Emma Raducanu knocked out and Andy Murray and his bionic hip faltering in the second round to American slugger John Isner. And that, it seemed, was that: our two past Grand Slam winners gone, and the 9th seed Cameron Norrie the nation’s sole focus.
Many feared we were doomed to fixate upon the machinations of the Centre Court roof until Wimbledon drew to a merciful close.But then out of nowhere emerged a hitherto little-known 25-year-old from Leicestershire called Katie Boulter who pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, beating the former world number one and last year’s runner-up Karolína Plíšková.
Boulter, a 5ft11ins wildcard ranked 118th in the world, came back from a set down to demolish her Czech rival. Wimbledon surged with fresh hope.
That wasn’t our only reason to keep tuning in. On Friday, Guernsey-born Heather Watson smashed her way into the final 16 for the first time in her career.
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