Alexander Zverev contemplates therapy after shock exit: Never felt this empty
"Maybe for the first time in my life, I'll probably need it (therapy). I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do," Zverev said.'Just lacking joy'It was also the first time that Zverev crashed out in the first round of a major since Wimbledon 2019. Despite being ranked in the top three for a significant period, Zverev is yet to win a Grand Slam in 38 attempts.advertisement"It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well. Even when I'm winning... it's not necessarily a feeling that I used to get where I was happy, over the moon,' Zverev added.Zverev looked indifferent in the match as he failed to convert even one of his nine break point chances.Zverev's loss to his French opponent meant that 13 of the 32 men's seeds have failed to make their way through to the second round.- EndsMust Watch
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The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Alcaraz ends Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure, Paolini crashes out
Carlos Alcaraz ended Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure on Wednesday (July 3, 2025), seeing off the British amateur in straight sets to reach the third round as last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini joined the exit of stars. A record-breaking number of top seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round but Alcaraz and women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka avoided second-round shocks on Centre Court. Defending champion Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd. "First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest," said the Spaniard after his 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win. "I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well." Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club. The 22-year-old, who beat Jannik Sinner in the final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass -- his last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. The second seed hopes to become the fifth man in the Open era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. Also Read | Jannik Sinner won't say why he fired two team members right before Wimbledon In stark contrast, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money. As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and must give up most of his earnings. While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion, Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round. "It was just really special. It's not every day that you get to play against maybe the best player in the world. I did a pretty good job of enjoying the moment and trying to play some good tennis," said Tarvet. Seeds tumble In the first two days, eight of the top 10 seeded players across the men's and women's singles draws were eliminated, a Grand Slam record in the Open era. Second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen all lost in the first round. And Italian fourth seed Paolini was next to stumble in the second round on Wednesday. Paolini, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon title match, slumped to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Russian world number 62 Kamilla Rakhimova. But Sabalenka bucked the trend, out-duelling 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a heavy-hitting contest. The Belarusian, who suffered painful defeats in the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, lashed an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes. "Honestly it's very sad to see so many top players losing but you better focus on yourself," said the three-time Grand Slam winner. "I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!" Sabalenka's next opponent is Britain's Emma Raducanu, the former US Open champion beating 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3. Sixth seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys also advanced, making short work of Serbia's Olga Danilovic in a 6-4, 6-2 win. On the men's side, 13 seeded players lost in the first round, breaking the previous tournament record of 11 and tying the 2004 Australian Open for the most at a Grand Slam. American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe was the latest leading man to suffer the agony of an early defeat, going down 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 against British world number 61 Cameron Norrie. But fifth seed Taylor Fritz avoided the same fate, winning a second successive five-set marathon under the Court One roof against Gabriel Diallo to progress. The Eastbourne champion, who has played on all three days of the tournament so far, was pushed all the way by the Canadian but clinched the final set 6-3. "That's an incredibly hard match... tomorrow is going to be a very light hit," said the American.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Wimbledon: Seeds fall on grass as season takes backseat
Coco Gauff spent a few moments staring at the baseline a few inches away from her, shell-shocked. Her serve had been sent back with a full-blooded inside-out forehand that eluded her stretched racket. World No. 2 Coco Gauff after losing her first round match against Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska. (REUTERS) At the other end of the court, Dayana Yastremska emptied her lungs in a roar that marked the biggest win of her career. The Ukrainian had just beaten the world No.2 and with it, pulled off the biggest upset at Wimbledon this year. By the time Gauff stepped on the No.1 Court at the All England Club, fans at Wimbledon had already been left stunned with the first round exits of World No.3s Jessica Pegula and Alexander Zverev. Pegula lost to Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who watched Wimbledon last year while in hospital. Zverev lost to French journeyman Arthur Rinderknech who has been part of the main draw at Wimbledon just once before. And while fans were still taking in the upsets, Gauff, the recently crowned French Open champion was sent packing. The most prestigious of the four Grand Slams has set some new records it would rather not have. Of the 64 seeds in the men's and women's singles draws, 23 have suffered a first round exit. This is the first time in the Open Era, which began in 1968, that two of the top three seeded women have lost in the opening round of a major. It is the first time four each of the top 10 seeds in the men's and women's draw have lost in the first round of a slam in the Open Era. And with 13 men's singles seeds losing their opener, it's tied for the most with the 2004 Australian Open. Joining Zverev in making a first round exit is seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti, eight seed Holger Rune and ninth seed and former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev. Among the women, world No.5 Qinwen Zheng and No.9 Paula Badosa lost early along with Gauff and Pegula. As unexpected as the results have been, they are not necessarily unsurprising. There is a method to the madness that comes with the short transition between clay and grass. The switch between the two surfaces is one of the most difficult to adjust to in the sport. On clay, the ball bounces higher and the ball slows when it comes in contact with the surface. On grass, the ball stays low and zips through on the bounce. The clay season generally starts in March and goes on till early June, ending with the French Open. Then players have only three weeks to figure out the nuances of grass before entering the manicured lawns of the All England Club. That short turnaround is difficult to overcome. 'I was struggling to feel comfortable on the court from the beginning,' Musetti said after losing to the hard-hitting Nikoloz Basilashvili. 'Even in the lateral movements -- normally I know how to move -- today seems like I never played on this surface.' Musetti reached the semi-final of the French Open but retired from the match with injury, which possibly caused him to skip all the pre-Wimbledon tune-up events. But Medvedev, the back-to-back semi-finalist at Wimbledon coming into the Slam this year, had reached the final of the ATP grass-court event in Halle, Germany just a week before travelling to London. He lost in four sets to Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. 'First round, many, many times you play a bit worse,' the 2021 US Open champion said in his press conference after the match. 'If this was the second or third round, maybe I would have had better shots and played better.' The players of today's era of tennis are mostly bred on hard and clay courts. It is on those surfaces that they emerge as the best players in the world. Grass, especially the early rounds, has often proven to be the great leveller -- no one quite knows how to play on it anymore. You may have the shots and the mentality, but if you are struggling to adjust with the court conditions, the route to victory gets all the more tough. As 23 seeds found out in the first round at Wimbledon.
Economic Times
3 hours ago
- Economic Times
Sabalenka praying for no more Wimbledon upsets after battling win
London, Jul 02, 2025 -World number one Aryna Sabalenka said she hopes there are "no more upsets" at Wimbledon after reaching the third round with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over Marie Bouzkova on Wednesday. Several stars suffered shock first round exits from the All England Club, including second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen. Top seed Sabalenka was pushed hard by Bouzkova in Wednesday's opening match on Centre Court as her Czech opponent matched fire with fire in a bruising she eventually had too much in her locker for her 48th-ranked opponent, firing an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 Belarusian said after her win she was aware of the seeds who had crashed out but planned to focus on her own game. "Honestly it's very sad to see so many top players losing in the first round but you better focus on yourself and stay away from the results," she said."I mean of course you're going to know the overall picture but it's better to take it one step at a time and do your best every time you're out here competing and I'm trying to stay away."I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!"The first set went with serve until Sabalenka doubled-faulted in the 11th game to hand Bouzkova the chance to serve for the the Belarusian broke back with a searing backhand down the line and came out on top in the tie-break to establish a foothold in the broke again in the fifth game of the second set to move within sight of victory and closed out the match with little fuss. She will face 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu or former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the third round on Friday. Although Sabalenka is a three-time Grand Slam champion, she has suffered agonising three-set defeats in this year's Australian Open and French Open finals. The 27-year-old has never been beyond the Wimbledon semi-finals and missed last year's tournament with a shoulder
