Day five at Wimbledon is complete and today’s winners will now enjoy a well-earned two day break before the chaotic fun of Manic Monday. Here’s a look at what you may have missed on Friday.
Wimbledon Day 5 Recap
Four Seeds Eliminated in London
Caroline Wozniacki – 14th Seed
The Dane has never made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, an unwanted streak that is set to continue for at least one more year as she suffered a straight-sets defeat to Zhang Shuai, in which she won just six games. Zhang though is enjoying her best run in London to date and with her section of the draw looking wide open, she will surely have ambitions that extend beyond the fourth round.
Anett Kontaveit – 20th Seed
20th seed Anett Kontaveit fell to world #68 Karolina Muchova in straight sets. Kontaveit’s win over Heather Watson looked to set the stage for a respectable run, but Muchova, who is playing in her maiden Wimbledon, was determined not to let her time at the All England Club end in the first week. The Czech will now face countrywoman Karolina Pliskova, the third seed, for a place in the last eight.
Hsieh Su-wei – 28th Seed
Thanks to her strong serving and powerful groundstrokes, Karolina Pliskova was able to blast into the fourth round. But she didn’t have it all her own way. Though Pliskova won the first set 6-3, Hsieh’s craft allowed her to break the Czech’s serve twice in the second set as she sent the match the distance. But, Pliskova steadied her game and her serve proved the difference as she struck 14 aces. After going down an early break in the third, Hsieh attempted to stage a comeback, but it was thwarted by Pliskova’s power. Pliskova eliminated the threat from the #28 seed 6-3 2-6 6-4 to set up a clash with countrywoman Karolina Muchova in the Round of 16.
Maria Sakkari – 31st Seed
Elina Svitolina outlasted Maria Sakkari to earn a fourth-round berth. The Ukrainian held match points in the second set before Sakkari staged a comeback, forcing a decider. But after an almighty battle, lasting two hours and eight minutes, Svitolina was able to secure the win. The Greek did hit 35 winners, but it was the 48 unforced errors that flew off her racquet that proved to be decisive. Svitolina will now square off against the red-hot Petra Martic in the Round of 16.
Through to the last 16
Seventh seed Simona Halep overcame Victoria Azarenka’s challenge to return to the fourth round, as her excellent court coverage allowed her to blunt the Belarusian’s attacking moves. The Romanian chased down every ball, forcing Azarenka to go for too much, too soon. Nonetheless, it was a positive tournament for Azarenka. But it is imperative that Azarenka finds a way to reduce the number of unforced errors she is hitting. If she can do that, the North American hard-court swing could be her time to shine. Up next for Halep is the player of the moment, the 15-year-old qualifier Cori Gauff.
Petra Martic, seeded 24th, needed only 37 minutes to take the first set against American Danielle Collins. After breaking Collins’ in her first service game, the Croat didn’t give up a single break point opportunity, an impressive feat considering the strength of Collins’ return game. Collins, however, rallied to win the second to set up what proved to be a thrilling decider. But Martic was eventually able to wrest the momentum away from Collins, securing her 12th three set win of the season, one of the best records on the WTA tour. On Manic Monday, Martic will try to reach her second consecutive Major quarterfinal when she faces Svitolina.
Dayana Yastremska enjoyed a straight sets victory over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, though it was not entirely straightforward for the young gun. The 19-year-old Ukrainian needed 98 minutes to find her way into the fourth round at her maiden Wimbledon. But she won an impressive 50% of her return points, earning five breaks of serve as a result. Count on more laser sharp returning when she takes on Zhang in the round of 16.
Match of the Day – Cori “Coco” Gauff Impresses with the Eyes of the World on Her
In surely the most remarkable comeback of this year’s Championships, Cori Gauff knocked out Polona Hercog to claim a spot in the round of 16. And now, some of the oddsmakers see the 15-year-old American as the fourth favorite to clinch the title. It seemed that all of Centre Court, whose crowd gave the teenager their vocal backing, felt the same.
After dropping the first set, Gauff found herself down 2-5 in the second. However, it’s pretty apparent this teen phenom has a sky-high tennis IQ. The American changed her approach to rally from 2-5 down to reach the comparative safety of a tiebreak, which she scraped through 9-7 to level the match.
Initially, Gauff was challenged by the Hercog serve. The power and placement of the Slovenian’s first delivery left Gauff in all sorts of difficulty, whilst she also struggled to contend with the kick on Hercog’s second serve. But, by the third set, Gauff had the Slovenian’s serve figured out. Creating a strategy to negate the powerful Hercog serve as well as finding an answer to the Slovenian’s backhand slice, put Gauff in a position to finally defeat the world #35 and she duly claimed a 6-3 7-6 7-5 win.
Gauff will next spar with the seventh seed Simona Halep in the round of 16. And she may well like her chances against the weaker Halep serve. Of course, against a player of Halep’s ability it will not be easy for the Floridian. But the Romanian isn’t at her best on the grass and Gauff has the athleticism and tennis IQ to mix it with the best of them. Add to that the almost universal support of the Wimbledon crowd and you might just have the conditions for another stunning upset win.
The eyes of the world are on this rising teen star and surely what they’re looking at is a future world #1.
