Wimbledon rocked as world No. 1 knocked out, booed off court
Wimbledon has been turned on its head by a monster upset that came after the world’s best player was booed in an ugly scene.
Tennis
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World number one Iga Swiatek was dumped out of Wimbledon by Yulia Putintseva on Sunday morning as Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round for the 16th time.
On a cold and wet day at the All England Club, only three of the women’s top 10 were left in the draw, while Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career ended with a whimper when Emma Raducanu pulled the plug on their mixed doubles plans.
Swiatek admitted she was running on empty at Wimbledon as the exhausted world number one suffered a shock third round defeat.
The top seed’s 21-match winning streak came to a stunning end on Court One as Russian-born Kazakh Putintseva battled to a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Swiatek won a fourth French Open and fifth Grand Slam title last month, but she felt the strain of that clay-court triumph by the time she arrived at the All England Club.
Unable to summon up the energy required to subdue the feisty Putintseva, the Polish star once again flopped at Wimbledon, where she has never gone beyond the quarter-finals.
It got ugly for the No. 1 seed hen she was booed by the crowd for taking an extended bathroom break.
She looked worse for wear after losing the second set to Yulia Putintseva on Saturday, and felt the wrath of the No.1 Court spectators when she returned from a lengthy toilet break.
“I was kind of getting bored,” Putintseva said after being kept waiting on court.
Swiatek confirmed her fatigue when speaking with reporters after the match.
“For sure, I felt like my energy level went down little bit in the second set. I couldn’t really get back up,” she said.
“My tank of really pushing myself to the limits became suddenly empty. I was kind of surprised. But I know what I did wrong after Roland Garros. I didn’t really rest properly.
“I’m not going to make this mistake again. After such a tough clay court season, I really must have my recovery.
“I need to recover better after the clay court season, both physically and mentally. Maybe next year I’m going to take a vacation and literally just do nothing.” Swiatek, a four-time French Open winner, has never thrived on the All England Club grass.
Asked to explain her struggles in south-west London, she said: “Actually, this part of the season is not easy because we’re switching surfaces.
“For me going from this kind of tennis where I felt like I’m playing the best tennis in my life to another surface where I kind of struggle a little bit more, it’s not easy.”
Losing to the diminutive Putintseva was especially painful after their clash at Indian Wells earlier this year.
Putintseva was ticked off by the chair umpire for moving from side to side as Swiatek shaped to serve.
Describing herself as “a gangster on court and angel off it”, Putintseva even threw in a collection of underarm serves.
“Maybe they teach that in Kazakhstan,” a grumpy Swiatek said at the time. Swiatek was grudging in her praise for Putintseva after their latest meeting, saying: “I totally let her come back to the game in the second set. I shouldn’t have done that.
“I made some mistakes, as well. But for sure, she used her chance.” Putintseva was also frosty when quizzed on her relationship with her Swiatek. “No, I don’t know her. She never, at least what I see, she always like in her zone with her team,” she said.
“She don’t talk much to anyone. I mean, I’m not entering that bubble.” Unlike Swiatek, Putintseva has adapted well to grass and won on the surface in Birmingham just before Wimbledon.
“It just clicked. At some point I was playing fearless,” she said. “I have nothing to lose, just go for it. She didn’t lose it. I took it.”
Aussie gives Djokovic a big headache
Djokovic reached the fourth round yet again with a battling 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
Chasing a record-equalling eighth title at the All England Club and 25th Grand Slam, Djokovic has now made the last 16 at the majors for a 65th time.
It was also the 37-year-old’s 95th win at Wimbledon.
World number two Djokovic will play Holger Rune, the 15th seed from Denmark, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Popyrin’s elimination means Alex de Minaur is the sole Aussie man still standing at the tournament.
‘Cow on ice’ Zverev progresses
Alexander Zverev likened his Wimbledon skills to a “cow on ice” on Saturday before telling Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola he could be his next coach.
Zverev made the last 16 at the All England Club with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (17/15) victory over Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
However, his win on Centre Court was not without incident, with the 27-year-old world number four hurting his right knee when he slipped and fell.
He then needed six match points to seal his place in the fourth round. Zverev has never made it past the last 16 at Wimbledon and he told Guardiola, sitting in the Royal Box, he could help improve his hesitant movement on the grass courts.
“For me and for all tennis players it’s an honour to play on this beautiful Centre Court and in front to the Royal Box,” said Zverev.
“When I saw Pep Guardiola I got so nervous for a few games.” Guardiola once coached Bayern Munich, the club that Zverev supports, before moving to City, where he has overseen Champions League and Premier League success.
“Bayern Munich needs a coach,” said Zverev, seemingly forgetting that Vincent Kompany has taken charge.
“If you’re tired of football you can coach me on a tennis court any time.” Zverev, who suffered a terrible ankle injury at the French Open last year, said he will have his knee examined before Monday’s fourth round.
“I do feel like a cow on ice sometimes,” he said, echoing former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova’s comments about clay courts.
“It is what it is but I managed. I do feel restricted on some of the movements but I will check and see what it is but I’m pleased I was able to play the way that I did.
“If I’d dropped in my level I would have had no chance against Cam.”
Zverev will face either US 13th seed Taylor Fritz or Alejandro Tabilo of Chile for a place in the quarter-finals.
American ‘big dog’ arrives
Ben Shelton turned Wimbledon into a family affair on Saturday as the American emulated his father by reaching the last 16 at the All England Club.
Shelton beat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 as he moved into the fourth round of the grass-court Grand Slam for the first time.
The 21-year-old’s gritty victory, with Roger Federer watching from the Court One stands, came 30 years after his father Bryan also advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round.
“We’re back, big dog,” the 14th seed told his dad during an on-court interview after defeating Shapovalov.
Back in 1994, Bryan Shelton stunned former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich in the first round before eventually being knocked out by Sweden’s Christian Bergstrom.
Now Bryan has been able to share in Ben’s success as his coach, watching from courtside as he dug deep to subdue the tenacious Shapovalov.
“It’s really cool for us to be able to share this moment together. I don’t know if we thought we would be in this position at this point in our lives, but really just grateful for everything that’s happened so far,” Ben Shelton said.
“We’ve been working really well together on the court. I think that with the new coaching rule, the information that he’s able to give me during the match, he can help keep me in the right state of mind.
“I’ve really enjoyed the kind of back and forth that we’ve been able to have during the matches.” Insisting that his father’s victory against German star Stich was the more eye-catching feat, Shelton said: “I think a lot more impressive that he was able to do it back in the day, beating the number two player in the world as 50-something in the world.”
— with AFP
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