Kimiko Date-Krumm reaches Wimbledon third round, becomes oldest female player to reach so far

Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm, the grand old lady of the women's singles draw, became the oldest female player to reach the Wimbledon third round in the professional era on Thursday.

The 42-year-old, one of 13 players aged over 30 in the main draw but the oldest by a distance, was too wily for 23-year-old Romanian Alexandra Cadantu in a 6-4 7-5 victory. It is the first time Date-Krumm, ranked 84, has reached the Wimbledon third round since 1996 when she made the semi-finals.

She is the oldest woman to progress to this stage since Britain's Virginia Wade, aged 39 years, in 1985. The oldest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since the game went professional in 1968 is Australia's Frank Sedgman who was 43 at the time in 1971.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)