Defending Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached the third round with a laboured victory over an injury-hampered Alize Cornet.
Kazakh Rybakina took the opener but was battling in a tight second set before France’s Cornet fell heavily and badly injured her already-strapped right leg.
Cornet continued after receiving treatment but Rybakina came through 6-2 7-6 (7-2).
Rybakina will face Britain’s Katie Boulter in her next match.
Cornet, ranked 74th in the world, has a history of causing upsets at SW19, having beaten Serena Williams in the third round in 2014 and ended world number one Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak last year.
But from the outset the 33-year-old looked uncomfortable against world number three Rybakina, slapping her thighs, crying out and kicking the ball away in frustration.
Rybakina took the opening set in 26 minutes, with Cornet winning just one point against her opponent’s exquisite serve.
Momentum shifted in the second set as both players held serve and Rybakina ran into some frustrations of her own, missing an easy smash-volley and sending simple shots sailing out of bounds.
Rybakina saved five break points in an epic game at 5-5 before Cornet’s fall, with the Kazakh immediately crossing the court to check on her opponent as the medical team rushed over.
A medical time-out was called after which, much to the surprise of the sympathetic Centre Court crowd, Cornet hobbled back out to the baseline, ultimately forcing a tie-break despite struggling to move.
Rybakina was able to exploit Cornet’s lack of movement to race away with the breaker before the two shared a warm handshake at the end of the match.
Andreeva ‘too shy’ to talk to Murray
Teenager Mirra Andreeva, playing her first senior grass-court tournament, advanced to the third round when Czech 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova retired trailing 6-3 4-0.
The 16-year-old Andreeva, who reached the third round at Roland Garros last month, came through qualifying to reach the main draw, having never played on grass before.
Andreeva previously credited Britain’s Andy Murray for inspiring her to win the first Grand Slam match of her career in Paris.
“I met Andy Murray here. But I’m too shy to talk to him,” she said on Thursday.
“When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not to talk to him because I’m super shy.”
Andreeva, who will either play Russian compatriot Anastasia Potapova or fellow qualifier Kaja Juvan next, said she hopes to play on Centre Court if she makes a deep run at SW19.
“Before I would be definitely scared to play on the Centre Court, but now I want to play on the court with tribunes,” she said.
“If maybe the supervisors will see this press conference, I will tell straightaway I want to play on the court with tribunes.”
What else happened on day four?
Dangerous Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina beat Belgian 28th seed Elise Mertens 6-1 1-6 6-1 in a match of contrasting sets to reach the third round, despite being hampered by an eye problem in the second set.
The 28-year-old 2019 Wimbledon semi-finalist will face 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the third round after the American qualifier eased past China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula secured a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 second-round win over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, while fifth seed Caroline Garcia survived a scare to beat Canadian Leylah Fernandez 3-6 6-4 7-6 (10-6).
Another Ukrainian, Anhelina Kalinina, also won after waiting an extra two days to play her first-round match against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro because of rain delays at the All England Club. The 6-4 6-3 outcome made it worth the wait for Kalinina.
Czech 16th seed Karolina Muchova suffered a shock first-round exit to Jule Niemeier after sustaining a leg injury when she fell in the deciding set, going down 6-4 5-7 6-1 to the German, who is ranked 87 places below her.
There were comeback victories for Croatian 20th seed Donna Vekic, who surged from a set and 5-2 behind to beat American Sloane Stephens 6-4 7-5 6-4, and Swiss 14th seed Belinda Bencic, who overcame American Danielle Collins 3-6 6-4 7-6 (10-2).
An emotional Anett Kontaveit played her last singles match as the former world number two suffered a 6-1 6-2 second-round defeat by Czech player Marie Bouzkova, but she will play in the mixed doubles alongside Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori before she retires aged 27.
Two-time major champion Victoria Azarenka advanced to round three with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska, while former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu won her delayed first-round match against Anna Bondar 6-3 3-6 6-2.