Aryna Sabalenka says she is thankful for the support of the Wimbledon crowd after not knowing what to expect on her return to the Championships.

Sabalenka was too upset to watch last year’s tournament after Russian and Belarusian players were banned following the invasion of Ukraine.

There were also wins for top seed Iga Swiatek and sixth seed Ons Jabeur.

But French fifth seed Caroline Garcia lost her third-round match to Czech player Marie Bouzkova,, making her the highest seed to have exited the Championships so far.

The US Open semi-finalist lost 7-6 (7-0) 4-6 7-5 to become the third top-10 casualty after Coco Gauff and Maria Sakkari.

Sabalenka’s performance was watched by a buoyant crowd heavily in favour of the Australian Open champion, with one fan passing her their young child to hold for a photograph after her win.

“For me it’s really important to feel the support,” Sabalenka said.

“I didn’t know what to expect from people. After the first match I felt amazing. I was really thankful for all the support.”

On a stiflingly hot Court One, Sabalenka looked out of sorts in the opening exchanges against Gracheva, making 16 unforced errors and giving away her serve three times.

She seemed somewhat affected by the sun beating down on the SW19 turf, using bags of ice to cool down at each change of ends.

Unsurprisingly, Sabalenka left the court to regroup after hitting eight unforced errors in a row and failing to take three break points as she gifted the opening set to Gracheva.

The 25-year-old finally found the breakthrough when she began peppering Gracheva – who switched allegiance from Russia to France in June – with thunderous forehands to level the match at 1-1.

A double-break in the third set saw the world number two return to some semblance of her usual standards as she won the match with a roaring ace to set up a third-round tie against world number 40 Anna Blinkova.

Swiatek gaining confidence on grass

Following her second-round win on Wednesday, 22-year-old Swiatek said she was feeling more confident on the grass as she eyes a maiden senior title at the All England Club.

She has yet to drop a set and her ability to play smart under pressure helped her in the key moments in a 6-2 7-5 victory over Croatia’s Petra Martic;

The victory over Martic – Swiatek’s toughest test so far – equalled her best result at Wimbledon and set up a fourth-round tie against Swiss 14th seed Belinda Bencic.

Meanwhile, Jabeur had waited two days to complete her second-round match against China’s Zhuoxuan Bai because of rain delays.

But last year’s runner-up managed a thoroughly efficient 6-1 6-1 win to set up a third-round meeting with former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu on Saturday.

Azarenka felt ‘guilty’ being away from son

Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka beat 11th seed Daria Kasatkina to reach the third round.

But the Belarusian said life on the WTA Tour as a mum can be difficult as she balances tennis with the “guilt” of being away from her six-year-old son.

“For me the biggest challenge was an emotional attachment – carrying that guilt of having time for myself and planning my day to be sometimes a little bit selfish,” she said.

“I had a feeling that I don’t want to miss out on anything when he’s growing up. That was the most challenging part.”

The 19th seed will face another mum in the fourth round – Ukrainian Elina Svitolina – who returned to the sport in April after giving birth last year.

Svitolina beat former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

What else has happened on day five?

Elsewhere, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova cruised into the third round of this year’s tournament with a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The Czech ninth seed, who won the grass-court title in Berlin in the lead up to the Championships, took just 74 minutes to wrap up victory on a stiflingly hot morning.

Meanwhile, former world number two Paula Badosa was forced to retire from her second-round match against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk with a back problem that had kept her out of the French Open.

Following an awkward exchange with a reporter in her press conference, the Spaniard confirmed afterwards she would not compete in the mixed doubles alongside partner Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The match between Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan also saw the longest tie-break in women’s singles Grand Slam history with Tsurenko dropping to her knees in exhaustion when she eventually won 4-6 6-3 7-6 (20-18) in three hours and 40 minutes.

American 25th seed Madison Keys also advanced with a 7-5 6-3 win over Swiss player Viktorija Golubic while compatriot, fourth seed Jessica Pegula, beat Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto to reach the Championships’ fourth round for the first time.