Wimbledon 2021 Results: Novak Djokovic charges into 4th round while Murray faces defeat

Former world number one Andy Murray's inspiring run at Wimbledon 2021 came to a close on Friday as he lost in straight sets by 10th seed Denis Shapovalov. Murray, the two-time winner, lost 6-4 6-2 6-2 to left-hander Shapovalov in the men's singles third-round match at the Centre Court after putting on a show and exciting his supporters in the first week. With this victory, the Canadian became the first Canadian to get to the second week at Wimbledon.

Murray, 34, had wowed his fans on Monday and Wednesday with thrilling successes over Nikoloz Basilashvili and German qualifier Oscar Otte, who was playing singles at Wimbledon for the first time since 2017 following two hip surgeries.

On his way to victory, the 22-year-old Shapovalov hit 45 winners, including 13 aces, and saved eight of the nine break points he faced. He'll play eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who is attempting to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the second time.

Meanwhile, in other men's singles matchups, top seed Novak Djokovic cruised to a straight-sets victory over a tenacious American qualifier, Denis Kudla, in the third round of the All England Club on Friday.

Djokovic advanced to the fourth round of the tournament by defeating the Ukraine-born American Kudla 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) in two hours and seventeen minutes.

Djokovic, who is chasing his sixth Wimbledon crown, was too powerful for 114th-ranked Kudla, and while the American put up a fight in the third set, the 34-year-old Serb proved unstoppable and won in the third-set tiebreaker. Djokovic, who won his fifth title here in 2019, hit eight aces and 34 winners on his road to victory. He had 28 unforced errors against Kudla's 35.

Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, thrashed Fabio Fognini 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in under three hours earlier on Friday to lead a Russian drive into the fourth round. Rublev converted five of the 13 break points he faced, slammed 13 aces, and won 73 percent of his first serve points.

The 23-year-old, who is ranked No. 7 in the world, took 43 minutes to win the first set. After losing an early lead in the second set, the Italian battled back. To clinch the set, he won three straight games after falling behind 2-4.

The Russian, on the other hand, won the third set, and despite falling behind 0-1 in the fourth, he just cruised to victory.

Karen Khachanov, a Rublev countrywoman, beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 46 minutes earlier. Tiafoe's straight-set loss came as a shock since he had beaten third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the opening round.

The twenty-fifth seed Khachanov won 81 percent of the first service points and three of the six break points he faced.

On Friday, 17th seed Cristian Garin defeated Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, and Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (4).