Wimbledon 2022 Archives

Alcaraz rallies past Otte to set Round of 16 clash with Sinner

LONDON: The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz carried on his wonderful in the ongoing Wimbledon as he outclassed his German opponent Oscar Otte 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 to storm into the fourth round of the marquee event.

In the third-round clash, Alcaraz displayed sheer dominance over Otte and made sure to improvise his Wimbledon by storming into the fourth round for the first time.

Following his qualification in the last 16, Alcaraz has also become the youngest to reach that stage in the iconic event since Bernard Tomic reached the 2011 quarter-finals at the age of 18.

The Spaniard will now lock horns with the 10th seed Jannik Sinner in a bid to qualify for the quarters for the first time.

In his one of the most perfect matches, Alcaraz left no chance for the 32nd seed Otte and dominated in all three sets before running away with the victory in one hour and 38 minutes.

Following his powerful and precise hitting, the teenager finished with 37 winners and just eight unforced errors, winning 88 per cent (35/40) of his first-serve points.

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Wimbledon 2022: Djokovic thrashes Kecmanovic to reach last 16

LONDON: Former World No.1 Novak Djokovic displayed sheer dominance over his countrymate Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round of Wimbledon 2022 to reach the last 16 in pursuit of his title defence.

In a one-sided clash between the two Serbs, Djokovic displayed brilliance as he sealed the third victory of the tournament 6-0 6-3 6-4 to move into the last 16.

The defending champion was unplayable in the opening set as he did not let Kecmanovic open his account before running away with it in 24 minutes.

Kecmanovic, seeded 25, finally found himself in the contest as he scored his first point in the second set – 35 minutes into the match, by taking a long service game.

Djokovic, however, seemed unaffected by the youngster’s brief comeback and soon claimed the second set to move within a set to victory.

The third set then followed the same pattern as the top seed maintained his dominance and claimed his scintillating victory over Kecmanovic to reach the last 16.

In a bid to advance to the quarterfinals, the defending champion will now face Dutch player T. van Rijthoven in a Round of 16 match.

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Djokovic steps into third round, Murray faces early exit from Wimbledon

LONDON: Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon third round for the 16th time on Wednesday as career-long rival Andy Murray suffered his earliest-ever exit from the All England Club.

Top seed Djokovic brushed aside 79th-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 and will face Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic for a last-16 place.

“I’m very happy with my performance. I started very well, solid from the back of the court,” said Djokovic, who is looking to join Pete Sampras as a seven-time Wimbledon champion.

“I made him work for every point and worked him around the court,” added the 20-time major winner.

Kokkinakis had likened Djokovic to a “brick wall” before the match.

“It was one-way traffic. I got chopped today,” said the 26-year-old Australian after his Centre Court torment.

Former world number one Murray, the 2013 and 2016 champion, went down 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 to big-serving John Isner in his second-round clash.

Murray, now 52 in the rankings, failed to break serve once against 2018 semi-finalist Isner, who unleashed 36 aces and 82 winners in total.

“He didn’t give me lots of chances,” said Murray, whose previous earliest exits came in the third round in 2005 and 2021.

“My game was in a good place. I felt good on the court, just couldn’t get the win.”

Isner, 37, was gracious in the aftermath of his first win in nine meetings against the Briton.

“I am most definitely not a better tennis player than Andy Murray. I might have been a little bit better than him today,” said the American.

Isner also took his career aces total to 13,724 to sit just four behind the record held by Ivo Karlovic.

Third seed and French Open runner-up Casper Ruud, who was scheduled to face Djokovic in the semi-finals, was knocked out by 112th-ranked Ugo Humbert, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.

– ‘Crazy’ end –

But Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz stayed on course to meet the six-time champion in the last eight by reaching the third round for the first time.

Alcaraz, just 19, triumphed over Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, 6-4, 7-6 (7/0), 6-3.

The flamboyant Spanish shot-maker goes on to face Germany’s Oscar Otte for a place in the last 16.

Otte needed just 15 minutes to reach the third round when American opponent Christian Harrison retired injured at 3-1 down in their second-round tie.

Alcaraz’s compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina suffered a controversial exit at the hands of Jiri Vesely.

At match point down in the final set tie-break, Davidovich Fokina hit a ball out of the court, was penalised a point and lost the tie.

“I don’t agree with it. That’s crazy… what a lousy way to end it,” US tennis great John McEnroe told ESPN.

