Wimbledon Day 3: Tsitsipas wins 5-set thriller; Djokovic, Świątek, Medvedev all advance

Wimbledon returned almost fully Wednesday for the third day of the tournament after weather forced most of Tuesday's matches to be suspended. Even more, protestors halted two matches, though the matches were later able to resume.

As such, there were a bevy of matches to be played, including some high-profile contests featuring Iga Świątek, Novak Djokovic, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. But the match of the day was a five-set thriller won by No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to advance to the second round.

Tsitsipas needed to win two tiebreaks, including a 10-8 battle in the fifth set, to secure a 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, 6-7 (7-6), 7-6 (10-8) win over Austria's Dominic Thiem. He secured the grueling victory with a forehand winner down the sideline that was out of Thiem's reach.

The match took 3:56 to complete. Tsitsipas won't get a day off to recover, thanks to Tuesday's rain delay. He'll return to center court Thursday to face Great Britain's Andy Murray, who will have the support of a London home crowd.

Djokovic faced a battle that included a tiebreak with Australia's Jordan Thompson but didn't drop a set in a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 win. The seven-time and reigning Wimbledon champion advanced to the third round, where he will face the winner between Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry (No. 29 seed) and Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka.

Świątek cruised into the second round, beating Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-0.

How did the Americans do?

Tiafoe grabbed victory against Wu Yibing in three sets despite a back-and-forth opening frame. Tiafoe won the first set after a close tiebreak, only to easily roll through the final two sets to win 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-4. The 10th-seeded American finished with 14 aces but four double-faults. He's looking to eclipse his deepest run at Wimbledon from 2022, when he lost to David Goffin in the fourth round.

Here's how the rest of the American field fared on Wednesday:

• Taylor Fritz beat Yannick Hanfmann after their match was suspended by darkness Monday. Fritz, the No. 9 seed, fell behind but battled back to win 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
  

• Sloane Stephens made quick work of Rebecca Peterson of Sweden. The 30-year-old American won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
  

• The Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely scored a first-set tiebreak against 22nd-seeded American Sebastian Korda en route to a 7-6 (9-6), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 upset to advance to Round 2.
  

• No. 32 Ben Shelton won the first two sets but needed all five to defeat Japan's Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3. The 20-year-old playing in his second Grand Slam secured his first win at Wimbledon with the victory.
  

• In a thriller that required a tiebreak for each set, Serbia's Laslo Djere defeated American Maxime Cressy, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (9-7).
  

• Spain's Paula Badosa beat American Alison Riske-Amritraj in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
  

• No. 25 seed Madison Keys swept the first set en route to a 6-0, 6-3 win over Britain's Sonay Kartal to advance to the second round.
  

• American Tommy Paul defeated Japan's Shintaro Mochizuki, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 in first-round action.
  

• USA's Christopher Eubanks faced a tough match from Brazil's Thiago Monteiro but pulled out a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 victory to advance to the second round.

Notable upsets

• No. 8 Maria Sakkari fell to Marta Kostyuk. Kostyuk, the 21-year-old Ukrainian, advanced to the second round for her third consecutive Wimbledon appearance. Sakkari easily won the first set 6-0, but Kostyuk battled back to win a pivotal second set 7-5 before she rolled through the third, match-winning set 6-2.

• No. 20 Roberto Bautista Agut lost to unseeded Roman Safiullin in a wild five-set outing. After Bautista Agut won the first set, he lost the second but won the third set — both of which included tiebreakers. Safiullin won the final two sets to capture the 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-5 win.
  

• Qualifier Natalija Stevanovic defeated No. 18 Karolina Pliskova without much resistance in a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Pliskova, a 2021 finalist, falls short of the second round.

Other notable results

• Daniil Medvedev staved off Arthur Fery. Medvedev pulled off a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win after a furious bout with Fery of England.

Highlight of the day

This tremendous return by Tiafoe. He hit it exactly where Yibing couldn't.

Protesters pop up multiple times

Rain wasn't the only thing that delayed matches today.

Two "Just Stop Oil" protests halted play at Court 18. The first came during the match between Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov and Japan's Sho Shimbaukuro. Two protestors reportedly ran onto the court during the match and threw 1,000 puzzle pieces and orange confetti glitter onto the grass before sitting down.

They were later escorted off. The pair, identified as retired teacher Deborah Wilde, 68, and retired musician Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, were arrested for aggravated trespass and criminal damage, a spokesperson told The Guardian.

The second protest came a few hours later.