving into the chairs. He really has been

given the runaround by Marin Cilic. Look at this, that is commitment,

that is like Boris Becker. He goes in and he hits the chair. It

is a brave thing to do. He was a little bit worried about what

happened so he called the train onto the court to make sure everything

was OK with that hand. -- called the trainer. There is a doctor. I am

sure -- making sure he has the feeling in it. You can see his

grazed knee, he has been throwing himself around the courts.

This is the current state of the match at the moment, 6-4, 5-3, Marin

Cilic is serving for the second set. That match is on the red button.

The feature match on the red button is out on court 12, Dominica Sybil

Colbert, a two-time quarterfinalist, she has just dropped the first set

to the Croatian, who was a quarterfinalist last year at the US

Open. She is the youngest player left in the draw, the 27th seed, and

causing an upset. That is the feature match on the red button.

We will head to court 34 Kei Nishikori against Roberto Bautista

Agut. We have been talking about the number of balls and slips at

Wimbledon. The hot weather making the courts very slippery. That was a

very nasty fall for Bautista Agut. This is what we are seeing so much,

the players struggling with the conditions. This natural surface,

the grass, it is quite brown on the baseline. The pimples they have on

their shoes are not giving any grip at all. That happened a short time

ago. On Court three, Kei Nishikori is two sets to love down but is a

break and he is serving... In fact, facing a break point against

Bautista Agut. Let's join our commentators, Peter Fleming and

Andrew Cotter. COMMENTATOR: From 30- 02 break point. -- from 30-0, two

break point. Nishikori's shotmaking has become

just that bit more insightful over the last couple of games. The number

of games in this match that have gone to deuce

It is long! Bautista Agut did so much work chasing down, the final

touch was heavy-handed. The backhand feathered over the net. What an

amazing shot from the Spaniard! It's covered a lot of ground. This might

have been the easiest shot he had the whole rally. Set point four Kei

Nishikori. There it is. The support and cycled

three for the Japanese number nine seed is huge. -- the support inside

court three. He has a way back to the match. So inaccurate for so much

of it. His inability to convert break points, a couple of days ago

eventually took his tenth break point opportunity. -- a couple of

games ago. That is why he just trailed by a single set. It has been

a long and close affair but as the trainer comes on two seater Roberto

Bautista Agut, even though he trails by a set you would fancy Kei

Nishikori? No question that Nishikori has been very tentative

throughout most of this match. You can see Nishikori going off for a

comfort break. Only in the last half a set has he

almost said, well, my back is to the wall, I need to come up with

something special. The 19 winners in September three, far more than in

any others, that is the first set when he had a positive when it

Ostara ratio. Nishikori is throwing in a huge number of mistakes, but

has some good winners. Bautista Agut is a more conservative style game,

not too many winners at all. Not many errors. But she was not doing

much in that said, Roberto Bautista Agut. -- but he was not. The points

won on second server is always a good barometer of how each player,

or how effective each player is from the back of the court. Nishikori 53

to 27% for Bautista Agut. There is a decided swing in momentum, you would

have to say, towards the Japanese star. Kei Nishikori has been to a

Grand Slam final, lost that US Open final to Marin Cilic three months

ago. He is not with us at the moment, he is off court three. At

Wimbledon he has not been beyond the last 16, neither of these players

has. You can go whenever you want is the answer. When can I go to the

toilet? Just stick your hand up and ask the teacher! Lots of jewellery

going on with that -- with Roberto Bautista Agut. Sergio Garcia was

watching his friend, he has departed to the comforts of the Royal box.

