Barbora Krejcikova dedicated her thrilling three-set Wimbledon win over French Open champion Mirra Andreeva to her tennis-loving niece, who was stuck at home with chickenpox.

The Czech, who won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in 2024, toppled the fifth seed 4-6 7-5 6-4 after almost three gruelling hours on court.

Krejcikova came close to letting victory slip from her grasp as she missed six match points at 5-3 up in the deciding set, but she regained her composure to see out victory a game later as Andreeva’s emotions got the better of her.

Krejcikova said afterwards that she hoped her performance on Centre Court – which she called “the best court in the world” – made her young niece proud.

“I believe my little niece was watching, and my nephew. She is also playing tennis and she loves it so hope she was watching,” the 30-year-old said.

“She’s actually sick, I think she has chickenpox. My nephew got it from kindergarten, so I hope my brother let her and my nephew watch this match.

“I hope she is going to be proud of me and hopefully I can give her some motivation for tennis and also for life.”

Both players looked confused at one point when loud cheers rang around Centre Court after England beat DR Congo to reach the World Cup last 16.

Krejcikova has been plagued with injuries and dropped down the rankings since her triumph at the All England Club two years ago, while she suffered first-round exits at the Australian Open and Roland Garros earlier this season.

“It’s definitely special. I have been through a lot with injuries and also in my personal life in the last couple months,” the world number 38 added.

“It was really hard to get through with the all the emotions of what has happened.”

While Krejcikova celebrated victory with a beaming smile, 19-year-old Andreeva hurled her racquet in frustration and shouted “I quit” towards her team before making a hasty exit off court.

The Russian teenager, who threatened to throw her racquet throughout the match, broke down in tears when she was asked about her performance in a news conference – held just minutes after her defeat.

Asked how long it would take to recover from the loss, Andreeva said she would “need a couple days,” before she choked up.

She then took a moment before continuing: “It’s going to take some time, maybe a couple of days, and then I’m going to be back to practice for hard courts.”

Another day, another stunning Wimbledon outfit for Naomi Osaka.

After the four-time Grand Slam champion arrived for her opening match at the All England Club in an elegant, full-length kimono – entirely white to adhere to the tournament’s strict dress code – Osaka chose to “mix it up a little bit”.

Returning to action on Wednesday, the 28-year-old combined a white jacket with floral pattern with a long train that trailed behind her, attached to her waist by an obi – a large, decorative belt traditionally worn with a kimono.

Osaka stopped spectators and photographers in their tracks on her walk from the locker room to number two court.

Little over an hour later, she equalled her best Wimbledon run by beating Russian Anastasia Gasanova 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round.

“I feel like my inspiration can be anything,” said former world number one Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother and mostly grew up in Florida.

“I took a trip to Japan one day. Obviously, you go to Harajuku [a district of Tokyo famous for its fashion culture], and see everyone expressing themselves through clothes.

“It was just so cool and colourful. That stuck out to me a lot. I kind of used that in my fashion experimentation.

“I don’t really ever have a plan when it comes to clothes. I think it’s OK to try something and fail, but I’d rather just try it and see how it goes.”

Osaka will face Russian-born Australian Daria Kasatkina in the third round, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka a potential fourth-round opponent.

Later, Sabalenka advanced to the third round before making one fan’s day on Court One.

Having just completed a 6-1 7-6 (11-9) victory over McCartney Kessler, Sabalenka stopped and grabbed her phone to take a photo with a young girl who had a replica of the Belarusian’s tiger tattoo on her left arm.

Sabalenka has said the tattoo is to “show her aggressive attitude while playing tennis”.

“It was so adorable. She said she has the same tattoo as me. It was really cute,” the world number one told BBC Sport.

“For me, it’s very inspiring to see little kids copying you, watching you and supporting you.”

Sabalenka will next face former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in an enticing third-round match after the Latvian swept aside Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic 6-2 6-0.