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What is going on with ‘nerves’ at Wimbledon? There are now a record amount of seeds out

By Veronica Elizabeth Bruno

US player Venus Williams reacts after losing a point against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens during their women's singles third round match on the fifth day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2018. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)
US player Venus Williams reacts after losing a point against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens during their women's singles third round match on the fifth day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2018. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) /
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And just like that, two more top 10 seeds went out in the third round matches on Friday. Ninth and 10th seeds Venus Williams and Madison Keys both lost, leaving just Karolina Pliskova (seventh seed) and Simona Halep (first) left in the draw of the top 10.

A lot of the top players at Wimbledon have mentioned “nerves” while getting ousted by unexpected opponents. Petra Kvitova — the most successful woman on the Tour this year with five titles — said her nerves got the better of her. Garbine Muguruza said “the nerves were there again.” Grigor Dimitrov, who went out in the first round, mentioned that facing former world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka (who was ranked No. 224 due to injury absence) was a “tough pill to swallow.”

And now Madison Keys, one of the few left after the first two rounds, said she was “nervous” thinking of a potential matchup with Serena Williams that would have taken place on Monday, letting her opponent today, 120th-ranked Evgeniya Rodina, get the better of her, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Eight of the top 10 women’s seeds are out, an Open Era record at the grand slam. At this stage of the tournament, in the third round — or the round of 32 — the seeded players (32) are supposed to be meeting for the first time. Only half the seeds are through on the men’s side, a record since 2003.

This is bizarre.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are through, of course, but it seems as if the upheaval of the Top 40 players indicate some sort of shift in tennis at the moment. Many former top players are also coming back on tour (and ranked lower than they were), such as Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka and Serena Williams (except in her case, not injury, but back from maternity leave), so the seeds are a bit mixed up, to say the least.

On the women’s side, Karolina Pliskova came back after losing the first set against 32nd seed Mihaela Buzărnescu of Romania, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1, and securing a matchup against 20th seed, Dutch Kiki Bertens on Monday for the Round of 16.

French Open champ Simona Halep will be playing her third round match on Saturday.

American Madison Keys wilted at the end of her match against qualifier Evgeniya Rodina, buckling under the pressure to close in the third round, 7-5 5-7 6-4, despite rallying in the middle set. Keys referred to her performance as “a case of massive, mishandled nerves.” No saying.

Venus Williams had a tight match with 20th seed Bertens, but looked the less energetic of the two, with Bertens steeling her nerves to close it out, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 8-6.

“I will have a little celebration, rest a little, but I can celebrate a little because I am in the second week of Wimbledon,” said Bertens afterwards.

Also through their matches today were Julia Gorges, Ekaterina Makarova (despite Wozniacki saying she “wouldn’t go far” in the tourney after losing to her– ouch), Donna Vekic (with boyfriend Stan Wawrinka, who is out, watching), Camila Giorgi, and of course, Serena Williams.

Nerves weren’t anywhere to be found with eight-time Wimbledon champ Roger Federer exuding cool confidence, with a little fun, including his in-your-face SABR (Sneak Attack By Roger) move, gliding through the win over Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

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“It’s a wonderful feeling walking out there,” said Federer, one of the few who can probably say that.

Young sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first Greek male to reach a grand slam fourth round, at age 19 only. If there is an answer to the next generation of male players after Federer and Nadal, this talented Greek will certainly be in the mix.

The always entertaining-to-watch Gael Monfils reached his highest Wimby round by making it to the round of 16 with a four set win over 11th seed Sam Querry, 5-7 6-4 6-4 6-2, despite suffering a slight groin injury scare during the match, which he recovered from.

Alexander Zverev, a much touted player, looked in danger of going out of anther grand slam before the third round, but found his rhythm when play progressed today and fought five sets to beat American Taylor Fritz, 6-4 5-7 6-7 6-1 6-2. He faces Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the third round on Saturday.

Americans Mackenzie McDonald and ninth seed John Isner, as well as Adrian Mannarino and Kevin Anderson, all won their matches.

Third round matches conclude on Saturday at Wimbledon, including exciting matchups between British hope Kyle Edmund — who will surely have the crowd behind him — and Novak Djokovic, while Nick Kyrgios takes on a resilient Kei Nishikori. Matches can be viewed on ESPN and Tennis Channel.

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