Wimbledon 2019: Guido Pella ousts fourth seed Kevin Anderson

The Argentine upstaged last year’s runner-up to win 6-4 6-3 7-6(4) on Centre Court.

He faces another big server in the fourth round with 2016 finalist Milos Raonic lying in wait.

The highlight came in the penultimate point of the match as an incredible back-and-forth net exchange resulted in Pella finally putting away a volley and euphorically sinking to his knees.

That gave him two match points, with the 26th making no mistake as he won another duel at the net to sail into the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Anderson, runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year, arrived at the All England Club after an injury-hit season due to a troublesome right elbow and his serve-and-volley game was derailed by a lack of sharpness at key moments.

Pella made a nervy start, saving two break points in his opening service game before settling into his stride.

He kept the 6ft 8in Anderson, the tallest man to play a Wimbledon final, guessing with a dizzying array of shots, including his backhand slice, and made 13 unforced errors compared to 29 from his opponent.

There was little to choose between the two in the opening set until Anderson's first serve deserted him with the score level at 5-5.

Pella turned the screws at the right moment and converted his fourth set point to claim the opener when the South African netted a forehand.

That rattled Anderson, who came out swinging at the start of the second set, but the 33-year-old's timing was off and Pella broke again to race into a 3-0 lead.

Anderson clawed a break back when Pella sent a backhand volley wide with the court at his mercy, but the Argentine broke again and served out the set to take a 2-0 lead.

Anderson, who hit 14 aces and 40 winners, fought on grimly to send the third set into a tiebreak, but Pella kept his composure, winning a stunning exchange of volley that brought the crowd to its feet to earn two match points. He only needed one.