Tennis-Stephens, Johnson win on American Independence Day

Sloane Stephens and Steve Johnson got American Independence Day underway by booking their places in the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday. Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, was off the court in less than an hour after romping to a 6-0 6-2 win over Yafan Wang which took her into round three for the first time since 2016.

Johnson, however, had to toil for almost 3-1/2 hours under a blazing sun before he was able to crawl past Australian 25th seed Alex de Minaur 3-6 7-6(4) 6-3 3-6 6-3. Next up for him will be Japan's Kei Nishikori.

The duo is among 11 Americans in action on day four of the championships, with seven-times singles champion Serena Williams headlining the 4th of July billing.