Wimbledon: Coco Gauff crashes out; Novak Djokovic battles through on a day of high drama

Time of India

9 hours ago

Coco Gauff's
campaign came to a shocking halt on Tuesday as the second seed and newly crowned
champion was knocked out in the first round by Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska. The 21-year-old American lost 6-7 (3/7), 1-6 in what was her earliest Grand Slam exit since her first-round defeat at the same venue a year ago.
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Gauff, who had arrived at the All England Club full of confidence after her Roland Garros triumph, looked flat and unsettled on Centre Court. After losing a tight first set in a tiebreak, her game unravelled, allowing Yastremska, ranked 42 in the world, to race through the second.
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Speaking after the match, Gauff admitted that the quick turnaround from clay to grass had left her mentally and physically drained.
"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards [following the French Open win], so I didn't feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it," she said. "It's the first time experiencing this – coming off a big win and then playing Wimbledon. I learned a lot about what I would and wouldn't do again."
It capped a nightmare day for the women's draw, with third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen also crashing out in straight sets to lower-ranked opponents.
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Later in the evening, seven-time champion
took to Centre Court in pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title - but his own journey nearly hit an unexpected roadblock. Facing France's Alexandre Muller, the Serbian legend breezed through the opening set before suffering a bout of illness that saw him drop the second in a tiebreak.
"I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes," Djokovic revealed after winning 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2, 6-2.
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"Whether it was a stomach bug, I don't know. I struggled with that, but the energy came back after some doctors' miracle pills and I finished the match well."
Earlier in the day, defending women's champion Barbora Krejcikova survived a scare before defeating Alexandra Eala in three sets. Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, and Taylor Fritz all advanced comfortably, while Petra Kvitova bid an emotional farewell after a straight-sets loss to Emma Navarro.
Men's third seed Alexander Zverev also suffered a shock exit, falling in five gruelling sets to French world number 72 Arthur Rinderknech. The German, who was runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year, endured his earliest Grand Slam defeat since 2019, with the marathon match stretching across two days after beginning late on Monday evening.