LONDON — Aryna Sabalenka was just two points from dropping the opening set of her second-round Wimbledon match three times on Wednesday before asserting herself for a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Marie Bouzkova to avoid the sort of surprise that has sent a group of seeded players home.
Four of the top 10 women’s seeds failed to make it out of the first round: No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen and No. 9 Paula Badosa. In all, a record-tying 23 seeded players – 10 women, 13 men – were gone by the end of Day 2, equaling the most at any Grand Slam event in the past 25 years.
“Of course you’re going to know the overall picture. … I hope it’s no upsets anymore in this tournament,” the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka said afterward with a chuckle. “If you know what I mean.”
She is a three-time Grand Slam champion, with all of those titles coming on hard courts at the Australian Open or U.S. Open. She also was the runner-up to Gauff at the clay-court French Open last month – drawing criticism from some over her post-match comments, a flap she and Gauff set aside via social media videos last week – but hasn’t been past the semifinals on the grass of the All England Club.
A year ago, Sabalenka was forced to miss Wimbledon because of an injured shoulder.
On Wednesday, the record-breaking heat of the first two days gave way to rain that delayed the start of play on smaller courts for about two hours, along with temperatures that dropped from above 90 degrees Fahrenheit to less than 68 degrees.
At Centre Court, the 48th-ranked Bouzkova went ahead 6-5 in the first set with the match’s initial service break thanks to a double-fault by Sabalenka. Bouzkova served for that set, and was two points away from it at 30-15 in that game, again at 30-all, then once more at deuce.
But on the last such occasion, Sabalenka came through with a forehand volley winner she punctuated with a yell, followed by a down-the-line backhand winner that was accompanied by another shout.
“That was a tough moment,” said Sabalenka, who will face 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu or 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova next. “Until that point, (my) return wasn’t great enough to break her serve. I’m really glad … everything clicked together and I was able to break her back. I kind of like felt a little bit better.”
That sent them to a tiebreaker, and from 4-all there, Sabalenka took the next three points, ending the set with a powerful forehand return winner off a 67-mph second serve. In the second set, the only break arrived for a 3-2 lead for Sabalenka, and that was basically that.
Sabalenka compiled a 41-17 edge in winners while making only 18 unforced errors in a match that lasted a little more than 1½ hours.
Alcaraz sweeps former USD player
For one game at least, it looked like Carlos Alcaraz could be in for another surprisingly tough encounter on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
But after saving three break points in his opening service game against 733rd-ranked Ollie Tarvet, things got a bit more comfortable for the defending champion, who saw out a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 second-round win over the unheralded collegiate player from Britain.
While he had to face another eight break points along the way – saving all but two – it was a considerably smoother win than his 4½-hour, five-set victory over Fabio Fognini in the opening round.
Still, Alcaraz couldn’t help but be impressed with the University of San Diego student playing in his first Grand Slam tournament.
“I just love his game to be honest,” Alcaraz said. “I knew at the beginning that I had to be really focused and try to play my best tennis.”
Alcaraz took his overall winning streak to 20 matches.
He will next face either 25th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round, as the Spaniard bids for a third straight Wimbledon title.
Alcaraz has already established himself as a massive fan favorite at the All England Club, but this was the first time he faced a British player at the grass-court Grand Slam – meaning crowd support was pretty evenly split.
“I know it’s not personal,” Alcaraz said.
What else happened Wednesday at Wimbledon?
Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who is seeded sixth, joined Sabalenka in the third round, beating Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. But No. 12 Frances Tiafoe joined the parade of seeds exiting, eliminated by 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Cam Norrie 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. Other players in action later included 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini among the women and No. 5 Taylor Fritz among the men.
Who plays Thursday at the All England Club?
Novak Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 major championships at Wimbledon will lead off the Centre Court schedule on Day 4 against Britain’s Dan Evans at 1:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. PT), followed by Iga Swiatek vs. Caty McNally, and No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. Aleksandar Vukic.