In the women’s tournament, second seed Anett Kontaveit, ninth seed and former champion Garbine Muguruza as well as 10th-seeded US Open winner Emma Raducanu all exited.

Kontaveit lost 6-4, 6-0 to Germany’s Julie Niemeier as the Estonian endured another Grand Slam to forget.

Kontaveit has made the quarter-finals of a major just once in 29 attempts.

Muguruza, the 2017 champion, lost her delayed first-round clash 6-4, 6-0 to Belgium’s Greet Minnen.

Raducanu, bidding to become Britain’s first female champion at the All England Club in 45 years, was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by France’s 55th-ranked Caroline Garcia.

“I really enjoyed playing on Centre Court, it was my first time and very special,” said Garcia, who fired 25 winners past the British teenager.

There were no such dramas for third-seed Ons Jabeur or fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari, who went through to the last 32 in straight sets.

– ‘Amazing support’ –

Lesia Tsurenko came out on top in three sets over Ukrainian compatriot Anhelina Kalinina to make the third round for the second time.

Tsurenko, ranked at 101, proudly wore a ribbon in the colours of Ukraine on her shirt.

“It was a big court. Two Ukrainian players but a lot of people were watching us. We felt amazing support,” said Tsurenko after her 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

“Today on the way from the hotel to the club, we got a driver,” she added. “She has taken two people from Ukraine into her house.

“I think it’s amazing when people help Ukrainians so much.”

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Williams fails to glitter on her Wimbledon return, losses first singles game

LONDON: Serena Williams was defeated in her first singles match for a year on Tuesday, going down 7-5, 1-6, 7/6 (10/7) to unseeded Harmony Tan in the first round of Wimbledon.

“For my first Wimbledon it’s wow — just wow,” said Tan.

Seven-time champion Williams was cheered as she walked onto Centre Court for the evening match, but she looked rusty and was broken in her first service game.

Williams, far below her imperious best and apparently lacking fitness, bounced back, breaking in the fourth game to level at 2-2, buoyed by a supportive crowd at the All England Club.

The pair swapped further breaks but Tan, ranked 115th, broke again in the 11th game and held her nerve to close out the set 7-5.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, broke after a mammoth second game of the second set and went on to level the match 6-1.

The American was first to break in the decider but Tan leveled at 3-3.

Williams broke again in the ninth game, throwing her arms into the air in jubilation but faltered as she served for the match.

She faced a match point on her own serve in the 12th game but saved it with a forehand volley, taking the contest into a third-set tie-break.

Williams stepped up a gear, winning the first four points as the match, under the Wimbledon roof, ticked past three hours.

But still her French opponent was not down and out, winning the next five points to edge ahead.

Williams, looking out of breath, could not find inspiration netting when facing a second match point.

“I’m so emotional now,” said Tan. “She’s a superstar. When I was young, I was watching her so many times on the TV.

“When I saw the draw, I was really scared. She’s such a legend. I thought if I can win one game, two games, that would be really good for me.”

Twelve months ago, Williams quit her Wimbledon first-round match in tears after suffering an injury and she had not played singles tennis since until Tuesday.

Doubts had been growing about whether the former world number one — who has slumped to 1,204th in the rankings after her period of inaction — would return to the sport.

But she warmed up by teaming up with Ons Jabeur in the doubles at Eastbourne last week.

Williams, 40, won the last of her seven Wimbledon singles titles six years ago but reached the final in 2018 and 2019.

The American, who was given a wildcard for this year’s tournament, remains stuck on 23 Grand Slam singles wins — agonisingly one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.

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Iga Swiatek into Wimbledon second round with 36th successive win

LONDON: World number one Iga Swiatek racked up her 36th successive victory to reach the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday, equalling the winning streak of Monica Seles in 1990.

French Open champion Swiatek defeated Croatian qualifier Jana Fett 6-0, 6-3 to remain undefeated since February.

The 21-year-old Pole will face Dutch lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove for a place in the last 32.

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Serena returns at Wimbledon as Nadal eyes next leg of Slam

LONDON: Serena Williams returns to singles tennis at Wimbledon after a year away on Tuesday as Rafael Nadal begins his quest to win the third leg of a potential calendar Grand Slam.

Women’s top seed Iga Swiatek, who has won her past six tournaments, will kick off proceedings on Centre Court at 1330 local time (1230 GMT) against Croatian qualifier Jana Fett.

But the main focus will be on seven-time champion Williams, who faces unseeded Harmony Tan of France in her first singles match since an injury forced her to pull out of her first-round match last year.

