WIMBLEDON, UK — Among the noteworthy developments Wednesday at the Wimbledon Open, Novak Djokovic became, after Roger Federer and Serena Williams, the third player in tennis history to win 350 Grand Slam matches; Karolina Pliskova, a runner-up two years ago, was knocked out in the first round against a qualified player; Eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari won the first set 6-0 but found a way to fall.
These are the least unusual events to have occurred at the All England Club on the third day of the tournament. That’s because protests and, of course, rain have been in the news.
Three environmental activists have been arrested for interrupting matches by taking to the court to throw orange confetti – hidden in the boxes of 1,000-piece Center Court puzzles sold in tournament merchandise shops – and attract attention on an anti-oil organization.
“We’ve had enough weather disruption,” four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist and All England Club board member Tim Henman said during the BBC rebroadcast, “but to suffer a such disruption is disappointing”.
The showers that were so problematic on Tuesday returned on Wednesday, limiting the hours available for competition and forcing everyone to wait, wait and wait.
“Today was a little weird at first because it wasn’t supposed to rain, then it started to rain,” said sixth-seeded Holger Rune, who eliminated Britain’s George Loffhagen 7-6 ( 4), 6-3, 6-2 in a first-round duel set to take place on Tuesday. “It was a bit frustrating at the end.”
Think about it: While four players who had the opportunity to play in the two arenas with retractable roofs are already in the third round, including Djokovic and world number 1, Iga Swiatek, there are still 14 participants who have not yet disputed a single point in the first round.
The latter group includes Canadian Bianca Andreescu, 2019 U.S. Open champion, Alexander Zverev, 2020 U.S. Open runner-up, and Karolina Muchova, who lost to Swiatek in the French Open final last month. .
“For sure, it’s really comfortable,” Swiatek said after beating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-0 on Center Court.
“I am happy that my matches were scheduled under the roof. So I always had the certainty that they were going to happen. It’s a little easier to prepare knowing that.”
The other qualified participants in the third round are Jannik Sinner and Daria Kasatkina.
Djokovic, holder of a record 23 Grand Slam trophies in men’s singles, was two points away from losing the second set against Jordan Thompson before sealing the tiebreak with an ace, then slamming his right index finger against his temple while strutting to the sideline, en route to a 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-5 victory.
Chasing an eighth Wimbledon title, and a fifth in a row, Djokovic was playing on center court — where he won 41 times in a row — so he didn’t have to endure the kind of stops and departures endured by players like Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, ninth and tenth seeds respectively.
Fritz’s first-round match against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann was halted midway through the fifth set on Monday and never resumed on Tuesday. Fritz therefore brooded a lot until he was finally able to return to Court No. 2 to score a 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory.
“It’s hard to sit on it and think about it for two days. You’re potentially 15 minutes from the end of a match, and when it comes to a Grand Slam, the fifth set adds to the difficulty,” Fritz said.
“I spent most of the time sitting on the bench by my locker in the locker room, on my phone, watching videos on YouTube, etc. To kill time.”
Tiafoe seemed much less concerned.
He and China’s Wu Yibing were originally scheduled to play on Tuesday, but started on Wednesday. Tiafoe won 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4.
“It’s just laughable,” Tiafoe said. “I ate a little, listened to music, made jokes with other players. There is not much to do. It’s not like I can go see a movie or anything. There is not much to do. I’m relaxing, honestly.”
One of the highlights of Tuesday’s schedule — 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem against two-time major runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas — lasted just a set and a half this afternoon there and therefore turned into one of the highlights of Wednesday’s programme.
The match lasted five sets and almost four hours on court number two before Tsitsipas executed a final forehand winner to win 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-7 ( 5), 7-6 (10-8).
“It was pretty stressful,” said Tsitsipas, who will play Andy Murray on Thursday. “I won’t lie.”
2023-07-06 04:28:12
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