Chaos rules supreme on the women’s side at Wimbledon
After four top seeds dropped out of the women’s draw in the first two rounds, the defending Wimbledon champ Garbine Muguruza lost her match.
At Wimbledon, chaos is continuing to wreak havoc through the first two rounds, as remaining top seeds are dropping like flies.
Just a day after the second seed — and Australian Open winner — Caroline Wozniacki shockingly went out during the second round, last year’s winner Garbine Muguruza lost her bid to defend her title, losing in three sets to Alison van Uytvanck, 7-5, 2-6, 1-6, after taking a strong lead in the first set. Van Uytvanck was fearless and Muguruza was off her form.
“She played big, took a lot of risk and it worked for her,” Muguruza said in her press conference. “I also think that my level was not where I wanted it to be. That’s also why she could develop that kind of level.
“It’s a bit sad because I wanted to really go out there. But I think she played great and she has a very good game for this surface.”
There are just two Top Eight women’s players left, including the world No. 1 and reigning French Open champ, Simona Halep, who easily won her match against Saisai Zheng, 7-5, 6-0, justifying why she’ll be retaining her top ranking even if she doesn’t win the tournament. Her maiden slam win at this year’s Roland Garros has provided the Romanian with all the confidence she needed to push through the grass slam.
Also through is last year’s surprise winner at Roland Garros — 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko, defeating Belgian Kirsten Flipkins, 6-1, 6-3. No. 11 seed Angelique Kerber — who has suffered a dip in form since her last slam win at the 2016 Australian Open — defeated American Claire Liu after losing the first set, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
British hopes were dashed when 22nd seed Johanna Konta went out, losing to former world No. 4 Dominika Cibulková, 3-6, 4-6.
The men’s side is less battered than the women’s, but on Thursday, one of the big contenders for the title went out in a shock exit. Last year’s Wimbledon finalist, Marin Cilic, lost to world No. 82 Guido Pella in a resumed match from Wednesday that saw the Argentine launch a comeback to beat the third seed 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5. Considering that the Croat was coming off a remarkable win at Queen’s Club, where he beat Novak Djokovic to gain the title, Cilic is the biggest upset of them all.
His opponent at Queen’s, Djokovic has been proceeding nicely throughout the tournament and proving that his match wins prior were no fluke and this comeback effort is the real thing. He defeated his opponent, Argentine Horacio Zeballos, in three sets, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. However, the three-time Wimbledon champ asked for a trainer to treat a left leg injury, but insists (and certainly played like) it is no concern going forward.
“I’ve been doing check-ups now, it seems like nothing major,” said Djokovic afterwards.
Other title contenders sailed through their matches like clockwork including Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios, and Juan Martin del Potro.
Kyle Edmund — seeded No. 21 — is keeping British hopes alive in Andy Murray’s absence and with Konta’s defeat, by progressing through to the third round. American Francis Tiafoe is also living up to the hype and got through his match in four sets as well as Kei Nishikori — continuing his very positive comeback, also in four sets.
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However, next-gen sensation and the world No. 3 Alexander Zverev looked in trouble after winning the first set over American Taylor Fritz, who bounced back to take the next two sets. The match was suspended and play will resume between the two on Friday. Zverev is looking to prove himself in a grand slam.
In addition to suspended matches from Thursday, the third round matches will proceed on Friday at the All England Club, viewable on ESPN. Roger Federer is set to take center stage in his bid for his ninth title and looks all but unstoppable.