Williams, 40, won the last of her Wimbledon singles titles six years ago but reached the final in 2018 and 2019.

The American, who was given a wildcard for this year’s tournament, is stuck on 23 Grand Slam singles wins — agonizingly one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.

Doubts had been growing about whether Williams — who has slumped to 1,204th in the world after her period of inaction, would return to the sport.

But she warmed up by teaming up with Ons Jabeur in the doubles at Eastbourne last week and Wimbledon is widely considered her best chance of winning an elusive 24th Grand Slam.

– Nadal eyes calendar slam-

Nadal is halfway to winning all four majors this year after following up his Australian Open triumph by winning his 14th French Open title.

No man has achieved the feat since Ron Laver in 1969, with Novak Djokovic falling just short last year when he lost in the final of the US Open.

The Spaniard’s win at Roland Garros earlier this month took him to 22 Grand Slam singles titles — two clear of Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Nadal won the most recent of his two Wimbledon titles in 2010, having captured his first with an epic triumph over Federer two years earlier.

There was a question mark over his durability for the two weeks at Wimbledon having played the entire French Open with his troublesome left foot anesthetized.

The 36-year-old second seed has since undergone a course of radiofrequency stimulation, a treatment aimed at reducing nerve pain in his foot.

“I can walk normally most of the days, almost every single day,” said Nadal, who faces Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in his opening match.

“When I wake up, I don’t have this pain that I was having for the last year and a half.”

Swiatek’s last match was a comprehensive victory against Coco Gauff in the French Open final — her 35th consecutive win.

Wimbledon will test the Polish top seed’s ability to keep the run going. Reaching the fourth round last year was her best performance, even though she was junior champion in 2018.

“Grass is always tricky,” said the 21-year-old. “I actually like the part that I have no expectations there. It’s something kind of refreshing.”

Other players in action in the women’s draw on Tuesday include 2019 champion Simona Halep, who is the 16th seed this year, and last year’s beaten finalist, Karolina Pliskova.

On the men’s side, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard while 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini, the eighth seed, plays Chile’s, Cristian Garin.

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Djokovic racks up 80th Wimbledon win as Alcaraz fights back

LONDON: Defending Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic became the first player to win 80 matches at all four Grand Slams on Monday while teenage star Carlos Alcaraz battled over five sets to make the second round.

Six-time champion and top seed Djokovic saw off South Korea’s Kwon Soo-woo 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

But 20-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic was made to work after falling a break down in the opening two sets against his 81st-ranked opponent — losing the second of those.

“Now we have got to 80 wins, let’s get to 100,” said Djokovic, who praised an opponent whose love of karaoke led to an appearance on the South Korean version of TV hit “The Masked Singer” last month.

Djokovic, 35, is attempting to win a fourth successive Wimbledon title and join a select group.

In the Open era, only Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have managed such a streak at the All England Club.

Alcaraz, a potential quarter-final opponent for Djokovic, came back from two sets to one down to defeat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.

The 19-year-old fired 30 aces and 73 winners in a dazzling display of shot-making to win 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.

“Last year, I played five sets in the first round here as well so this shows how much I like grass,” joked Alcaraz.

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Petra Kvitova wins Eastbourne to bolster Wimbledon prospects

EASTBOURNE: Petra Kvitova warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the Eastbourne singles title for the first time with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday.

Kvitova needed just 77 minutes to finish off former French Open champion Ostapenko as the Czech veteran produced the kind of dominant grass-court tennis that earned her two Wimbledon titles.

The 32-year-old, who lost the 2011 Eastbourne final to Marion Bartoli, ended Ostapenko’s reign as the women’s champion at Devonshire Park in emphatic fashion, demolishing the Latvian with her booming serve and fierce forehands.

“I had already experienced losing in a final, so I guess I am lucky. Playing on the grass is very special for me, especially when you step onto a beautiful court such as here,” Kvitova said.

“It’s really nice to play in front of the people again; in the pandemic, it was a really tough time, it’s such a better feeling.”

Kvitova’s 29th career singles title is a major confidence boost ahead of her Wimbledon first-round meeting with Italian Jasmine Paolini.

Former world number two Kvitova claimed the first of her two Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and won there again three years later.

The Czech last reached a Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in 2019.

The last player to win Eastbourne and go on to triumph at Wimbledon in the same year was the late Czech player Jana Novotna in 1998.

