Australian Open champion Madison Keys latest seed to tumble out of Wimbledon
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Madison Keys in action during her third round match against Germany's Laura Siegemund.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Siegemund, 37, defeated Keys despite Keys' comeback attempts, reaching Wimbledon's fourth round for the first time. Siegemund stated, "I only play for myself...I don't feel pressure."
- Osaka lost to Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, admitting past fears about grass courts. Pavlyuchenkova said, "I was mentally tough," despite crowd support for Osaka.
- Sinner dominated Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, reaching Wimbledon's third round, while Wimbledon honoured footballer Diogo Jota by allowing a tribute ribbon.
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LONDON – There were no Fourth of July celebrations for American Madison Keys as she joined the exodus of seeds from Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat by 104th-ranked German Laura Siegemund in the third round on July 4.
The sixth seed looked a far cry from the player who won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier in 2025, racking up unforced errors – 31 in total – and wayward serves on a sun-drenched Court Two.
The match will not live long in the memory for those in attendance, save for 37-year-old Siegemund who, after a trade of breaks early in the first set, went 4-2 up on Keys’ serve with a cute drop shot. From there, the German saw out the first set.
Keys, 30, broke in the first game of the second set with a whipped forehand cross-court winner and roared “come on!” as she geed herself up to get back into contention.
It did not work as Siegemund broke straight back and yet another unforced error from Keys handed a second break to the German.
Serving to stay in the match, Keys double faulted for the fourth time, which summed up her afternoon as the Americans in the crowd became unusually reserved. She saved three match points but could not stop Siegemund serving out the win.
The German, now the oldest player left in the women’s singles draw, jumped with glee upon sealing victory and will play a Wimbledon fourth-round match for the first time, against Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra.
“I only play for myself, I don’t feel like I need to prove anything any more... It’s important to remember the core of why you are doing this... I’m playing for me and I don’t feel pressure this way,” Siegemund said on court.
Meanwhile, four-time Major winner Naomi Osaka was knocked out, losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
“A majority of you were cheering for Naomi, but that’s OK,” the Russian, who turned 34 on July 3, told the crowd at Court Two.
“I’m mentally tough, so that didn’t bother me at all. The opposite: It gave me energy.”
Earlier this week, Osaka, 27, admitted she had feared playing on the surface for much of her career.
It has been more than four years since she last lifted a Slam – the 2021 Australian Open – a stretch shaped by introspection, a battle with depression and the birth of her child.
And for a while on a sun-drenched Court Two, she summoned her vintage self – painting lines, pummelling serves, playing with purpose in this third-round clash.
But after dropping the second set, the momentum slowly slipped through her fingers.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on July 4.
PHOTO: AFP
A double fault handed Pavlyuchenkova a 2-0 lead in the decider, and Osaka, despite flashes of brilliance, never fully recovered.
The errors began to creep in, the confidence started to ebb and the comeback trail was closed off.
No fourth-round debut in 2025 – just a glimpse of what once was.
“I felt like I was behind for the majority of the match, so I played point by point. I’m incredibly happy because I was mentally tough in the three matches that I have won,” added Pavlyuchenkova.
“I’m usually not so good on grass.”
Wimbledon, meanwhile, paid tribute to Diogo Jota after the Liverpool star’s death
Cabral was allowed to put the ribbon on his shirt sleeve for the second-round tie after the All England Club relaxed its strict all-white dress code to allow tributes to the Portugal forward.
Portugal’s Francisco Cabral wearing a black ribbon on his sleeve as a tribute to late Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota.
PHOTO: AFP
Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in northern Spain on July 3 while travelling to catch a ferry to England ahead of the start of pre-season training.
Cabral, who lost with Austrian partner Lucas Miedler against Czech duo Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl, said he was driving to Wimbledon when he heard the news and praised Jota as “such a good person”.
Earlier on July 3, Jannik Sinner swept into the third round as the world No. 1 thrashed Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
While several of Wimbledon’s top stars have suffered shock exits, including third seed Alexander Zverev and world No. 4 Jack Draper, there has been no hint of an upset in the Italian’s opening two matches.
The 23-year-old has dropped just 12 games in demolishing Vukic and Luca Nardi to make the last 32 at the All England Club.
Sinner’s biggest struggle came in the final game as he had to wait until his sixth match point to serve it out and saved a break point with a sensational cross-court forehand winner.
“I enjoyed it because I won the game. If not, I don’t know,” said Sinner after an unusual show of flamboyance as he whipped up the crowd’s adulation on saving the break point.
“The match can change very, very quickly. If he breaks me there, it can go long distance.
“I was lucky with that shot, so thank you to my racket which somehow made it to put the ball in court. I’m very happy to win in straight sets.” AFP, REUTERS