Bautista Agut took the first set, then the second set. Nishikori's

body language was awful, he has not had a great season, has had a few

injuries and looked like he might be heading down and out, but right back

in it now. And the difference was in set number three. He made some of

the aggressive shots that he attempted, in sets one anti he was

spraying balls all over the place. -- in sets one and two. Sometimes

the best thing that can happen is your back is to the wall and you

just lose any inhibitions that you might have heard earlier. Kei

Nishikori, over the last five years or so, has been one of the great

shot makers in the game. He can hit winners from anywhere, he chases

down so many balls, as both players do. Bautista Agut is also an

incredible mover around the back of the court. Kei Nishikori is

refreshed and ready to go, a new shirt. He has reset things. He has

said, I am just a set down now, you almost feel he might be a different

player. There is Michael Chang, the former Grand Slam champion, French

Open champion is a 17-year-old, he coaches Kei Nishikori. Agut served

to stop the set. -- start the set. That is the third very high lob he

has taken out of the air. Neither player has had any cheap

service games where they have risen too. There might have been a couple

in the match. Everyone of them has been a bit of struggle, really.

There have been a few of those from Nishikori. Only the second from

Bautista Agut. Just four from Nishikori. The Spaniard has been

pretty tidy on serve. He is starting to roll! A different

player now. There is that conversion rate, pretty poor from both of them

but two break points for Kei Nishikori.

Finishes it off. Kei Nishikori breaks through right at the start of

this fourth set. May well be heading for five. Peter, you are talking

about Nishikori's ability over five sets, he is pretty useful? Pretty

useful if you say the greatest of all time is reasonable. That is

reasonable. It is an incredible statistic. You are the greatest of

all time. Who else is included in that? Everybody. Bjorn Borg, Rob

Lever, and he has the best record over five sets. He has won 16 of

them. I believe that is over a final set.

Yes. But Roberto Bautista Agut will be

able to remind himself. Still 2-1 up. Do what I did in the first

couple of sets and Nishikori's level may dip.

And Roberto Bautista Agut just abandoning the chase on that one.

He is a bit outnumbered in support out here, Bautista Agut. But there

are a few cries. He moves so well. He was still in a

good position to hit that forehand. So impressive the way both these

guys get around the court. Down again. He is all right. He just

felt his wrist this time, bracing himself as he went down. Again, he

did not injure himself, but he landed pretty hard on his knee. And

these courts, they are solid after a dry spell. They are brick hard. It

was on the wrist. So ultimately, the hold for Nishikori. A long match,

just over three sets, almost three hours. They don't have many short

points. A number of the Games have been drawn-out affairs.

That last error from Nishikori is so disappointing because when you have

got the momentum behind you, you want to get to a point where you

feel you are running downhill and everything is just easy. Just sort

of snaps you back. Into reality. It is still going to be hard work.

So Roberto Bautista Agut Basques for Hawk-Eye to step in again. And he

was right again to do so. He throws in his third double of the

match. A good stretch and a nice place for

him to cross-court. That is a good touch from the

Spaniard and he does hold. And who remains just a break behind.

He's got a few supporters in here, as mentioned. He had a famous

supporter here at the start of the match. This was Sergio leaving with

his famous government. Danny Willett was here with it last year and

Sergio this year. -- his famous Green Jacket. Famous sports people

in here today. You get to take it around for a year and then it stays

at the club in Augusta. Really? They don't like you taking it out too

much, but for places like Wimbledon, they make allowances. Anyway, Garcia

has left. Bautista Agut was looking good point Since then, Nishikori has

come back into it. A special call will be put into Centre Court. So it

is not his smoking jacket in the weekly poker games or anything? !

That would be frowned upon. SUE BARKER: We believe that much, it

continues on the red button, we will go to Court Number One and Marin

Cilic is involved in a second set tie-break against Steve Johnson.

