Ons Jabeur gushes over David Beckham meeting after reaching Wimbledon third round

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Last year's runner-up Ons Jabeur thanked her husband for allowing her to hug David Beckham as she made it through to the third round at Wimbledon. </p>

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The Tunisian met the former England captain, whom she idolises, on Wednesday during his visit and shared an embrace before a brief chat. </p>

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Jabeur described the meeting as inspiring and it might have played a part in her 6-1 6-1 thumping of China's Bai Zhuoxuan on Court One. </p>

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She said: "It has been a pleasure meeting him, he is such a nice guy and very polite and I am glad my husband let me give him a hug. </p>

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"He's such an amazing person. I was really looking forward to meeting him. We've been trying to organise this for a long time. </p>

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"Don't tell my husband that, but yes, I did enjoy that hug, and the very nice conversation with him. </p>

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"I love to meet those athletes because I believe I can learn a lot from him. Hopefully I can meet many more." </p>

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Jabeur has targeted another sporting star to help her out after also meeting American skier Lyndsey Vonn. </p>

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"I met Lyndsey Vonn, as you know we ski a lot in Tunisia!" she joked. "I would love to try skiing, I know it is very dangerous. I have never skied in my life so hopefully Lyndsey will teach me." </p>

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Jabeur is joined in the third round by second seed Aryna Sabalenka while world number one Iga Swiatek booked her fourth-round spot. </p>

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Sabalenka had to do things the hard way after needing three sets to beat Varvara Gracheva. </p>

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The Belarusian put her victory down to a release of frustration in the second set, when she screamed loudly on Court One. </p>

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She said after her 2-6 7-5 6-2 win: "I was little bit crazy in that moment. </p>

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"I mean, I can't throw my racquet on the grass, so I felt like at least I need to scream, kind of lose it a little bit. </p>

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"After that I felt a little bit better. I felt a little relief inside. </p>

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"I felt like I started thinking a little bit better." </p>

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Swiatek equalled her best run at SW19 with a straight-sets win over Petra Martic. </p>

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Paula Badosa had to awkwardly inform a reporter she had lost her second-round match after a back injury ended her campaign. </p>

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The Spaniard was forced to retire when trailing 6-2 1-0 to Marta Kostyuk after her troublesome stress fracture flared up and she revealed she will not be able to play the mixed doubles with her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas. </p>

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To add insult to injury, news of her fitness struggles on Court 18 had clearly not reached an international reporter, who opened her post-match press conference by congratulating her on her victory, prompting a toe-curling exchange. </p>

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Responding to the opening comment, Badosa simply replied: "I lost." </p>

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The reporter did not acknowledge her answer and asked her to talk about her fitness and confidence level, to which she replied: "For your information, I just lost. I didn't win. So, yeah." </p>

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The moderator then again informed the journalist Badosa had lost, which was received by surprise. </p>

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History was made in the battle between Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan as they produced a 38-point tie-breaker - the most in a women's grand slam. </p>

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It came in the deciding set and Tsurenko prevailed, winning 4-6 6-3 7-6 (18). </p>

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Viktoria Azarenka and Elina Svitolina will pair up in a mouthwatering fourth-round match after they both won. </p>

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Azarenka beat 11th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-4 while Svitolina ended Sofia Kenin's resurgence with a 7-6 (3) 6-2 success. </p>

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Fourth seed Jessica Pegula also eased through, but fifth seed Caroline Garcia suffered defeat to Marie Bouzkova for the second year in a row at SW19. </p>

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