(July 2, 2022) Two of the top seeds at Wimbledon were ousted on Saturday. No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland had her 37-match win streak snapped by French veteran world No. 37 Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-2 in the third round.
“I know I didn’t play good tennis. I was pretty confused about my tactics,” said Swiatek “For sure, it wasn’t a good performance for me.” This marked her first loss since moving up to the top spot in the rankings.
“This kind of match is what I’m living for, it’s what I’m practicing for every day,” Cornet said. “It really drives me. I knew I could do it. Somehow, I had this belief.”
The 32-year-old said: “I’m like good wine. Good wine always ages well.”
Earlier on Centre Court, it was a rematch of the 2017 U.S. Open Junior Girls’ final as No. 20 Amanda Anisimova upset No. 11 seed and recent French Open finalist Coco Gauff 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1. Anisimova will play Harmony Tan in the fourth round, the woman who defeated Serena Williams in the firs round.
While No. 2 seed and two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal dismantled No. 27 seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court, No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was in a battle with unseeded Nick Kyrgios on No. 1 Court. In a tense match with both men receiving code violations, the Aussie Kyrgios won 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7). He lifts his record against the Greek to 4-1 overall.
Kyrgios repeatedly reprimanded the chair umpire saying that Tsitsipas should be defaulted for hitting a ball into the stands after Tsitsipas lost the second set.
“Honestly it was a hell of an atmosphere, amazing match. I honestly felt like the favorite coming in, I played him a couple weeks ago. But I knew that it was going to be a tough match,” Kyrgios said after the match in his on-court interview. “He’s a hell of a player. I had my own tactics out there and he knows how to play me, he’s beaten me once. Obviously I’ve had success. It was a hell of a match.”
Kyrgios will take on American Brandon Nakashima in the fourth round.
Other seeds falling in ladies play on Saturday were No. 8 Jessica Pegula, and No. 13 Barbora Krejcikova. Moving into the fourth round for the women include No. 4 Paula Badosa, No 16 Simona Halep and No. 17 Elena Rybakina.
More to follow…
