Petra Kvitova

LONDON - Serbia's Natalija Stevanovic is through to the third round at Wimbledon after defeating German Tamara Korpatsch 7-5, 7-5 on Friday.

Stevanovic, who had injury problems in the first set, requested a medical time-out midway through the set and went on to win the match after two hours and 38 minutes of play.

LONDON - Serbia's top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic was on Friday drawn to play Argentine Pedro Cachin in the first round at Wimbledon.

Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev and Janick Sinner are in Djokovic's half of the draw, with Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune in the other half.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova said she opposed the All England Club's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete at this year's tournament.

Wimbledon last year banned players from Russia and Moscow-allied Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine and the Lawn Tennis Association also barred players from other events in the United Kingdom.

World number three Casper Ruud cruised past Thiago Monteiro in straight sets but it was in vain as Norway crashed in their mixed teams United Cup tie against Brazil in Brisbane on Jan. 1.

After the Brazilians won both opening singles rubbers on Dec. 31, Ruud's 6-3, 6-2 victory brought his country back into contention.

Petra Kvitova compared the atmosphere created by Greek Maria Sakkari's supporters on Rod Laver Arena to "a soccer match" but cut through the noise and battled back from a set down to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number three, on Tuesday advanced to the second round of the women's singles event at the Australian Open tournament, the first Grand Slam of the year, after defeating American Jennifer Brady 7-5 (5) 6-1. Seed number 4 Halep, 28, prevailed in an hour and 36 minutes, dominating the second set after a very balanced first one.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has climbed one spot advancing to the third position in the world ranking of professional tennis players (Women's Tennis Association - WTA), released on Monday.

He will begin the new week as the 57th rocket in the world, writes NOVA TV. 

Grigor Dimitrov retreated with four more positions in the world rankings and will start the new week as the 57th rocket in the world. The best Bulgarian tennis player dropped out last week at the start in Atlanta, where he lost against  World No. 405 Kevin King.

 Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number one, advanced to the women's singles final at the 2,874,299-USD Western & Southern Open tournament in Cincinnati (Ohio), after defeating Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6 -3 6-4 in Friday's semis.

Halep, 26, had a consistent play and prevailed in an hour and 16 minutes over 20-year-old Sabalenka, world number 34.

Romania's Simona Halep further tops the WTA ranking, 1,225 points clear of world No. 2, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

This is Halep's 33rd week at the top of the world ranking (17 weeks straight) and next Monday will see her overcoming Germany's Angelique Kerber, who spent 34 weeks as WTA leader, placing her 12th in an all-time record.