Day 4 of the women’s singles at Wimbledon produced more excellent tennis. This year’s French Open winner Iga Swiatek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina were among the top players in action. It was a day that saw some surprising results, including the exit of a Top-10 player. This article recaps who looked good, which players did not perform well and picks the match that stood out the most.
Wimbledon Day 4 Women’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Iga Swiatek came through once again in straight sets. She overcame Petra Martic 6-3 6-4. Swiatek, who is looking to take the next step on grass in London this year, showed how much her serve has improved by not facing a break point throughout the contest.
Two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur also progressed in two sets. The Tunisian defeated Robin Montgomery 6-1 7-5. Jabeur managed Montgomery’s powerful serve very impressively throughout the contest, breaking four times across the two sets.
Madison Keys was even more dominant than Swiatek and Jabeur in her second-round victory. The 2017 US Open runner-up swept aside Wang Yafan 6-2 6-2. Keys took four of the 14 break point opportunities she created, and never looked in any danger on Court 12.
Elena Rybakina had to work harder for her place in the third-round on Day 4 of Wimbledon. She was pushed to three sets by the 36-year-old German veteran Laura Siegemund. Rybakina eventually managed to triumph 6-3 3-6 6-3. It was not a vintage performance from the Kazakhstani, but she played the big points in the deciding set very well.
2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova battled through an entertaining tussle against Katie Volynets. She won two very close sets 7-6(8-6) 7-6(7-5). Krejcikova, who played a very long match against Veronika Kudermetova on Day 3, was starting to visibly tire in the second set. Therefore, she did superbly to come up with some big shots in important moments to avoid a third set.
Who Looked Bad
23rd seed Caroline Garcia suffered a disappointing defeat on Day 4 of Wimbledon. She fell 6-3 3-6 4-6 to Bernarda Pera. Her American opponent had never won a match in five previous appearances at SW19 until this year. Unfortunately, Garcia paid the price for making errors at crucial moments during the contest.
Katie Boulter was also the victim of an upset. The Briton lost a very close match to her compatriot Harriet Dart 6-4 1-6 6-7(8-10) Boulter will have many regrets, since Dart did not even play her best tennis during a scrappy encounter. The 32nd seed was also 6-2 up in the deciding set 10-point tiebreak, but she could not get over the line.
Yuriko Miyazaki had a miserable day at Wimbledon. She was dismantled 0-6 0-6 by Daria Kasatkina on Court 18. Admittedly, competing with the recent Eastbourne International champion was always going to be difficult. But Miyazaki never came close to producing what she is capable of.
Match of the Day
The No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula’s battle with Wang Xinyu was the best women’s match on Day 4 of Wimbledon. World No. 42 Wang, who had not achieved much on grass before this year’s tournament, was a heavy underdog for this contest. However, the Chinese player was superb from the start. On a very windy day in south-west London, Wang adjusted to the conditions much faster than Pegula in the opening set, firing many forehand winners. One break of serve was all she needed to take it 6-3.
The second set was of outstanding quality. Pegula raised her game significantly, but she was still finding it tough against the relentless Wang. After several excellent rallies from both players, Wang served for the match at 6-5, but Pegula broke back to force a tiebreak. The American then found herself down a match point at 6-7, but she produced three excellent points in a row to win it 9-7 and force a deciding set in the process.
Many may have expected Pegula to take control of the match after that. To the amazement of many watching on Court 3, Wang’s level rose even further. Her return got even better, and she struck several incredible winners off her forehand. A shell-shocked Pegula could not find any answers, and she was knocked out in a 6-4 6-7 6-1 upset.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
