Scores:
Australia Women   153/3 in 17.1 overs  [Beth Mooney  64, Phoebe Litchfield 48, Ellyse Perry 13*;  Charlie Dean 1-28, Lauren Bell 1-38,  Sophie Ecclestone 1-24] beat England Women 150/4 in 20 overs [Nat Sciver-Brunt 58*, Alice Capsey23, Freya Kemp 44*; Kim Garth 1-20, Lucy Hamilton 1-19, Sophia Molineux 1-32, Annabel Sutherland 1-34] by seven wickets

Novak Djokovic claimed the all-time record for most men’s singles match wins at Wimbledon, but had to overcome moments of visible frustration to beat qualifier Roman Safiullin and reach the quarter-finals.

Djokovic had matched Roger Federer’s record with his third-round victory on Friday, and the 39-year-old earned his 106th win at SW19 by defeating the 132nd-ranked Safiullin 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.

That is second only to the 120 wins achieved by nine-time women’s champion Martina Navratilova.

The Serb beat Safiullin despite an apparent issue with his eyes early in the contest, while he later received a warning for an audible obscenity and was fortunate to avoid a penalty after firing a ball to the back of the opposite side of the court when he lost serve in the third set.

“Survive to thrive – that’s how I feel,” Djokovic said, reflecting on his performances in the first week.

“Hopefully the thriving part is coming!”

Acknowledging his behaviour during the match, he added: “I’m known for my outbursts and meltdowns, I had a few of those today so I apologise.

“Our mind wanders all the time. It is very hard to keep it in the present moment. Whoever manages to do that is the winner.

Djokovic – who is bidding to match Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and claim an outright record 25th major title – was the overwhelming favourite against Safiullin, but found his latest test far from straightforward.

Safiullin, a former quarter-finalist, was in tears after his stunning third-round victory over rising star Joao Fonseca, having struggled with an injury he feared he would never fully recover from six months ago.

The free-hitting Russian, 28, was rewarded for his persistence when he took his first set in four meetings with former world number one Djokovic to prolong the contest beyond the three-hour mark.

But, just as he did against Arthur Rinderknech in the previous round, Djokovic captured the fourth set to seal victory and set up a last-eight meeting with Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Safiullin appeared full of belief as he began his bid for a monumental upset, responding to Djokovic’s immediate break of serve by winning five of the next six games.

But he could not convert that positive position, faltering as he served for the set at 5-3 and eventually coming up short in the tie-break.

Despite the 125-place ranking gap, Safiullin had continued to prove a nuisance in the second set until he presented Djokovic with an opening in the sixth game, and eventually conceded a fourth break point.

Having to come through three consecutive five-set matches since the final round of qualifying to arrive here began to take its toll as Safiullin required a medical timeout for a left-leg problem during the third set.

But he successfully managed that issue to capture his first set in four tour-level meetings with Djokovic, who landed only 57% of his first serves and took out his frustration on a ball after Safiullin took a sixth break point for a 4-2 lead.

Despite that incident, which was booed by the crowd, Djokovic quickly reset and launched a decisive fourth-set response, breaking to love in the second game as Safiullin’s challenge began to fade.

Lifting over a closing drop shot to serve out victory to love, Djokovic embraced Safiullin at the net – and there was deserved warm applause for the spirited qualifier’s performance as his superb run, in which he also ousted 12th seed Andrey Rublev, came to an end.

Djokovic has now been taken to four sets in three of his four wins at this year’s championships, but remains in the hunt for history after reaching his 17th Wimbledon quarter-final.

[BBC]

Sophie Molineux called correctly at the toss and inserted England on a bright, warm afternoon at Lord’s, venue for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup  final.

Both sides were unchanged from comprehensive semi-final victories. Ellyse Perry limped off against West Indies at The Oval on Tuesday but has pulled up well, in the words of her captain, Molineux. Australia  also resisted the temptation to bring in Alana King, who has a fine record against England.

“Beautiful day, want to get out and have a run around, put pressure on them early,” Molineux said. “I don’t think the pitch will change too much.”

Nat Sciver Brunt who missed three games during the group stage but returned to top score against South Africa  in Thursday’s second semi, said she too would have bowled. “But fresh wicket, runs on the board in a final is no bad thing,” she added.

England and Australia both come into the final unbeaten in the tournament, having won all five group games prior to the knockouts. Two mighty records go head-to-head in this contest, too: England have won all four of the Women’s World Cups (50-over and T20) that they have hosted; but Australia have won all six of the finals (50-over and T20) that the nations have contested.

England:  Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt),  Alice Capsey,  Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean,  Sophie Ecclestone,  Linsey Smith,  Lauren Bell

Australia:  Georgia Voll,  Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Litchfield,  Ellyse Perry,  Ashleigh Gardner,  Georgia Wareham,  Annabel Sutherland,  Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (capt),  Kim Garth,  Lucy Hamilton

(Cricinfo)