Asked about her compatriot, who died at the age of 49 in 2017, Kvitova said: “It’s always nice to think about Jana, of course.

“She had so many great matches, not only here but in Wimbledon as well.

“I’m glad that we are able to play such a great event as here. It’s the best preparation for Wimbledon.”

Despite the one-sided defeat, Ostapenko, scheduled to play in the women’s doubles final alongside Ukrainian partner Lyudmyla Kichenok later on Saturday, was pleased with her overall performance on the south coast.

“She played really well, so congrats. Of course, for me, it was not the result I wanted, but in general, I have to take the positive out of this week because I think I played some great tennis, even though today didn’t go my way,” Ostapenko said.

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Serena Williams’ comeback cut short by Jabeur injury

EASTBOURNE: Serena Williams’ Wimbledon preparations suffered a blow after doubles partner Ons Jabeur withdrew from the Eastbourne tournament because of a knee injury on Thursday.

Williams had returned to tennis at Eastbourne after 12 months away, playing her first two competitive matches since she limped out of last year’s Wimbledon in tears with a leg injury.

The 40-year-old American and Tunisian partner Jabeur made it through to the Eastbourne semi-finals with wins over Maria Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the last 16 and Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching in the quarter-finals.

But Jabeur’s injury deprives Serena of the chance to hone further her grass-court game ahead of the start of Wimbledon on Monday.

Before Williams made the surprise announcement of her return last week, rumours of retirement had swirled around her for several months.

But Williams has accepted a wild card into the women’s singles at Wimbledon as she bids to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

She will find out who she faces in the first round when the draw is made on Friday.

Speaking after Wednesday’s doubles match, Williams had said: “I feel good. As good as one can feel after having such a long time off. I was telling Ons, that this was a really good match, and the second set in particular, they played really well, but we were able to just play under different circumstances.

“It was actually good match play and match practice, which is exactly what I needed and what I wanted to do coming here, so I couldn’t have asked for more.”

The last of Williams’ 23 Grand Slam singles titles came at the Australian Open in 2017.

Since then she has lost four Grand Slam finals, including at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019.

Williams won the seventh and most recent of her seven Wimbledon singles titles in 2016.

Serena, who became a mother in 2017, has plummeted to 1,204th in the WTA rankings due to her period out of action prior to Eastbourne.

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Djokovic, Nadal lead title chase at all-change Wimbledon

Djokovic is bidding for a seventh title at the All England Club to move level with US great Pete Sampras.

Nadal, fresh from a 14th French Open victory and a record-extending 22nd major, is halfway to the first men’s calendar Grand Slam in more than half a century.

The season’s third Slam tournament has already made political waves even before the first ball is served on Monday.

The decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine means there is no place for world number one Daniil Medvedev or eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev.

Both the ATP and WTA, who control the men’s and women’s tours, retaliated by stripping ranking points from the tournament.

For the first time since his debut in 1999 — notwithstanding the Covid-cancelled 2020 edition — Federer will be a no-show as the 40-year-old recovers from knee surgery.

Also missing is Germany’s world number two Alexander Zverev, who suffered serious ankle ligament damage in a horrific injury in his French Open semi-final against Nadal.

However, Medvedev and Zverev have never shone at Wimbledon with neither man making it past the fourth round.

Djokovic and Nadal, ranked three and four, are the top seeds meaning if they are to face each other for the 60th time, it can only be in the final.

Djokovic, the champion in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021, could be playing in his final Slam of the year.

His refusal to be vaccinated is likely to rule him out of the US Open later this year.

A bruising quarter-final loss to Nadal at the French Open which saw him deposed as champion in Paris will also likely provide extra motivation.

Nadal won the last of his two Wimbledon titles in 2010 having captured his first with an epic triumph over Federer two years earlier.

The 36-year-old Spaniard arrives at Wimbledon with the Australian and French Opens secured.

He is halfway to becoming only the third man — and first since Rod Laver in 1969 — to complete a calendar Grand Slam.

Nadal has endured a bittersweet relationship with Wimbledon.

Two titles have been accompanied by three lost finals as well as injury-enforced absences in 2004, 2009, 2016, and 2021.

There remains a question mark over his durability for the two weeks at Wimbledon having played the entire French Open with his troublesome left foot anesthetized.

Nadal has since undergone a course of radiofrequency stimulation, a treatment aimed at reducing nerve pain in his foot.

“I love Wimbledon,” said Nadal. “I had a lot of success there. A player like me, I am always ready to play Wimbledon.”

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