Tumbles, tears and a true trailblazer as Wimbledon serves up drama

Surface tension

Williams' retirement came soon after Frenchman Adrian Mannarino ended his 33rd birthday not with a win over Roger Federer, which looked a possibility at one point, but instead having to concede he could not carry on, having taken a tumble on Centre Court.

Others found it hard to keep their footing in the early rounds of the tournament. Novak Djokovic joked about how many tumbles he had taken in the first two rounds. "I seem to be having a really nice connection with the grass!" said the Serbian.

The All England Club defended the state of the courts but many players were not convinced after two days of heavy rain.

Felix Auger-Aliassime said parts of the court were like "mud".