Elise Mertens stuns second seed Elena Rybakina in Wimbledon third round
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Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in action against Belgium’s Elise Mertens on July 4.
PHOTO: EPA
- Elise Mertens defeated second seed Elena Rybakina 7-6(4) 6-1 in the Wimbledon third round, ending Rybakina's bid for a second Grand Slam title this year.
- Rybakina needed a quarter-final spot to challenge for world number one but struggled against Mertens' varied play and lost in straight sets.
- Mertens, a Wimbledon doubles champion, will face Marie Bouzkova next and aims for her best-ever Wimbledon performance.
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LONDON - Second seed Elena Rybakina’s hopes of a second Grand Slam title this year and taking over as world number one ended at Wimbledon on July 4 as she faded to a 7-6(4) 6-1 third-round defeat by inspired Belgian Elise Mertens.
The Kazakh never recovered from losing a first-set tiebreak and 25th seed Mertens seized control thereafter to reach the last-16 at Wimbledon for the fourth time.
Rybakina, who added this year’s Australian Open title to her 2022 Wimbledon crown, needed to reach at least the quarter-finals to have a chance of overtaking Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings.
But she produced a flat performance on Court One against the wily 30-year-old Mertens whose greater variety proved decisive in her only her second win over Rybakina in nine meetings.
Mertens, a reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, won nine points in a row during one dominant spell in the second set and although she showed a few nerves when serving for the match she ended the contest with an ace.
She will fancy her chances of posting a best-ever Wimbledon run with Czech Marie Bouzkova up next. REUTERS
