Seeds fall at Wimbledon as Hubert Hurkacz and Jessica Pegula crash out
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Poland's Hubert Hurkacz landed badly after diving for a volley and was forced to retire with an injured right knee.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Seeded players fell in the men and women’s draws at Wimbledon on July 4, as Hubert Hurkacz and Jessica Pegula suffered defeats at the All England Club in London.
American world No. 5 Pegula was the first top-five seed to fall, although two-time Australian Open champion and world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew before the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
On July 2, sixth seed Marketa Vondrousova became the first defending women’s Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round for 30 years.
Polish seventh seed Hurkacz’s exit came two days after sixth seed Andrey Rublev went out in the first round. On July 3, eighth seed Casper Ruud made it to the second round before he, too, fell by the wayside.
On July 4, Pegula lost 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1 to China’s Wang Xinyu in the second round.
She had battled back after losing the first set, saving a match point in the second-set tiebreak before levelling the match.
But 42nd-ranked Wang raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider before wrapping up the contest to record her first win against a top-10 player.
Said the 22-year-old: “Couple of days ago I was asking my coach, ‘When will this happen?’
“Jessica was really tough to play on grass. Her ball was super low and I’m just really happy I won in the end.”
She will face Britain’s Harriet Dart, who defeated Nottingham champion Katie Boulter, for a spot in the last 16.
Hurkacz, meanwhile, arrived at Wimbledon as a dark horse but became the third men’s top-eight player to make an early exit as he retired from his second-round clash against Frenchman Arthur Fils with a knee injury.
Having made a slow start, Hurkacz was on course to level the match at two sets apiece when he dived for a volley at the net in the fourth-set tiebreak to go 8-7 up, but landed badly and immediately clutched his right knee.
He limped on after a lengthy medical timeout, but was forced to throw in the towel at 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 having gone down 9-8 in the tiebreak.
“It’s tough to win a match like this against a friend. We were playing super good in the fourth set. We had some great points. He was jumping everywhere,” said Fils.
“I’m really sorry for him. I hope he will recover quickly.”
Poland’s Hurkacz continued playing after a lengthy medical timeout, but was eventually forced to retire.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The big-serving Pole, who beat Roger Federer to reach the 2021 semi-finals and took a set off Novak Djokovic in the last 16 in 2023, had primed himself for more Major damage in 2024 after a run to the Halle final in June.
He showed flashes of his best form after a lacklustre effort in the first two sets but could not see off the 20-year-old Fils on a sunny afternoon.
Fils became the youngest Frenchman to reach the Wimbledon third round since 2005, when both Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils did so as teenagers but his celebration was understandably muted.
Fils will face Roman Safiullin of Russia for a place in the last 16.
“I didn’t like grass very much in the past, but it turns out that I can play it quite well,” he said.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic saw off Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 to set up a third-round tie against Australian Alexei Popyrin.
“I had not had a chance to see him play before until two days ago,” Djokovic said of Fearnley. “There is always an element of surprise and nothing to lose... I could have won the match in three but this match potentially deserved to go into a fifth, with the way he played in the fourth. But I am very glad it didn’t.”
In significant July 3 results, title rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz reached the third round as Japanese star Naomi Osaka was demolished on her return to Centre Court after a five-year absence.
Australian Open champion Sinner defeated Italian Davis Cup teammate Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) in three hours and 42 minutes. He will next face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
Defending champion Alcaraz beat Australia’s world No. 69 Aleksandar Vukic 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-2 on the back of 42 winners. Next up for him is American Frances Tiafoe.
Osaka went down 6-4, 6-1 to American Emma Navarro in just 59 minutes. AFP, REUTERS
