Top-ranked American tennis stars falter at Wimbledon with early-round defeats
Frances Tiafoe, the 12th-seeded men's player, exited the Grand Slam after losing a tough battle to Cam Norrie in the second round on Wednesday. The British tennis player, who entered the tournament unseeded, advanced to the third round after a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
But Tiafoe wasn't the only American to suffer a stunning defeat.
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula — the top-seeded American women's players — were both out after suffering upsets in the first round on Tuesday.
"I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don't like losing," Gauff, the reigning French Open champion, said after losing her match in straight sets to an unseeded Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. "The main thing I'm sure my team and everyone is going to tell me (is): 'You did well at Roland-Garros. Don't be so upset.' Things like that."
Earlier in the day, Pegula also lost in straight sets to 116th-ranked Italian tennis player Elisabetta Cocciaretto. It followed just days after victory over five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek on grass courts at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
But the Americans weren't the only ones to have their Wimbledon dreams abruptly end.
Three-time Grand Slam finalist and the No. 3 seed, Alexander Zverev, lost his first round match to 72nd-ranked Arthur Rinderknech in five sets.
No. 7 seed Lorenzo Musetti was sent packing by 126th-ranked Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round, and major finalists Zheng Qinwen, the No. 5 seed, and Karolina Muchova, the No. 15 seed, were also gone after their first round matches.
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