Wimbledon witnessed two major upsets in the women’s singles on Saturday as defending champion Iga Swiatek and second seed Elena Rybakina were both knocked out in the third round.
Filipina star Alexandra Eala produced the biggest shock of the day by beating third seed Swiatek 7-6(9), 6-2 to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The opening set lasted nearly 90 minutes, with both players battling hard. But after edging the tiebreak, Eala took complete control and never allowed Swiatek back into the contest.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and this year’s Australian Open winner, also crashed out after losing 7-6(4), 6-1 to Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
There was disappointment for American fans as Serena Williams pulled out of her much-anticipated doubles match alongside sister Venus due to injury.
In an Instagram post, Serena said she was “heartbroken” to withdraw after making her Wimbledon return following a four-year absence. She had earlier lost to Australia’s Maya Joint in the singles.
However, Madison Keys gave the home fans something to cheer about by defeating sixth seed Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in an all-American clash on Centre Court.
Qualifier Ashlyn Krueger also impressed with a straight-sets win over Ukraine’s Daria Snigur, while Emma Navarro’s campaign ended with a three-set defeat to Marta Kostyuk.
In the men’s draw, second seed Alexander Zverev continued his strong run with a 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over American Marcos Giron.
Alexander Bublik also advanced after beating 17th seed Frances Tiafoe in a five-set thriller.
Italy’s Flavio Cobolli recovered from losing the opening set 6-0 to defeat Karen Khachanov in five sets and move into the fourth round. He will next face Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who beat Zachary Svajda.
Lorenzo Sonego could not join his fellow Italian in the last 16, losing in four sets to sixth seed Taylor Fritz, while former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini was beaten in five sets by Grigor Dimitrov.
Eala’s remarkable run will continue against last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, who comfortably defeated Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-2.
The 20-year-old Eala, the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam, said the moment meant everything to her.
“For someone who grew up in the Philippines, going to training every day after school with my brother and grandfather, this means everything,” she said. “But I’m not satisfied yet. Next round, let’s go.”
One of the loudest cheers of the day came for Britain’s Arthur Fery, who staged an incredible comeback to beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the longest match of the tournament.
Despite suffering three nosebleeds and trailing by two sets to one and 4-1 in the deciding set, Fery fought back to win in a final-set tiebreak.