Great tennis and is much. Jamie Baker is alongside Nick Mullins. --

great tennis in this match. You might be thinking he ought to be

two sets to the good, Marin Cilic, having missed out on the opportunity

to serve for it early in the second set. Steve Johnson has fought hard

to earn this tie-break. Frustration for the Californian,

Jamie, who fended off three set points in the previous game to take

us to the shoot out. Yes, Marin Cilic, it really was

one-way traffic. Johnson taking advantage of missed volleys at

crucial moments when Cilic was serving for the set. He will be

disappointed at the start he has made to this tie-break. Cilic

watched by his coach, Bjorkman. That is one of the many breaks

slipping through the net. I think the body language and the

cry of frustration suggests that he has not got a lot of money on this

being in his favour. Quarterfinalist in each of the last

three years, Marin Cilic. Johnson has done so well, Jamie, to

keep this second set alive. He had a really nasty fall into his chair

midway through it and hurt his finger, and he looked as though he

was down and out. Just that determination that it would not end

here. Yes, the crowd really lifted their energy, responding to this. A

fightback. At 5-2, you right, with a sore hand from the full, it didn't

look good for Johnson. Another challenge, he has two in his

pocket, he might as well use them. Three challenges in each set. They

keep them if they are successful and they get an extra challenge if it

goes to a tie-break, as this has. That is his 13th of the match. One

of which was walloped down at 133 mph, his fastest of the tournament

so far. And it brings up more set points. And more pressure for

Johnson, once again serving to stay in the second set.

It is Cilic's set, and one of the dot courses this fortnight. If it is

not the big four, plenty think it might be Cilic and he has had to

work hard to establish this lead on Court Number One.

Took longer than it might have done, Jamie, longer than it should have

done. Those service percentage point is dropping off significantly from

what we saw in the first set. Yes, they did. And you can see the

domination of the match pattern is coming from Cilic. He is more

dominant on his serve and total winners of 90 against Johnson seven.

Cilic having the ability to hit winners both ways, whereas Johnson

only has that opportunity off his forehand. The story was from 5-2

until the end, where Cilic kind of linked concentration wise out of

nowhere with those couple of missed volleys serving for the set. The

only slight regret from Steve Johnson from that set will be the

first four or five points to tie-break because he had the chance

to really as gay question of Cilic and it didn't quite materialise. --

he really had the chance to ask the question. Court Number One without a

lead. Another lovely day here at Wimbledon. The first Friday of the

Championships. It has been dubbed the wok. Cilic on the shop floor

early, he wants to get on this. Steve Johnson with all the work to

do. He has to come from two sets down against one of the favourites,

the number seven seed, Marin Cilic. He is not to be rushed. One or two

late, is finding their seeds. -- late, is -- late arrivals finding

their seeds. The 27-year-old Californian from Redondo Beach, just

outside the world's top 30. He is ranked 31 and he is here as a seed

for the first time, the 26th seed. Oh, yes! The big man on the stretch,

still not enough to get back from Johnson. I was just about to applaud

this shot from Marin Cilic, the inside out backhand, but Johnson is

known for his skilful squash shot and that has to be one of his best.

Apparently, there is nothing wrong with that right wrist, we were

wondering about that, the one that collided with his chair rather

painfully. But if he can produce shots like that, he is OK. Love- one

at the start of the third, Cilic. Made his way past a couple of

Germans to get here, Philip Kohlschreiber and Florian Meyer. But

a bit more challenging on Wednesday. Steve Johnson's coach. Craig

Boynton. Still providing encouragement.

That's just equalled his fastest serve of the tournament from early

in this match, 133 mph. How well has he played?! In the face

of cannibals. Good anticipation from Johnson and Cilic only has himself

to play. He closed that backhand down very well. -- to blame.

For the second time in this match, the mighty Cilic serve has been

snapped. You will not see many double handed

backhand is from Steve Johnson, but a winner down the line, what a time

to produce it! And two breaks out of Cilic's last three service games.

Although he won the tie-break, there has been a sea change in the match

over the last 20, 25 minutes. Johnson dropped just a set reaching

this third round. Both these players last on Court

hours ago. -- 48 hours ago. On Simona Halep Mr Johnson is

challenging the call. The ball was called out. -- UMPIRE: Mr Johnson is

challenging the call. Mr Johnson has two challenges

remaining. Handing that break of serve back rather tamely.

