Olympic champion Zheng knocked out of Wimbledon
Zheng exited in the first round for a third straight year, losing 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to the unheralded Czech in two hours and 25 minutes in searing heat on Court Three.
It was the fourth time in her past six Grand Slam appearances that Zheng failed to get past the third round, a barren run interrupted by quarter-final runs at the 2024 US Open and this year's French Open.
After finishing as Australian Open runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka last year, Zheng won Olympic gold on the Paris clay in August, beating Donna Vekic in the final.
The 22-year-old, sixth in the WTA rankings, has fared less well on the grass courts of south-west London.
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Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Jannik Sinner ice-cool as Gauff, Pegula and Zverev in shock Wimbledon first-round exits
Records tumbled as seeds were bundled out across the men's and women's draws at the All England Club. World No 1 Jannik Sinner stayed ice-cool to move serenely into the Wimbledon second round, but it was a second successive day of upsets at a sizzling All England Club as a succession of seeded players crashed and burned on Tuesday. American second seed Coco Gauff, chasing a French Open-Wimbledon double after her Paris triumph, was the day's most surprising casualty, losing 7-6(3) 6-1 to Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska as the sun set on a sultry day. Gauff's compatriot, Taylor Fritz, the world No 5, survived a five-set firefight by the skin of his teeth against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. But the same could not be said of 13 of the men's seeds who fell at the first hurdle – a Wimbledon record since 32 seeds were introduced in 2001. Nine seeds also perished in the women's first round while the eight top-10 seeds to go out across both singles draws amounted to the most at a Grand Slam in the professional era. Germany's Alexander Zverev was the most notable men's casualty, the third seed losing 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 to France's Arthur Rinderknech in a marathon duel that began on Monday and was locked at one set apiece overnight. 'I'm not sure he's ever played a match like that in his life,' said Zverev, who is still chasing a first Grand Slam title after 38 attempts. Italian Lorenzo Musetti, seeded seventh, was bundled out on Court Two by Nikoloz Basilashvili – the same court where earlier American women's third seed Jessica Pegula was sent packing 6-2 6-3 by Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto. A red-hot Sinner never looked like joining the exodus as he beat fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 in a victorious return to the Grand Slam stage after his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month. 'I tried to put the friendship away for a couple of hours,' Sinner, who conceded only four points when he landed his first serve, told reporters. Novak Djokovic closed out the day's action on the main showcourt by getting past Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 despite being hampered by a stomach bug midway through his match. He will face Briton Dan Evans next. After seven British players won singles matches on Monday – a professional era record at Wimbledon – home fans had more to cheer on Tuesday as fourth seed Jack Draper, his nation's big hope, avoided any dramas by easing past Argentina's Sebastian Baez who retired hurt trailing 6-2 6-2 2-1. In total, 10 British players have reached round two. Krejčíková tested Women's defending champion Barbora Krejčíková was tested by promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala but after a slow start she found her form to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Centre Court after last year's surprise triumph. 'I mean, what the hell (kind of tennis) she played in the first set?' said Krejčíková, praising her opponent. 'She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines, so wow, wow. She's going to be really good in a couple of years.' Five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Świątek, seeded eight, has yet to conquer Wimbledon but showed positive signs when she beat Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1, while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva advanced after a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mayar Sherif. Both might have expected Gauff to be a major obstacle but the world No 2 subsided against Yastremska. 'I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,' Gauff said about the spell following her Paris triumph last month. 'I didn't feel I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.' The women's draw is now without three of its top five seeds after No 5 Zheng Qinwen of China, the Olympic champion, suffered a third successive Wimbledon first-round defeat, beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Czech doubles specialist Kateřina Siniaková. 'I believe if I get through the first match, I will start to play better and better (on grass),' Zheng said. 