Day five is complete and today’s winners will now enjoy a well-earned two day break before the chaotic fun of Manic Monday. Here’s a look at what you may have missed on Friday.
Wimbledon Day 5 Recap
Four Seeds Eliminated in London
Caroline Wozniacki – 14th Seed
The Dane has never made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, an unwanted streak that is set to continue for at least one more year as she suffered a straight-sets defeat to Zhang Shuai, in which she won just six games. Zhang though is enjoying her best run in London to date and with her section of the draw looking wide open, she will surely have ambitions that extend beyond the fourth round.
Anett Kontaveit – 20th Seed
20th seed Anett Kontaveit fell to world #68 Karolina Muchova in straight sets. Kontaveit’s win over Heather Watson looked to set the stage for a respectable run, but Muchova, who is playing in her maiden Wimbledon, was determined not to let her time at the All England Club end in the first week. The Czech will now face countrywoman Karolina Pliskova, the third seed, for a place in the last eight.
Hsieh Su-wei – 28th Seed
Thanks to her strong serving and powerful groundstrokes, Karolina Pliskova was able to blast into the fourth round. But she didn’t have it all her own way. Though Pliskova won the first set 6-3, Hsieh’s craft allowed her to break the Czech’s serve twice in the second set as she sent the match the distance. But, Pliskova steadied her game and her serve proved the difference as she struck 14 aces. After going down an early break in the third, Hsieh attempted to stage a comeback, but it was thwarted by Pliskova’s power. Pliskova eliminated the threat from the #28 seed 6-3 2-6 6-4 to set up a clash with countrywoman Karolina Muchova in the Round of 16.
Maria Sakkari – 31st Seed
Elina Svitolina outlasted Maria Sakkari to earn a fourth-round berth. The Ukrainian held match points in the second set before Sakkari staged a comeback, forcing a decider. But after an almighty battle, lasting two hours and eight minutes, Svitolina was able to secure the win. The Greek did hit 35 winners, but it was the 48 unforced errors that flew off her racquet that proved to be decisive. Svitolina will now square off against the red-hot Petra Martic in the Round of 16.
Through to the last 16
Seventh seed Simona Halep overcame Victoria Azarenka’s challenge to return to the fourth round, as her excellent court coverage allowed her to blunt the Belarusian’s attacking moves. The Romanian chased down every ball, forcing Azarenka to go for too much, too soon. Nonetheless, it was a positive tournament for Azarenka. But it is imperative that Azarenka finds a way to reduce the number of unforced errors she is hitting. If she can do that, the North American hard-court swing could be her time to shine. Up next for Halep is the player of the moment, the 15-year-old qualifier Cori Gauff.
Petra Martic, seeded 24th, needed only 37 minutes to take the first set against American Danielle Collins. After breaking Collins’ in her first service game, the Croat didn’t give up a single break point opportunity, an impressive feat considering the strength of Collins’ return game. Collins, however, rallied to win the second to set up what proved to be a thrilling decider. But Martic was eventually able to wrest the momentum away from Collins, securing her 12th three set win of the season, one of the best records on the WTA tour. On Manic Monday, Martic will try to reach her second consecutive Major quarterfinal when she faces Svitolina.
Dayana Yastremska enjoyed a straight sets victory over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, though it was not entirely straightforward for the young gun. The 19-year-old Ukrainian needed 98 minutes to find her way into the fourth round at her maiden Wimbledon. But she won an impressive 50% of her return points, earning five breaks of serve as a result. Count on more laser sharp returning when she takes on Zhang in the round of 16.
Match of the Day – Cori “Coco” Gauff Impresses with the Eyes of the World on Her
In surely the most remarkable comeback of this year’s Championships, Cori Gauff knocked out Polona Hercog to claim a spot in the round of 16. And now, some of the oddsmakers see the 15-year-old American as the fourth favorite to clinch the title. It seemed that all of Centre Court, whose crowd gave the teenager their vocal backing, felt the same.
After dropping the first set, Gauff found herself down 2-5 in the second. However, it’s pretty apparent this teen phenom has a sky-high tennis IQ. The American changed her approach to rally from 2-5 down to reach the comparative safety of a tiebreak, which she scraped through 9-7 to level the match.
Initially, Gauff was challenged by the Hercog serve. The power and placement of the Slovenian’s first delivery left Gauff in all sorts of difficulty, whilst she also struggled to contend with the kick on Hercog’s second serve. But, by the third set, Gauff had the Slovenian’s serve figured out. Creating a strategy to negate the powerful Hercog serve as well as finding an answer to the Slovenian’s backhand slice, put Gauff in a position to finally defeat the world #35 and she duly claimed a 6-3 7-6 7-5 win.
Gauff will next spar with the seventh seed Simona Halep in the round of 16. And she may well like her chances against the weaker Halep serve. Of course, against a player of Halep’s ability it will not be easy for the Floridian. But the Romanian isn’t at her best on the grass and Gauff has the athleticism and tennis IQ to mix it with the best of them. Add to that the almost universal support of the Wimbledon crowd and you might just have the conditions for another stunning upset win.
The eyes of the world are on this rising teen star and surely what they’re looking at is a future world #1.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
