Kyrgios beats Lopez, will face Murray at Wimbledon; Serena Williams notches 300th Grand Slam win

LONDON – Nick Kyrgios fired 27 aces to next line up against Andy Murray after a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Feliciano Lopez on “People’s Sunday” at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios, an Australian who is seeded 15th, duplicated his fourth round from 2015. Murray has won all four of their previous matches.

There was action on the middle Sunday for the first time in 12 years and fourth time overall since 1991 after rainy weather in the first week. Kyrgios goes into the Monday contest against Murray after scratching through a rainy first week, plagued by multiple match delays and interruptions around the grounds.

Murray, by contrast, has motored through, thanks to a schedule which has put him on Centre Court – with it’s moveable roof – for all of his matches.

“I have the tools to beat him, but Andy is one of the best in the world,” Kyrgios said of the second seed. “He has to be the favorite. I’ll got out and not do anything different. I’m really looking forward to the match.

”I would have liked to have a normal schedule and recovery, but I’ve played three tough matches and I’ve played some really good tennis. I’m happy with how I played today, the level was very high.“

Seventh seed and two-time semifinalist Richard Gasquet reached the fourth round over Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-3.

His 12th-seeded compatriot, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, outlasted John Isner, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 19-17, to reach the fourth round after four hours, 24 minutes on court.

France put a third man into the fourth round, as Lucas Pouille defeated Juan Del Potro, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-5, 6-1.

Del Potro is slowly coming back from more than a year of wrist problems but is happy to be back on court.

”I’m exhausted, I finished really, really tired at this tournament, Del Potro said. “My body is hurting everywhere, but that’s normal. I have to keep working hard, because in the future I will need to be ready between matches and feel better physically than today.

”I’m not rushed to play better, I’m not rushed to rise in the rankings. I just have to stay patient and keep working hard, trying to get better as soon as I can.“

On the women’s side, Serena Williams notched her 300th victory at a Grand Slam as she beat German Annika Beck, 6-3, 6-0.

The 34-year-old nudged past Chris Evert’s 299 victories but would not be able to surpass the all-time mark of 306 held by Martina Navratilova at this edition. Her next chance would come at the U.S. Open.

The top seed advanced without too much effort, winning in 51 minutes over Beck.

On Monday, Williams will face fellow multiple Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova after the Russian beat Sloane Stephens, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 8-6, coming from 2-5 down in the final set.

”I’d like to have had a faster start,“ Williams said after her quick outing. ”But I was very focused and calm today.

“This gives me a lot of confidence. I know what it takes to win these tournaments. It’s just about now just doing it.”

Williams is looking for her first Grand Slam tittle in a year after losing a U.S. Open semifinal and going out in finals at the Australian and French Opens.

Her campaign to surpass Steffi Graf on 22 Grand Slam singles titles has been stalled ever since she beat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the 2015 final at the All England Club.

American Coco Vandeweghe defeated U.S. Open finalist Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4 while Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova put out Swiss 11th seed Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3, 6-2.

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