Another incredible day of women’s action at Wimbledon occurred on Day 3 at Wimbledon. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula had already exited, and there were more surprising results on Wednesday at SW19. Beatriz Haddad Maia, who lost to Dalma Galfi, was one of several seeded players to be knocked out. Aryna Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, and Naomi Osaka were among the other women who took to the courts in London.
Wimbledon Day 3 Women’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Aryna Sabalenka survived a scare in the first set to reach the Wimbledon second round. Marie Bouzkova served for the opener at 6-5, but the World No. 1 found inspiration in the nick of time to recover and take it on a tiebreak. Bouzkova continued to push Sabalenka, who had to rely on excellent serving to keep the Czech at bay. The three-time Grand Slam champion only faced one break point in the match, and triumphed 7-6 6-4.
Madison Keys won pretty comfortably on Day 3. The Australian Open champion survived a very close match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the opening round. By contrast, Keys was in control throughout most of her 6-4 6-2 victory against Olga Danilovic, only being broken once in their encounter.
Emma Raducanu played one of her best matches in the last few years to eliminate the 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova. The home favorite handled Vondrousova’s variety expertly to outplay her and progress 6-3 6-3. Vondrousova claimed the Berlin Open title before Wimbledon, making Raducanu’s win even more impressive.
Amanda Anisimova’s excellent grass-court swing continued on Wednesday. This year’s Queen’s Club Championships runner-up prevailed 6-4 6-3 against Renata Zarazua. The Mexican competed well with her opponent, who was a heavy favorite, but Anisimova’s powerful hitting proved too much in the end.
Naomi Osaka produced arguably her best performance at Wimbledon in the second round. The four-time Grand Slam champion faced Katerina Siniakova, who beat Qinwen Zheng in the opening round. Osaka’s power proved too much for the Czech to deal with. She got repeated joy in cross-court forehand rallies, and 6-3 6-2 was the final score.
Who Looked Bad
Last year’s semifinalist Donna Vekic produced an awful performance by her standards on Day 3. She fell 1-6 3-6 to Cristina Bucsa after a wayward display from start to finish. Bucsa focused on being solid and not making many mistakes, and that was enough to win because of Vekic’s repeated errors.
12th seed Diana Shnaider was comprehensively beaten 4-6 1-6 by Diane Parry. Although Parry had endured a challenging season before Wimbledon, the Frenchwoman’s game suits grass when it clicks. She showed that with several excellent slices and forehand winners. However, Shnaider was also far below her best. The 21-year-old did not show the ability that took her to last year’s Bad Homburg Open title on grass.
Katie Boulter’s final two sets against Solana Sierra were the worst of Day 3. After taking the opener on a tiebreak, the Briton sprayed unforced errors all over the court to lose 7-6 2-6 1-6. Boulter’s best tennis on grass is excellent, making her collapse against Sierra, who had never won a Grand Slam main draw match before Wimbledon, very surprising.
2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez also had a tough day. The 29th seed failed to adjust to Laura Siegemund’s craft and variety, and was defeated 2-6, 3-6. 37-year-old Siegemund will probably need an even better performance against Keys in the third round.
Match of the day
Jasmine Paolini’s shocking loss against Kamilla Rakhimova is chosen as the match of the day. Rakhimova has endured many difficult results this season, and challenging the Wimbledon runner-up seemed like a tough ask. Paolini had control at the start of the contest and led the opening set 5-2. She briefly gave Rakhimova hope of recovering the deficit before getting a second break to take it 6-4.
Rather than wilt after that setback, Rakhimova began hitting her forehand even better in the second set. She got on a roll after saving four break points in her opening service game, and got the set’s only break at 3-3 to win it 6-4 and force a decider. The clearly rattled Paolini was broken in the opening game of set three after some uncharacteristic poor shots.
Rakhimova’s consistently well-placed forehands got her over the line from there. Despite not serving with overwhelming power, her next shot afterward repeatedly put Paolini under pressure. The 23-year-old briefly felt the pressure when she missed three match points at 40-0, but then recovered to confirm a 4-6 6-4 6-4 triumph that ended Paolini’s hopes of winning a maiden Wimbledon title.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