Having broken the Cilic serve, Johnson's goes on the blink. We were

talking of Steve Johnson a little earlier in the match, Jamie, and

help the sport is providing such a welcome and warm and comforting

distraction at the moment to what has happened to him over the last

couple of months. His dad Steve senior died in his sleep in May.

Only 58, and he introduced his son to the sport and he travelled around

the tour with him. They were close and we saw those pictures at Roland

Garros when he beat on a charity on the clay at the French Open and when

he won the final point, he collapsed in tears, weeping that the net. It

all got too much for him, as you totally understand. You imagine the

effort it took emotionally to be on court. But I have no doubt his

appearance not only at Roland Garros but throughout the grass and here at

Wimbledon is a result of what he would have expected his father, of

what he would be doing to make his dad and the rest of his family

proud. And he is doing himself a credit to be here, enjoying such a

big occasion like this. At the biggest tournaments in the world.

And when he won that final point against Coric, he knew that is dad

was looking down, giving him the energy to get over the line. Here he

is at Wimbledon in a tussle with one of the men who might go on to win

it. We will see. Marin Cilic back on serve in this set, 1-2.

A final point on that, it shows you how important the role of the

travelling tour coach can be at times. You never know what an

individual player is going through at different times, but often the

person they lean on the most is the person they are travelling with.

131 miles per hour. The 15th ace, he has moved beyond 60 for the

tournament. Cilic in prime grass court form on

the way to Wimbledon. He reached the final at Queen's. He should have won

it. He had match point against Lopez and went down 10-8 in the third set

tie-break. After a difficult start to the year

for Cilic, this form coming here has been very impressive. He has

definitely a dark horse to cause the favourites some trouble.

UMPIRE: Mr Johnson is challenging the call. The ball was called in.

UMPIRE: Mr Johnson has one challenge remaining.

Well understandable frustration for Steve Johnson. He had let a winning

position in this third set slip and it is now Cilic with his nose ahead,

3-2. A wonderful hum around this

open-topped No 1 Court. The roof will be on by 20.19. Steve Johnson,

pitching for a place in the fourth round and the second week of this

Grand Slam for the second time in his career. He was in good form on

grass this time last year. He had just won the Nottingham tournament

and he made to it the last 16, before he ran into Roger Federer.

But he has got what it fakes. He has got the -- he has got what it takes.

It is just that consistency that he is going to have to try and find to

derail the Croat here. The way the last five or ten minutes have gone,

it does look like he might be reflecting on this later at those

moments at the end of the second set and the beginning of the third set,

where he had an opportunity to level the match and also got the first

break in this third set. But it's turned against him again in the last

10 minutes. A little volley at the net not quite

good enough from the man who looks at life from six foot six. It looks

like a couple of those missed volleys from Cilic has missed his

confidence. For the first hour we were admiring his touch around the

net. A lot of success up there. UMPIRE: Mr Johnson is challenging

the call. The ball was called out. That sliced backhand has been his

stock-in-trade in this match, trying to keep the ball as low as possible.

But that one just falling off the table. UMPIRE: Mr Johnson has no

challenges remaining. You can hear just how hard Johnson

worked to get to that ball, but not quite enough!

He found his touch at just the right point towards the end of that game.

He has underlined the break of serve. Consistently impressive here

in the last three years, Cilic, quarter final, quarter final,

quarter-final. Might have been a semi-final last summer. Should have

been a semi-final. He was two sets to the good against Roger Federer.

Lost in five in the end. He doesn't hit many backhand

winners, but that is an important point and may well keep him in this

match for a bit longer. Steve Johnson's dad always taught

him to fight. Oh! Steve senior, always said, never

give up son, whatever the position, never give up! And his son isn't. It

is all starting to get a bit too much for him again. Oh, my goodness.

You know athletes go through so much to perform at this level week in,

week out and they go through things like injuries, which they all go

through. But to be doing what he is doing on a stage like this, having

gone what he has gone through, Jamie, goodness me. Just shows you

how difficult it is. You can imagine Steve junior growing up, saying,

come on son, we are going to get to Wimbledon. You can imagine probably