Wimbledon 2016: Friday Results, Highlights, Scores Recap from London

Top women's seed Serena Williams survived a three-set battle with fellow American Christina McHale during a highly entertaining, albeit often rainy, Friday at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships inside the All England Club.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seed on the men's side, might have been saved by a weather delay. He lost the first two sets to Sam Querrey, including an emphatic romp in the second, before the conditions forced a suspension. He'll need to rebound in a big way Saturday to make a comeback.

Let's check out the full list of scores from Friday's action, featuring both completed matches and those that will need to resume tomorrow. That's followed by a look at some of the top storylines.

Friday's Singles Results

Round	Result/Status	Score
-	Completed	-
L2	(1) Serena Williams d. Christina McHale	6-7, 6-2, 6-4
G3	(3) Roger Federer d. Daniel Evans	6-4, 6-2, 6-2
G2	Juan Martin del Potro d. (4) Stan Wawrinka	3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3
L3	(8) Venus Williams d. (29) Daria Kasatkina	7-5, 4-6, 10-8
G2	(10) Tomas Berdych d. Benjamin Becker	6-4, 6-1, 6-2
G2	(12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Juan Monaco	6-1, 6-4, 6-3
L3	(12) Carla Suarez Navarro d. Marina Erakovic	6-2, 6-2
L2	(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Tara Moore	6-1, 2-6, 6-3
G2	(15) Nick Kyrgios d. Dustin Brown	6-7, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
G2	(18) John Isner d. Matthew Barton	7-6, 7-6, 7-6
L2	(21) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova d. Yulia Putintseva	7-5, 6-1
G2	(22) Feliciano Lopez d. Fabio Fognini	3-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
L2	(24) Barbora Strycova d. Evgeniya Rodina	6-4, 6-0
G2	(32) Lucas Pouille d. Donald Young	6-4, 6-3, 6-3
L2	Annika Beck d. Aliaksandra Sasnovich	6-2, 6-1
-	Suspended - Finish Saturday	-
G3	(28) Sam Querrey leads (1) Novak Djokovic	7-6, 6-1
G3	(9) Marin Cilic leads Lukas Lacko	6-3, 6-3, 0-1
L2	Ekaterina Makarova leads (10) Petra Kvitova	7-5
L2	Monica Niculescu leads (11) Timea Bacsinszky	6-4, 2-6, 1-0
L2	(18) Sloane Stephens tied with Mandy Minella	3-6, 7-6, 3-3
G2	(24) Alexander Zverev leads Mikhail Youzhny	6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 4-6, 2-1
G2	Steve Johnson leads Grigor Dimitrov	4-3
G3	Nicolas Mahut leads Pierre-Hugues Herbert	7-6, 6-4, 1-2

Day 5 Recap

One thing Williams has learned over the past two decades is exactly how difficult it is to win Grand Slam tournaments. Even last year at Wimbledon, when she was completing the "Serena Slam," she got pushed to three sets twice before eventually winning the title.

McHale is the latest player to give her a scare. The 24-year-old New Jersey native let the top-ranked player in the world be the aggressor throughout, remaining content to play the best defense possible. The plan almost worked to perfection for the underdog.

Alas, Williams fought back from a set down despite committing 40 unforced errors and hitting six double faults. She unsurprisingly pulled it off using her immense power advantage, tallying 54 winners and 14 aces, highlighted by 21 winners and six aces in the final set.

The 21-time major singles champion stated afterward that her mental strength was a crucial factor once again, per BBC Sport.

"It was a really good match. She played great and always does against me," Williams said. "I know that mentally no one can break me and I knew being a break down in third set I had to put my mind to it and that's what I did."

While she remains the heavy favorite to win the tournament, Friday's close call at least gives everybody else in the field a glimmer of hope.

Elsewhere, Juan Martin del Potro provided the day's best performance on the men's side among the matches that finished. The 2009 U.S. Open champion continues to showcase signs that he's finally trending back toward the level he reached during the early stages of his career.

Facing No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka was an obvious litmus test, where even taking a single set would have marked a promising sign of progress. Winning the match in four sets sets the stage for what could be a strong finish to the 2016 campaign.

You could sense his rapidly growing enthusiasm concerning his play in the post-match comments, provided by James Walker-Roberts of Sky Sports.

"It feels amazing, it's a great sensation," Del Potro said. "I enjoyed the crowd. It's an incredible feeling, that's why my hands are still shaking. I feel alive again. After sitting at home for two years, this feels like a second or third career."

He'll face another tough test from 32nd-seeded Lucas Pouille in the third round. That said, Friday's triumph raises the bar for what he's capable of accomplishing in this event and beyond.

The same could be said for Venus Williams. Her Round 3 match against No. 29 seed Daria Kasatkina was a tough ask. The scheduling issues due to consistent rain this week meant she was playing her third match in about 24 hours after winning in both singles and doubles during Thursday's play.

She endured another wild swing of emotions, most notably being forced into a rain delay on match point. But, in the end, she knocked off one of the WTA Tour's most promising younger players by playing some of her best tennis late in the third set.

Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times provided an interesting note about the hard-fought win:

A match under those circumstances—deep in the third set and delays on short rest—is one the elder Williams sister would probably have lost in previous years as she battled health issues. She's looked revitalized so far this week, however, and looks like a possible contender heading into the fourth round.

Looking ahead to Saturday, all eyes will be on Djokovic to see if he can mount a comeback bid against Querrey. The defending champion doesn't have to think back too far in his Wimbledon memory bank for a source of optimism, as noted by Tom Perrotta of the Wall Street Journal:

The most important thing for Querrey is staying competitive early in the third set once play resumes. He doesn't need to blow out Djokovic like he did in the second, but he can't let the top seed get on a roll right away. A 6-0 or 6-1 set in the Serb's favor and the upset bid could quickly evaporate.

In the bigger picture, Djokovic and Wawrinka going out in short order would blow the men's bracket wide open before the second week arrives.  

All match statistics courtesy of the tournament's official site.