A Wimbledon,
It’s the feeling of the day at Wimbledon. The 43rd player in the world, Christopher Eubanks offered the scalp of Stefanos Tsitsipas. Always with a smile on his lips and a pure old-fashioned attacking game, the 27-year-old American has everything to get the crowds going. What he did on court 2 which was enthusiastic about this almost unknown who had never passed a second round in Grand Slam, never beaten a top 10 player and who did not enter the top 100. .. only in April. A daydream. “I feel like I’m living a dream, it’s crazy (…) It’s surreal, I can’t believe it.” Winner in Mallorca, just before Wimbledon, Eubanks will try to hang another big low on his list on Wednesday, in the person of Daniil Medvedev.
The 1.96m giant Hubert Hurcazk makes the powder speak against the master of the place who won a 32nd consecutive match in his English garden on Monday. But with his 33 aces (against 18 for Djokovic), 73% of first serves over the whole game and an average of 207 km / h, the world number 18 was able to put pressure on his opponent, who cracked, at 6-5 in the third set to give up a set (7-5). A small event, as the quadruple title holder in search of a 24th Grand Slam title and an 8th Wimbledon seems to hover over the competition. But all the credit goes to the Poles. “He had an amazing game. I can’t remember the last time I felt so helpless in return for service, ”commented the 36-year-old Serb, almost surprised to be a little challenged.
Ons Jabeur left 2014 winner Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3 only 3 short games. Finalist last season, the Tunisian, very comfortable in her movements and fair in all her choices, finds the great form at the right time and confirms that she is now a reference on the London green carpet. She offers herself a remake of the last final against Elena Rybakina who benefited from the abandonment of the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia. Against Jabeur, last season, the power of the Kazakh had made the difference but the “Minister of Happiness” has the means to scramble the cards and confirm that Wimbledon is indeed her favorite playground.
Youth got the better of experience. Holger Rune defeated Grigor Dimitrov (3-6, 7-6 [6], 7-6 [4], 6-3) in the round of 16. It is the less experienced of the two who knew how to win the key points to give himself the right to face the world number one Carlos Alcaraz. The latter, like the Dane, reaches his first quarter at Church Road at the age of 20. Faced with the dangerous Matteo Berrettini, finalist of the 2021 edition and who was almost a favorite because of his great form found on his favorite surface, the Spaniard delivered his best performance since the start of the tournament and still thrilled the public. Center Court with his ever spectacular game. Amazing.
the flops
It becomes a bad habit. This Monday, the end of the round of 16 between Alcaraz and Berrettini ended under the roof of Center Court. At 8:20 p.m., due to lack of light, the superb duel between the two men was interrupted in the 4th set at 2-2, while the roof came into action. Wimbledon is outdoors but many of its matches are being played indoors this year. And not only because of the capricious weather. On the Center Court, three matches are scheduled per day but the day begins at just 1.30 p.m. UK time (compared to 11 a.m. on the outlying courts), and ends no later than 11 p.m., due to the curfew. Since the start of a fortnight, two matches have already been interrupted before their end at the mythical London central: the second round between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas, started Thursday under the roof and finished Friday outdoors, and the round of 16 between Novak Djokovic and Hubert Hurkacz, whom the curfew interrupted on Sunday evening under the roof with two zero sets in favor of the Serb, and who therefore ended Monday outdoors. The boss of the Center Court Novak Djokovic sent a message by proposing to advance the matches, so that we avoid these indoor night transfers. But for tournament director Sally Bolton, economic logic takes precedence over sporting logic: “TV ratings speak for themselves: they exceed our expectations and the figures of previous years,” she told reporters this week. Monday. All is said…
While Daniil Medvedev (finally) reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in his sixth participation, taking advantage of the abandonment of Jiri Lehecka after two sets (6-4, 6-2), another major member of the next Gen , suffered a new disappointment on the London lawn. The opportunity was however good for Stefanos Tsitsipas to join the Russian in quarter. Winner of two straight-set battles in his first two rounds (against Thiem and Murray), the Greek lost his five-set marathon to Christopher Eubanks on Tuesday. Faced with the American striker, the 5th in the world was very feverish in key moments. While he mastered the match and had not conceded any break point until the 8th game of the 4th set, the Greek offered the first break to his opponent with a nasty double fault. The latter then concluded the set and was even more realistic and enterprising in the last round than a Tsitsipas who was more used to money times in major tournaments…
The images prove young Mirra Andreeva wrong. Contrary to her words, she intentionally throws her racket out of frustration at the end of the match. A legitimate annoyance for a 16-year-old, who in her first round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament, led 6-3, 4-1, with a ball 5-1, before the experienced Madison Keys turn the tide of the game. When you throw your racket twice, it’s a penalty point. The referee followed the rules to the letter. But given that the Russian’s racquet throw came at a crucial moment in the third set and gave her opponent two match points, couldn’t the referee have been more flexible?
