LONDONAGiven that she is ranked No. 1, it makes understandable that Ryna Sabalenka would be thrilled if the upsets at Wimbledon stopped.
After No. 4, she is the only one of the five top-seeded women remaining in the bracket. Last year’s runner-up, Jasmine Paolini, left after No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, and No. 5 Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka defeated Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Wednesday after coming within two points of losing the first set three times in her second-round match.
A total of 23 seeded players, setting a recordBy the end of Day 2, there were 13 men and 10 women eliminated, which is the most at any Grand Slam event in the previous 25 years. Paolini, No. 12 Diana Shnaider, No. 21 Beatriz Haddad Maia, No. 22 Donna Vekic, and No. 29 Leylah Fernandez were among the five women who joined them in losing on Wednesday.
Sabalenka replied, “Of course you’re going to know the broad picture,” before laughing and adding, “I hope this tournament is free of upsets, if you understand what I mean.
She has won three Grand Slam titles, all of them were either the Australian Open or U.S. Open on hard courts. She also finished second to Gauff in the clay-court French Open last month, which drew criticism from some for her post-match remarks. She and Gauff resolved the controversy last week through social media videos, but she hasn’t advanced past the All England Club’s grass semifinals.
Due to a shoulder injury, Sabalenka had to miss Wimbledon a year ago.
On Wednesday, temperatures plummeted from above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) to below 68 degrees (20 degrees Celsius), and the record-breaking heat of the first two days was replaced by rain that caused a two-hour delay in the start of play on smaller courts.
At Centre Court, a double-fault by Sabalenka gave 48th-ranked Bouzkova a 6-5 lead in the opening set with the first service break of the match. Bouzkova served for the set and was two points short of winning it at 30-15, 30-all, and again at deuce.
On the final occasion, however, Sabalenka delivered a forehand volley winner accented by a roar, followed by a backhand winner down the line that was accompanied by another shout.
“That was a difficult moment,” said Sabalenka, who will next play Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion. My return wasn’t strong enough to break her serve until that moment. I’m very happy that I was able to break her back because everything came together. I started to feel a little better.
The set ended with a strong forehand return winner off a second serve that traveled at 67 mph, and Sabalenka grabbed the next three points from a 4-all tiebreaker. The lone break in the second set gave Sabalenka a 3-2 lead, and that was about it.
In a match that lasted little over 1 1/2 hours, Sabalenka made just 18 unforced errors and accumulated a 41-17 victory margin.
What else took place at Wimbledon on Wednesday?
Australian Open winner Madison Keys, seeded sixth, upset Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2, while Raducanu defeated 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3. In men’s action, two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz defeated 733rd-ranked qualifier Ollie Tarvet, who plays for the University of San Diego, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to extend his winning streak to 20 games. However, 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Cam Norrie defeated No. 12 Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, adding to the record of seeded losing.
Who performs at the All England Club on Thursdays?
against Day 4, Novak Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 major titles at Wimbledon, will take against Britain’s Dan Evans at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) to open the Centre Court schedule. Iga Swiatek will then face Caty McNally, and No. 1 Jannik Sinner will face Aleksandar Vukic.
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