‘Oh my god': Wimbledon rocked by madness as top seeds left ‘scattered on ground'

Mercury

2 days ago

Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic avoided the pitfalls but local hope Jack Draper wasn't so lucky, joining a long list of seeds to exit Wimbledon early as a wild start to the tournament continued on Friday morning.
Draper, the fourth seed, had hopes of a deep run at his home slam, but was upset in four sets by veteran Marin Cilic, who secured his first win against a top five player on grass in a 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4 victory.
Draper is the new figurehead of British tennis after taking on a role filled for a generation by the now-retired former Wimbledon winner Andy Murray.
But the 23-year-old has a poor record at his home Grand Slam. He is yet to make it past the second round in four appearances at the grass-court tournament.
As Cilic secured match point, a commentator said: 'The older man making new memories at Wimbledon - Jack Draper joins all the other seeds scattered on the ground.'
Jack Draper of Great Britain applauds the fans as he leaves the court following defeat against Marin Cilic. (Photo by)
Croatia's Marin Cilic celebrates his first win against a top five player on grass. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Eight top 10 seeds in the men's and women's singles were beaten in the first round, which ranks as the most at a Grand Slam in the Open era.
American 13th seed Tommy Paul was another high-profile victim overnight after losing to Sebastian Ofner in four sets.
But de Minaur joined fellow Aussie Jordon Thompson in the third round despite dropping the first set in his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 triumph against Arthur Cazaux.
De Minaur faces qualifier August Holmgren in the round of 32, before a likely fourth round match against Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic is on track to meet world No. 1 Sinner after the Italian had no problems winning past Aussie Aleksandar Vukic on Friday morning.
Sinner was clinical on his way to a 6 1, 6-1, 6-3 victory.
There was late drama over at Court 2 with Aussie Rinky Hijikata on the brink of being eliminated before play was suspended.
Ben Shelton appeared to be moments away from securing his spot in the third round with a 6-2 7-5 5-4 lead, but play was stopped due to bad light.
The American was understandably furious. He had three match points on Hijikata's previous service game.
'Oh my god,' leading tennis journalist Jose Morgado posted on X after the match was suspended to be resumed on Friday night (AEST).
Hijikata's likely defeat means there will be just three Australians through to the third round in the gentleman's and ladies' singles draws.
Daria Kasatkina, in her first Wimbledon tournament representing Australia, won through to the third round with a 6-2 4-6 6-1 victory over Romanian Irina Camelia Begu.
Djokovic earlier crushed British wildcard Dan Evans second round as he stepped up his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title.
The Serb needed just one hour and 47 minutes to dispatch Evans with a ruthless 6-3 6-2 6-0 victory on Centre Court.
'It means I've been playing quite a long time!' Djokovic said when told he had just secured his 99th Wimbledon match victory.
'I still enjoy it. This court has given me so much. Wimbledon has a special place in my heart. Any history made here is obviously extra special.'
Djokovic is dreaming of putting an exclamation point on his incredible career by becoming the most successful singles player in tennis history.
The 38-year-old has been tied with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam titles since winning his most recent major prize at the 2023 US Open.
And despite losing the last two Wimbledon finals against Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic believes the lawns of southwest London provide his best chance to win that elusive 25th major.
'I'm aware of the history on the line. I'm thinking about the big things I can do in this tournament,' he said.
'I don't reflect on it for now. I think that will come when I sip a margarita on the beach with (Roger) Federer and (Rafael) Nadal!'
Jannik Sinner also did it easy, smashing Aussie Aleksandar Vukic 6-1 6-1 6-3.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic was in rare form. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP)
Only one of the top five women's seeds - world number one Aryna Sabalenka - is still standing.
But defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek avoided joining the big name casualties with hard-fought three set wins.
Krejcikova has had a miserable time with injuries this year and arrived at Wimbledon with just six matches under her belt in 2025.
Despite not feeling 100 per cent, she overcame American Caroline Dolehide 6-4 3-6 6-2 to set up a meeting with Emma Navarro.
'Definitely a huge relief,' said the Czech. 'I wasn't feeling that well but I was fighting for every ball. I'm really happy I won the third set.'
Swiatek has previously struggled on Wimbledon's lush lawns despite being a former junior champion at the All England Club.
The former world number one dropped the first set to American Caty McNally before roaring back to win 5-7 6-2 6-1.
Elena Rybykina, Wimbledon winner in 2022, was in fine form as she demolished Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-1.
Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva, aged just 18, beat Italy's Lucia Bronzetti 6-1 7-6 (7/4) on Court One.
- with AFP
Originally published as 'Oh my god': Wimbledon rocked by madness as top seeds left 'scattered on ground'