Yastremska shocks Gauff; Pegula sent packing by Cocciaretto
London
A stunning Tuesday of upsets at Wimbledon ended with the highest seed to fall so far, as No. 2 seed and reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff was eliminated in the first round.
In a late-evening affair under a closed roof on No. 1 Court, World No. 42 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine toppled World No. 2 Gauff of the United States 7-6(3), 6-1 in 1 hour and 19 minutes.
Yastremska executed some of her best tennis to earn her second career win over a Top 2 player.
Gauff was the third Top 5 seed to be upset on Tuesday, following surprise losses by No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen earlier in the day. Gauff won her second Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros last month but has gone 0-2 since.
Earlier, world number three Pegula struggled to explain her shock Wimbledon exit as she praised the 'insane' performance of opponent Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Last year's US Open runner-up crashed out following a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to the Italian world number 116 in just 58 minutes on Tuesday.
Seeded third, Pegula became the highest-profile casualty of the women's draw so far as Cocciaretto celebrated the greatest win of her career.
Asked what went wrong, the 31-year-old American, who lost in the first round of a grand slam for the first time since the 2020 French Open, replied: 'I don't know. She played absolutely incredible tennis.
'Do I think I played the best match ever? No. But I definitely don't think I was playing bad.
'It's really a bummer to lose. I haven't lost first round of a slam in a very long time, so that sucks.
'I'm upset that I wasn't able to turn anything around. But at the same time, I do feel like she played kind of insane. Hats off to her.'
Barbora Krejcikova avoided being added to the short list of reigning champions to suffer first-round eliminations by battling back to beat Eastbourne runner-up Alexandra Eala in three sets.
The 29-year-old Czech was in danger of joining compatriot Marketa Vondrousova and 22-time grand slam winner Steffi Graf in the history books.
But, having come into the championship nursing a thigh issue after struggling for form and fitness all year, she dug in to progress 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 against 20-year-old Filipino Eala on Centre Court.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
16 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Wimbledon set for another new women's winner as Krejcikova exits
PA Media/DPA London A new name will be on the Wimbledon women's title for the eighth successive tournament after defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and 2022 winner Elena Rybakina were knocked out in the third round. Krejcikova had her blood pressure taken on court during a medical timeout in the deciding set of her 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to 10th seed Emma Navarro. The 29-year-old Czech player, who beat Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 final, appeared visibly distressed for the remainder of the match. She was frequently bent over with her hands on her knees before being in tears at the back of the court ahead of the final two games. Not since Serena Williams lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish for the seventh and final time in 2016 has a female former champion triumphed at the All England Club. In contrast, there have only been five different winners of the men's competition - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Carlos Alcaraz - during the past 22 years. Rybakina earlier suffered a rain-delayed 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 upset against 22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson. The 11th seed made 31 unforced errors across the contest, including sending a straightforward forehand long on match point. 'Grass is very unpredictable, it's very short season, not everyone gets to adjust quick,' she said. 'No one won it (the title) more than once lately. Hopefully it's going to happen soon but it's just very different from all the other surfaces.' Tauson's reward for one of the biggest wins of her career is a last-16 meeting with five-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek, who beat Danielle Collins in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Swiatek, who reached her first final since last year's French Open on grass in Bad Homburg last weekend, is happy to have found her feet, saying: 'I was just in the zone. I knew how I wanted to play and I knew I needed to be brave. Teenage seventh seed Mirra Andreeva awaits Navarro after she rushed into round four with a straight-sets win over American world number 55 Hailey Baptiste. With inclement conditions temporarily halting play on the outer courts, the 18-year-old Russian cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory under the Court One roof. Aside from world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who overcame Britain's Emma Raducanu on Friday evening, Andreeva is the highest seeded player remaining in the women's draw following a series of upsets across week one. Liudmila Samsonova joins compatriot Andreeva in the second week after hitting a monster serve of 128 miles per hour in her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Daria Kasatkina. Samsonova's effort was just short of the Wimbledon women's record of 129mph - set by Venus Williams in 2008. Kasatkina trailed 6-2, 2-0 when play was temporarily halted by rain and could not mount a comeback. Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska in three sets to set up a clash with Samsonova. Belinda Bencic came from a break down in the third set against Elisabetta Cocciaretto to win the second-longest women's match of this year's Wimbledon.
