Distressed Daria Saville has hit out at confetti-throwing protesters who disrupted her second-round match and her concentration, leaving the Aussie’s Wimbledon challenge in tatters.

On a day when Jordan Thompson put up a brave fight but almost inevitably succumbed to a straight-sets defeat to seven-times champion Novak Djokovic, the drama engulfing Saville and her British conqueror Katie Boulter on Court 18 highlighted a tough day for the Australian challenge.

Saville was leading 4-2 in a first-set tiebreak on Wednesday when a Just Stop Oil protester burst on to court as the players were going to the changeover.

After throwing the confetti, mixed with jigsaw pieces, on to the grass in what was the second protest of its kind during the day, he was bundled away by security.

“I felt horrible. I mean, that actually rattled me. But a lot of things rattle me,” said Saville.

Later reports said the man, who was arrested, was treated in an ambulance.

Saville, meanwhile, helped court staff clean up the confetti while Boulter went into a cocoon of concentration at courtside.

“It was actually nice to just focus on picking up the pieces, instead of stewing over it and thinking ‘OK, what am I going to do next?’,” she said afterwards.

When they resumed play five minutes later, Saville admitted her concentration may have been affected as the British No.1 took control and won the next nine points in a row, taking the tiebreak 7-4 before then winning the first game of the second set.

Saville, who’s been making a comeback after a serious knee injury, then crumbled as Boulter, the girlfriend of Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur, went on to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in a match that lasted just under two hours over two rain-interrupted days.

With Storm Hunter having gone out on the first day, there are no more Australian women left in the singles main draw.

“It was upsetting. I was like ‘Oh, my God, why on my court out of all of them?’ and I’m the worst with being able to refocus,” said Saville, who added that she was also a bit distressed at the sight of the protester being dragged off by security.

Asked if her concentration was affected, she said: “Probably, I don’t know.

“I’ve always struggled with concentration, so it’s probably the toughest circumstances I have had to deal with.”

Despite the loss, and the distraction, Saville was upbeat after her two-day match.

“I’ve definitely not played in a match as extraordinary as that,” reflected Saville, after the straight-sets defeat which stretched over two days on Court 18 because of the rain delays in SW19.

It was the second protest of the day after two other activists were also arrested after spilling confetti on the same court during an earlier men’s singles featuring Grigor Dimitrov.

In Australia’s match of the day, Thompson earned a salute from the great Djokovic for his considerable effort in a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat.

“I do want to be tested, but I don’t really know if I wanted to meet him [Thompson] this early in the tournament,” Djokovic told the Centre Court crowd, while the Sydneysider felt it had been a “privilege” to give the champion a run for his money.

The crowd took Thompson to their hearts so much that Djokovic ended up cupping his hand to his ears afterwards as if to suggest he had been rather unimpressed.

Saville’s defeat came just before Sydneysider Alexei Popyrin threw away a 4-1 lead in the final set of his see-saw first-round match against rising Swiss Dominic Stricker and looked a picture of frustration after a 3-6 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5 loss.

But on another rain-interrupted day, which featured three separate stoppages, there was at least some late-evening encouragement for the Australians with Alex de Minaur, Jason Kubler and Chris O’Connell all leading their first-round matches when darkness forced a suspension.

De Minaur, being cheered on by Boulter, had come from behind to lead Belgian qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3, Kubler was 6-4 4-6 6-2 up against Frenchman Ugo Humbert, while O’Connell extended his lead over Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic to two sets, 7-5 6-4.

The matches will be concluded Thursday as organisers try to clear a backlog of matches because of the rain. Sydney’s Aleksandar Vukic didn’t even manage to get on court for his second-round match on Wednesday.

-with AAP