Jack Sock wins doubles match at Wimbledon; Serena Williams avoids upset

A broken finger didn’t stop Jack Sock from advancing Friday at Wimbledon with partner Vasek Pospisil in doubles play.

Sock, a graduate of Blue Valley North High School, and Pospisil beat Eric Butorac and Colin Fleming 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in a second-round match.

In singles play, Serena Williams held off a fierce challenge.

Down 3-0 and 5-4 in the third set, twice within two points of defeat, Williams dug deep and overcame Britain’s Heather Watson 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Friday to keep alive her bid for a fourth straight major title and the third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Next up for the five-time champion: a fourth-round matchup with sister Venus.

Nick Kyrgios, 20-year-old Australian, served 34 aces and hit flashy winners from all over the court and upset seventh-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to reach the round of 16 at the All England Club for the second year in a row.

“I don’t fear anyone,” the 26th-seeded Kyrgios said. “I definitely feel I’m playing better tennis than last year.”

Also advancing were Novak Djokovic, who topped Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, who swept Ferando Verdasco 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; Richard Gasquet, who dismantled No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court; and David Goffin, who downed Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets.

In other women’s play, former champion Maria Sharapova beat 29th-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-3 and has yet to drop a set. The first woman to make it to the fourth round was American Coco Vandeweghe, who beat former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-0. It’s the first time the 47th-ranked Vandeweghe has reached the final 16 at a Grand Slam tournament.

It was the first time Kyrgios has beaten Raonic after two defeats, including in last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinals.

“I didn’t want to lose again,” the Australian said. “I thought it was a good day. I played some really, really good tennis.”

The battle on Court 2 between Kyrgios and Raonic featured two of the young stars of the game and two of the biggest servers in tennis. While Raonic was stolid and businesslike, Kyrgios was as flamboyant and expressive as ever.

He went for spectacular winners, bantered with the crowd, pumped his fists and shouted. He hit three aces in a row in two different games. He hit second serves at 124 mph. He waved his arms in the middle of a point that he lost. He hit a between-the-legs shot from close to the net that went long.

Kyrgios received a code violation in the second set after slamming his racket to the ground so hard it bounced over the back wall into the crowd. A male fan caught it and handed it back to him.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Kyrgios said. “It was a good catch by the fan anyway. ‘'

Kyrgios came out during the second set sporting a Wimbledon headband in the club’s official green and purple colors — only to be told that it was too colorful for the tournament’s dress code. So he turned the headband inside out and wore it that way for the rest of the match.

“They told me to turn it around, so I turned it around,” Krygios said.

This story was originally published July 3, 2015 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Jack Sock wins doubles match at Wimbledon; Serena Williams avoids upset."