Qatar Tribune
16 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Djokovic joins Federer with Wimbledon century; Sinner also sails through
PA Media/DPA London Novak Djokovic brought up a century of Wimbledon wins as he moved smoothly into the fourth round on Saturday along with world number one Jannik Sinner. The 38-year-old eased past fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 on Centre Court. Djokovic is now just five wins behind Wimbledon's only other male centurion, his great rival Roger Federer on 105 match victories. 'Very historic, it sounds very nice,' he said. 'Tennis made me who I am, it has given me incredible things in life so I try not to take anything for granted, especially at my age and trying to compete with the younger players. 'Wimbledon is a favourite tournament, not just for myself but for most players. Any history I make at my favourite tournament, I'm blessed.' Apart from being broken when he served for the match, it was a pretty routine display for the seven-time champion, although one spectacular diving backhand volleyed winner after a lung-busting rally will make the highlights reel. Sinner meanwehile continued to navigate a serene course through the choppy waters of Wimbledon with another straight-sets win. Pedro Martinez was his latest victim, the Spanish world number 52 - who was carrying a shoulder injury - winning just five games in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 defeat on Centre Court. While 19 seeds perished over the opening two rounds in the men's draw, Sinner has looked unsinkable. In reaching the fourth round, the 23-year-old Italian has dropped only 17 games from his three matches. Roger Federer previously held the record for the least games lost in the first three rounds at Wimbledon, 19 in 2004. 'I watched matches of him and the classics, the all-time classics,' said Sinner. 'The tennis was for sure a little bit different in a way of more serve and volleys back in the days. The grass was different. 'But yeah, obviously I enjoyed it so much, watching Roger play. I never played against him in an official match. But in the other way, how they played, it was amazing. 'About the games lost, this is whatever. I'm not looking at these kind of records. I know that everything can change very quickly from one round to the other.' When Bjorn Borg won the title without dropping a set in 1976 he had conceded 27 games over the first three matches, while Federer - the only other man to achieve the feat, in 2017 - had lost 28. The world number one is yet to have his serve broken and has faced just eight break points, four of which were repelled against Martinez. He has spent only five hours and 23 minutes on court so far, which is six minutes less than his French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month. Sinner will face Bulgarian 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who has had to retire from matches through injury at the last three grand slams but looks in tip-top shape after reaching the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) win over Austria's Sebastian Ofner. Another Italian raced through with Flavio Cobolli dispatching Czech 15th seed Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Cobolli will meet Marin Cilic while a third star from Italy, Lorenzo Sonego, battled past American Brandon Nakashima in a five-setter lasting five hours and four minutes on a packed - and extremely loud - Court 14: 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-6 (10-3). Sonego will take on American 10th seed Ben Shelton, who is another player yet to drop a set after a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 win over Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.
Qatar Tribune
16 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Nine-man PSG beat Bayern in CWC quarters amid Musiala injury shock
DPA Atlanta (Georgia) Nine-man Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in a fierce Club World Cup quarter-final overshadowed by a suspected severe leg injury of Bayern's Jamal Musiala on Saturday. Desire Doue opened the scoring into the bottom right corner in the 78th after Harry Kane lost the ball, six weeks after also shining with two goals in the 5-0 triumph over Inter Milan in the Champions League final. Substitute Ousmane Dembele wrapped up matters deep into stoppage time, after the French champions had lost Willian Pacho for a reckless challenge against Leon Goretzka in the 81st, and Lucas Hernandez earlier in stoppage time for elbowing Raphael Guerreiro. Kane headed home in the 87th but was offside, and substitute Thomas Müller could also not help in what was his final Bayern game after 25 years at the club with dozens of titles and icon status. Musiala meanwhile suffered a suspected left leg fracture, according to dpa sources, in a scramble for the ball with Pancho and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the last play of the first half. Players from both sides looked distraught as German international Musiala, who was making his first start since a muscle injury sustained three months ago, was stretchered off the pitch. While Bayern's campaign is now over, PSG move on into a semi-final against record Champions League winners Real Madrid or Borussia Dortmund, who complete the quarter-finals later Saturday in a rematch of last year's European final. 'Moments decide these games, you win or you lose. We never gave up but that's football,' Bayern midfielder Konrad Laimer told streaming portal DAZN. Looking at the Musiala injury, he said: 'It hurts a lot to lose a player like him. You could see in the first half what a fantastic player he is.' Muller said: 'It is brutally bitter. We are not robots, we have personal relationships. I wish him a good recovery.' He also suggested that it will take a while for him to realise that his Bayern career is now over for good: 'It is a very strange situation. You expect to go back to the hotel to approach the next round and now to have to pack your suitcases.' PSG had the first chance when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia won the ball in Bayern's half and Doué aimed wide left from a distance. Donnarumma needed a full-stretch serve against Michael Olise's attempt from a right angle in the 26th, and Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer was called into action five minutes later when he stuck out his left arm against a shot from Kvaratskhelia who had burst into the Bayern area from the left. But Bayern remained dangerous as Harry Kane headed over and Donnarumma needed another big save against Aleksandar Pavlovic's goal bound ball which was just missed by Musiala. The ball was in PSG's net from Dayot Upamecano's header off a free kick, but the defender was offside shortly before the end of the half which ended tragically with the Musiala injury. Bradley Barcola forced Neuer to another big save shortly after the restart, but the Bayern keeper then almost gifted PSG the lead in the 74th. Neuer came out of his penalty area but his clearance hit Kvaratskhelia, the ball bounced to Dembelé, who had come on a little earlier, but with Neuer sliding in he aimed his shot inches wide. However, PSG were finally ahead in the 78th when they attacked down the right after Kane lost the ball, with Doué drilling home from the edge of the area and Neuer stranded. That ignited a turbulent finale in which Pancho first got his marching orders, Kane's header was disallowed, Hernandez was also dismissed, Dembele clinched matters seconds after hitting the crossbar, and Bayern had a very late penalty nullified upon review.
