Struggles, Tears, and Surprises Mark Wimbledon Opening
The start of Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the tennis season, was filled with drama—from the struggles of top names to major upsets leading to early exits for notable contenders in both the men's and women's draws.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, world No. 2 and back-to-back Wimbledon champion, needed five sets to edge past Italy’s Fabio Fognini (ranked 138) and reach the second round.
Alcaraz overcame the 16-year age gap and beat the veteran after a grueling 4 hours and 30 minutes, winning 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, in a match played under sweltering heat of 30°C.
The Spaniard will next face British wildcard Oliver Tarvet (ranked 733), who advanced after defeating fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi of Switzerland.
Former world No. 1 and current No. 9 Daniil Medvedev crashed out in the first round, losing to France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 2-6.
It was the first time in his seven Wimbledon appearances that Medvedev failed to reach the second round. The Russian has also struggled in other Grand Slams this year, exiting in the second round of the Australian Open and the first round of Roland Garros, and now meeting the same fate at Wimbledon.
Medvedev had defeated Jannik Sinner, then world No. 1, in last year's Wimbledon quarterfinals before falling to Alcaraz in the semis.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s Holger Rune (No. 8) squandered a two-set lead and was eliminated by Czech player Nicolas Jarry, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 4-6, in 3 hours and 34 minutes. Rune once again failed to surpass the quarterfinals in a major, with his best Wimbledon result being a round of 16 appearance in 2023.
Promising Brazilian João Fonseca impressed by defeating Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), becoming the first 18-year-old to reach the second round at Wimbledon since Alcaraz in 2021.
Another shock came with the withdrawal of Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas (seeded 26) due to back pain after losing the first two sets 3-6, 2-6 to Frenchman Valentin Royer (ranked 113).
Tears for Jabeur
In the women’s draw, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur (ranked 59) and two-time Wimbledon finalist bid farewell to the tournament in tears, retiring against Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova (world No. 111) after just two games in the second set. Jabeur appeared fatigued, made several unforced errors, and struggled in the heat before ending her campaign visibly emotional.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus began her quest for a first-ever Wimbledon final with a comfortable 6-1, 7-5 win over Canada’s Carson Branstine in just 73 minutes.
Sabalenka ended Branstine’s fairytale run, which included a standout performance in the qualifiers where she eliminated France’s world No. 65 Loïs Boisson—Roland Garros’ surprise semifinalist—and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu (ranked 147).
In other notable results, Latvia’s 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko fell to Britain’s Sonay Kartal 5-7, 6-2, 2-6. America’s Madison Keys (seeded 6) overcame Romania’s Gabriela Ruse 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 7-5. Russia’s Diana Shnaider (12) beat Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, while Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina (14) defeated Hungary’s Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-1.
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