'The problem is, the first match for me is complicated.' Many will lament the exit of Wimbledon dark horse Alexander Bublik, seeded 28th. The Kazakh showman is guaranteed entertainment with his array of trick shots, but he was unable to avoid the exit door, as he was dragged into battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2. Late in the day yet another seed fell when Frenchman Ugo Umbert was beaten by veteran countryman Gael Monfils, again defying his 38 years to edge a five-setter. American Fritz survived, though, letting out a huge roar as he beat Perricard 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 in a match carried forward from Monday. Perricard's consolation for losing the cliffhanger was a 246km/h serve, a Wimbledon record. Tommy Paul took out Briton Johannus Monday with little fuss, the 13th seed cruising through 6-4 6-4 6-2, but it was the end of the road for fellow American and 30th seed Alex Michelsen who fell 6-2 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) to Serbia's Miomir Kecmanović. Zeynep Sönmez became the first Turkish woman to reach the second round at the grass-court Grand Slam when she battled past Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(3) 6-3. Victoria Mboko found out a few hours before she faced Magdalena Fręch that she had entered the main draw as a Lucky Loser due to Anastasia Potapova's withdrawal and the Canadian teenager rode her luck to stun the 25th seed 6-3 6-2. Fourteen years after first adding her name to the Wimbledon honours board, twice champion Petra Kvitová performed her last dance on the lawns, the Czech losing 6-3 6-1 to American 10th seed Emma Navarro. Reuters/DM
The Citizen
3 hours ago
- The Citizen
Underdogs targeting major upsets in Wimbledon second round
Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz will turn out as favourites to progress to the third round. Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is in action at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Picture:Some unfancied players will be aiming to cause second-round upsets at the Wimbledon Championships in London on Wednesday. And for those who are willing to take a risk with their Betway cash, there could be some lucrative payouts if title contenders fall in the early stages of the tournament. First up on centre court on Wednesday, at 2.30pm (SA time), women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Russia will be favoured to beat Czech opponent Marie Bouzkova in their second-round clash. Ranked first in the world, Sabalenka is a three-time Grand Slam winner who has twice reached the Wimbledon semifinals. Bouzkova is ranked 48th in the world, but she will fancy her chances of causing an upset, having reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2022. As risky as it might be, Betway is offering 8.00 for Sabalenka to be knocked out ahead of the third round, and the returns might be worth the chance. Can Tarvet cause an upset? And there is even more reward on offer for those who bet against men's defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. Alcaraz is up against British debutant Oliver Tarvet in a second-round match, which will be the second fixture on centre court on Wednesday. The No 2 seed is already a five-time Grand Slam winner, at the age of 22, and he is targeting his third successive Wimbledon title. Tarvet, 21, progressed to the main draw after receiving a wildcard entry for the qualifying round, and he went on to beat Leandro Riedi of Switzerland in straight sets in the first round. Though he is the clear favourite, Betway is offering 17.00 for Alcaraz to be eliminated, and though it is unlikely, Tarvet will be buoyed by the home crowd and will be desperate to make a statement by causing a major upset. Carlos Alcaraz reaches for the ball during his first-round match at Wimbledon earlier this week. Picture: Visionhaus/Getty Images Odds on Wimbledon champions If those bets seem too risky, there are safer options looking ahead to the end of the tournament next week. For overall victory among the men, the current odds are 2.10 for Alcaraz, 2.50 for world No 1 Jannik Sinner, and 6.00 for veteran Novak Djokovic. Among the women, Sabalenka is at 3.25 to go all the way and lift the trophy, while Elena Rybakina is at 4.75 and Iga Swiatek at 6.10. Please note these Betway odds are correct at the time of publishing.
TimesLIVE
4 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Sinner remains ice cool as Gauff, Pegula and Zverev join bonfire of seeds
World number one Jannik Sinner stayed ice cool to move serenely into the Wimbledon second round, but it was a second successive day of upsets at a sizzling All England Club as a succession of seeded players crashed and burned on Tuesday. American second seed Coco Gauff, chasing a French Open-Wimbledon double after her Paris triumph, was the day's most surprising casualty, losing 7-6(3) 6-1 to Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska as the sun set on a sultry day. Gauff's compatriot Taylor Fritz, the world number five, survived a five-set firefight by the skin of his teeth against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. However, the same could not be said of 13 of the men's seeds who fell at the first hurdle, a Wimbledon record since 32 seeds were introduced in 2001. Nine seeds also perished in the women's first round while the eight top-10 seeds to go out across the singles draws amounted to the highest at a Grand Slam in the professional era. Germany's Alexander Zverev was the most notable men's casualty, the third seed losing 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 to France's Arthur Rinderknech in a marathon duel that began on Monday and was locked at one set apiece overnight. "I'm not sure he's ever played a match like that in his life," said Zverev, who is chasing a first Grand Slam title after 38 attempts.
