After a clinical demolition of world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round Naomi Osaka looked to be in Wimbledon-winning form, back at the peak of her powers for the first time in years.
But she was handed a painful lesson as she was edged out in a match of fine margins by the wily 10th seed, Karolina Muchova, in the quarter-finals. An increasingly morose Osaka fell 7-6(4) 6-4 under the early evening sun on Centre Court, which had been her kingdom just two days prior.
