With action on Day 4 still to conclude at Wimbledon, here are some of the biggest stories from the day so far:
Pliskova crashes out
Karolina Pliskova, the third seed at Wimbledon and one of the favourites to win the women’s singles title, lost out in perhaps the biggest shocker so far in the WTA draw to unseeded Magdalena Ribarykova, ranked World No. 87.
28-year-old Ribarykova had lost the first set to Pliskova 3-6 – with many fans already convinced Pliskova would steamroll through the draw – but the Slovak battled back for consecutive sets – 7-5, 6-3 to seal the upset.
Ribarykova is a former semi-finalist in the women’s doubles (in 2014) but has never progressed beyond Round 3 at the grass-court Grand Slam before.
Djokovic back in action
With many writing him off – and former World No. 1 John McEnroe comparing him to Tiger Woods, former top-ranked player and 12-time Major winner Novak Djokovic quickly despatched Czech player Adam Pavlasek in a straightforward match – 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
That one-sided contest means Djokovic now faces Ernests Gulbis, who defeated a flagging Juan Martin del Potro in his own Round 2 match.
Although Djokovic is a three-time champion at Wimbledon, his recent struggles have put him far lower down the betting order for Wimbledon. Although he has not really had big opponents so far, his intent is certainly a sign that the Serbian ace means to go deep into the tournament.
Del Potro suffers shock loss
#29 seed Juan Martin del Potro, a firm fan favourite at any tournament he plays, today suffered his own Round 2 upset at the hands of World No. 589 Ernests Gulbis, a former French Open semi-finalist.
Former top-10 player Gulbis, who like recent French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is from Latvia, is a former top-10 player whose career has been hampered by wrist injuries.
Gulbis now takes on Novak Djokovic in what should be quite the interesting contest.
Paes edged out in tough contest
Leander Paes, making his 23rd appearance at Wimbledon, lost out in a tough Round 1 match to the all-Austrian pair of Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald; Paes has won the title in the men’s doubles before with former partner Mahesh Bhupathi in 1999 – with the two top-seeded that year.
Paes and partner Adil Shamasdin lost 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7, 8-10.
With Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (with partner Jared Donaldson) also exiting, Rohan Bopanna and partner are in Round 2, as are Divij Sharan and Purav Raja, who face Grand Slam veterans Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram.
Horrific injury for Mattek-Sands
Doubles World No. 1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA, who entered the singles draw as a wildcard, was one set all against Sorana Cirstea of Romania in Round 2. Mattek-Sands won the first set 6-4, edged out by Cirstea in the second when she took a painful fall.
The fall was so severe that Mattek-Sands was rendered immobile, and immediately began screaming in pain for a doctor and ambulance, and imploring her rival “Help me, Sorana, f***, help me.”
In visible agony, Mattek-Sands was taken on a stretcher off the court.
Cirstea later said she thought her ‘knee was not in the right place.” That might mean Mattek-Sands suffered an ACL issue or a fracture in the knee. The player’s camp has issued a statement saying she has suffered an “acute knee injury” for now.
Raonic lucks out
Despite being the 2016 finalist, Milos Raonic yesterday battled against former World No. 4 Mikhail Youzhny, losing the first set 3-6 and teetering on the edge in a second-set tiebreak before winning in four sets.
The #6 seeded Canadian has faced a few injury battles over his career, but has just not found consistency of late.
He will now play Spain’s 25th seed Albert Ramos Vinolas.
NextGen powers through
The ATP NextGen is well and truly established. Russia’s Karen Khachanov – all of 21 – takes on Rafael Nadal today, while Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem won their own respective matches against Frances Tiafoe and Gilles Simon respectively.
Both players won in straight sets – Zverev 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, while Thiem had a slightly tougher time, dropping the first set to Simon before a four-sets win, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Federer dominates
Swiss ace Roger Federer is showing fans all the signs that he is on track for a 19th Major – and an 8th Wimbledon title with his win over Dusan Lajovic yesterday. Although Federer did not get off the bat straight away, winning set 1 in a tiebreak, he eventually took a 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
He will now face German Mischa Zverev in the third round.
