Tennis: Kiwi Lulu Sun continues to rise with steely second-round win at Wimbledon

Kiwi tennis player Lulu Sun has continued her historic charge at Wimbledon, advancing to the third round with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 win over Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva.

Just as she had in her first-round match against world No. 8 Zheng Qinwen, the 23-year-old Te Anau-born Sun battled back after losing the opening set to close out victory in just over two hours.

Sun advances to face world No. 61 Linz Zhu from China on Saturday (NZ time).

Starodubtseva got off to a great start to this match, breaking Sun in the first game, then holding to love. The Kiwi got the break back in the middle of the set, but was broken again at 4-4.

Sun got a break early in the second set, but came close to losing it when she fell behind 40-15 at 4-2. But as she so often has many times during these championships, was able to serve her way out of trouble and go up 5-2.

The next game was a marathon, going to deuce 13 times before Starodubtseva finally managed to get the hold. But it wasn't enough to save her, as Sun clinched the set with an ace in the following game.

Before the start of the third set, Starodubtseva received a medical time-out for an issue with her left foot. Although she showed no signs of physically struggling, the Ukrainian was broken in the opening game.

Sun got another break later in the set, then held to love in the final game.

Meanwhile, American Naomi Osaka's goal to improve her grasscourt game will have to wait for at least another 12 months after her Wimbledon comeback stalled in the second round in a 6-4 6-1 walloping by American Emma Navarro that mercifully lasted only 58 minutes.

When the four-times Grand Slam champion returned to the tour in January following a 15-month maternity break, top of her wish list was to "do much better on clay and grass".

Unfortunately for the Japanese superstar, she failed to match even her career-best third-round showings at the French Open and now at Wimbledon.

She put in a rousing performance at Roland Garros as she almost pushed world number one and eventual champion Iga Swiatek over the edge, squandering a match point before perishing in the second round.

A month later, however, her second-round performance under a closed Centre Court roof was as lousy as the British weather as her game fell apart against the American 19th seed after she produced four erratic errors to get broken in the seventh game of the first set.

Navarro did not let her opponent's status distract her from the job at hand and she kept up the relentless pressure in the second set as she raced into a 3-0 lead.

The popular Japanese player, competing at Wimbledon this week for the first time since 2019, was given a roaring ovation from the crowd when she finally registered a game to avoid a second-set whitewash but that was only a brief reprieve and she bowed out by slapping a forehand long.

In the men's draw, defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz made a shaky start against unseeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic but moved through the gears to seal a 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2 win and reach the third round.

Alcaraz broke for a 4-2 lead as Vukic miscued an overhead smash at the net but the Spaniard handed the advantage back to his 69th-ranked opponent three games later and was broken again in the opening set. 

He recovered to force a tiebreak, where he took a healthy 5-1 lead, but allowed Vukic to win three straight points only to raise his level again and take the set as Spanish fans breathed a sigh of relief on Court One.

The French Open champion, who is bidding for a fourth Grand Slam title, did not give Vukic any more opportunities and closed out the second set quickly before easing through the third.

Kiwi tennis player Lulu Sun has continued her historic charge at Wimbledon, advancing to the third round with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 win over Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva.

Just as she had in her first-round match against world No. 8 Zheng Qinwen, the 23-year-old Te Anau-born Sun battled back after losing the opening set to close out victory in just over two hours.

Sun advances to face world No. 61 Linz Zhu from China on Saturday (NZ time).

Starodubtseva got off to a great start to this match, breaking Sun in the first game, then holding to love. The Kiwi got the break back in the middle of the set, but was broken again at 4-4.

Sun got a break early in the second set, but came close to losing it when she fell behind 40-15 at 4-2. But as she so often has many times during these championships, was able to serve her way out of trouble and go up 5-2.

The next game was a marathon, going to deuce 13 times before Starodubtseva finally managed to get the hold. But it wasn't enough to save her, as Sun clinched the set with an ace in the following game.

Before the start of the third set, Starodubtseva received a medical time-out for an issue with her left foot. Although she showed no signs of physically struggling, the Ukrainian was broken in the opening game.

Sun got another break later in the set, then held to love in the final game.

Meanwhile, American Naomi Osaka's goal to improve her grasscourt game will have to wait for at least another 12 months after her Wimbledon comeback stalled in the second round in a 6-4 6-1 walloping by American Emma Navarro that mercifully lasted only 58 minutes.

When the four-times Grand Slam champion returned to the tour in January following a 15-month maternity break, top of her wish list was to "do much better on clay and grass".

Unfortunately for the Japanese superstar, she failed to match even her career-best third-round showings at the French Open and now at Wimbledon.

She put in a rousing performance at Roland Garros as she almost pushed world number one and eventual champion Iga Swiatek over the edge, squandering a match point before perishing in the second round.

A month later, however, her second-round performance under a closed Centre Court roof was as lousy as the British weather as her game fell apart against the American 19th seed after she produced four erratic errors to get broken in the seventh game of the first set.

Navarro did not let her opponent's status distract her from the job at hand and she kept up the relentless pressure in the second set as she raced into a 3-0 lead.

The popular Japanese player, competing at Wimbledon this week for the first time since 2019, was given a roaring ovation from the crowd when she finally registered a game to avoid a second-set whitewash but that was only a brief reprieve and she bowed out by slapping a forehand long.

In the men's draw, defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz made a shaky start against unseeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic but moved through the gears to seal a 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2 win and reach the third round.

Alcaraz broke for a 4-2 lead as Vukic miscued an overhead smash at the net but the Spaniard handed the advantage back to his 69th-ranked opponent three games later and was broken again in the opening set. 

He recovered to force a tiebreak, where he took a healthy 5-1 lead, but allowed Vukic to win three straight points only to raise his level again and take the set as Spanish fans breathed a sigh of relief on Court One.

The French Open champion, who is bidding for a fourth Grand Slam title, did not give Vukic any more opportunities and closed out the second set quickly before easing through the third.

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