More Gains for Americans on Day With Some Upsets

Just outside the grounds of the All England Club stands a giant blue hydraulic lift that supports a camera to capture a bird's-eye view of the grounds. That may have been the only way to fully appreciate the compelling action that took place Friday from high noon until darkness fell.

While many top players advanced without difficulty, including Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams, two Wimbledon semifinalists from last year were upset, and Serena Williams' quest to win the Grand Slam was nearly dashed on Centre Court before she rallied to defeat the local favorite, Heather Watson, who is 23.

Under brilliant sunny conditions, the day began with the fiery Nick Kyrgios upsetting seventh-seeded Milos Raonic, a semifinalist here last year, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 3-6. Another semifinalist, Grigor Dimitrov, was victimized by Richard Gasquet, who won handily, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

"Pretty simple today," Dimitrov said. "I just didn't play good."

The day's activities ended shortly after 9 p.m. when John Isner's match with Marin Cilic, the defending U.S. Open champion, was suspended because of darkness, tied 10-10 in the fifth set after more than 4 hours, 30 minutes.

Isner is no stranger to marathons. In 2010, he defeated Nicolas Mahut here in a match that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days - the longest recorded match in professional tennis history.

It was a good day for other Americans besides the Williams sisters. Denis Kudla defeated Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, on Court 18 to gain entry into the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career.

On Court 3, CoCo Vandeweghe continued her impressive run by beating Sam Stosur, 6-2, 6-2, winning the last 12 straight games to reach the second week of the tournament for the first time.

Vandeweghe usually spends the Fourth of July with her family, and for the first time in her life, she will be out of the country for the holiday. But she is quite OK with that.

"I'm staying with an American family here, and I'm sure we'll have a barbecue," she said.

Vandeweghe will face Lucie Safarova, who

beat Sloane Stephens, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, another American looking to advance to the fourth round, led Belinda Bencic, 4-1, in the second set, when Bencic took an injury timeout to attend to her right knee and then rallied for a 7-5, 7-5 win.

Bencic, in the fourth round here for the first time, is looking to build on her performance at last year's U.S. Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. She also won the French Open and Wimbledon junior tournaments in 2013, and more recently, she won the Eastbourne tournament.

"It's still so a long way to go, and I have to really have a lot of experience and every match I have to improve," she said.

Bencic is the latest in a line of excellent Swiss players, beginning with Martina Hingis, the former No. 1 player in the world who won five Grand Slam titles.

In the pantheon of recent Swiss stars, Hingis was followed by Roger Federer, perhaps the greatest player of all time, and Stan Wawrinka, the winner of the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open.

Both Hingis and Bencic were trained by Hingis' mother, Melanie Molitor.

Bencic's connection to the family is still strong, with Hingis taking time out from her preparation in the doubles draw to watch Bencic on Court 18 as she fought her way back against Mattek-Sands.

Bencic also remains in contact with Molitor, who started coaching the player at her academy in Zurich when Bencic was 7 years old.

"We call Melanie my coach all the time, and she gives me also advice against top players," Bencic said. "She watches them on TV, and me. Yeah, they just help me a lot."

Federer is looking strong after he defeated Sam Querrey in the second round Thursday and has designs on winning his eighth Wimbledon championship.

Neither Federer nor Wawrinka has lost a set.

"Three sets each match," Wawrinka said. "That's why I'm saying it's perfect matches. In Grand Slams, you have to win, and to win in three sets, it's great."

Timea Bacsinszky is another Swiss player still alive in the women's draw. She is also in the third round for the first time and has yet to lose a set.

Bacsinszky will play Sabine Lisicki on Saturday, which can be seen on one of the main courts, or from the camera high above.