Out of Wimbledon, 23 seeds in two days

AP and AFP

La Jornada Newspaper, Thursday, July 3, 2025, p. a12

London. Aryna Sabalenka was just two points away from losing the first set of her second-round match at Wimbledon before prevailing 7-6, 6-4 over Marie Bouzkova to avoid the kind of upset that has sent a group of seeded players home.

Four of the favorites failed to make it past the first round: Coco Gauff (2), Jessica Pegula (3), Zheng Qinwen (5) and Paula Badosa (9). In total, a record 23 seeded players (10 women and 13 men) were eliminated by the end of the second day of the tournament, the most at any Grand Slam in the past 25 years.

I hope there are no more surprises in this tournament , said Sabalenka, the world number one.

The Belarusian is a three-time Grand Slam champion, all on hard courts. She also finished runner-up to Gauff at Roland Garros last month. However, she has yet to make it past the semifinals on the grass courts of the All England Club.

On Center Court, Bouzkova, ranked 48th, took a 6-5 lead in the first set with the first break of serve of the match thanks to a double fault from Sabalenka. Marie served to win that set and came within two points of winning at 30-15 in that game, then 30-30 again, and then tied again.

But on the final occasion, the Belarusian capitalized on a forehand volley winner that ended with a scream, followed by a triumphant backhand down the line that was accompanied by another scream.

"It was a tough moment ," the world number one expressed. "My return wasn't good enough to break her serve. I'm very happy, everything fell into place, and I was able to break her serve ."

That took them to a tiebreak , and from 4-4, Sabalenka took the next three points, closing out the set with a powerful forehand winner after a 108-kilometer-per-hour second serve. In the second set, the only break came for a 3-2 lead for Aryna, and that was pretty much it.

Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Australian Open champion Madison Keys joined Sabalenka in the third round, defeating Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2.

Zarazúa falls

After achieving the first victory for a Mexican in 30 years, Renata Zarazúa bowed out of the singles tournament at Wimbledon.

The 27-year-old player fell in the second round with scores of 6-4 and 6-3 to American Amanda Anisimova, seeded number 13 in the tournament.

The tricolor team started off with a good pace; however, their opponents didn't allow them to take the lead despite the national team's multiple attempts.

The capital native played her seventh consecutive Grand Slam and will now focus on the doubles tournament, where she makes her debut today with her compatriot Giuliana Olmos.

Alcaraz advances

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz remains determined to win a third consecutive Wimbledon title and advanced to the third round by defeating Briton Oliver Tarvet 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

The second- ranked Spaniard easily dispatched the modest British player, ranked 733 in the ATP, in two hours and 16 minutes.

I have to pay tribute to Oliver. I loved his match. I knew I had to play my best tennis. I'm really happy, but I also give him a lot of credit , Alcaraz noted.

World number five Taylor Fritz avoided another upset and reached the third round with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Gabriel Diallo.