Madison Keys stunned at Wimbledon by German 37-year-old Laura Siegemund
Keys's exit left just one of the top six women in the bracket before the end of week one, number one Aryna Sabalenka, who was in action on Saturday morning (AEST) against 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Number two Coco Gauff, number three Jessica Pegula, number four Jasmine Paolini and number five Zheng Qinwen already were out. The men's field has also seen its share of surprises, including a Wimbledon-record 13 seeds gone in the first round.
"At times, it wasn't the best quality, let's say. But I managed, and in the end. It's just important to find solutions and I did that well. Kept my nerves in the end," Siegemund said.
"There are always nerves. If you don't have nerves in this moment, you're probably dead."
Wimbledon might be the only grand slam event where Keys has not reached at least the semifinals, but she has participated in the quarterfinals there twice and is enjoying a breakthrough 2025, including her title at Melbourne Park in January.
Keys's power against Siegemund's spins and slices offered quite a contrast in styles, and this outcome was surprisingly one-way traffic on a windy afternoon at No.2 Court. The key statistic, undoubtedly, was this: Keys made 31 unforced errors, 20 more than Siegemund.
When it ended with one last backhand return from Keys that sailed wide, Siegemund smiled broadly, raised her arms and jumped up and down repeatedly.
"You can't not be happy when you beat a great player like Madison," Siegemund said.
Before this year, Siegemund's career record at the All England Club was 2-5, and she had never made it past the second round.
Taking into account all four grand slam tournaments, she had reached the third round only once in 28 previous appearances, getting to the quarterfinals at the 2020 French Open.
"There is technically no pressure for me," said Siegemund, at 37 the oldest woman remaining in the tournament.
"I try to remember that I only play for myself. I don't feel like I need to prove anything anymore. My boyfriend often tells me that."
In the next round, the German faces another unexpected participant at this stage of the grass-court major: 101st-ranked Solana Sierra of Argentina, who lost in qualifying and made it into the main draw when another player withdrew.
Carlos Alcaraz kept his Wimbledon three-peat campaign chugging along by beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court to reach the fourth round.
Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 21 matches overall and 17 consecutive victories at the All England Club, where he has won the past two titles.
The five-time grand slam champion shook off a second-set wobble with an early break and by dropping only four points on his serve in the third set.
Struff held tough but Alcaraz broke for a 5-4 lead in the fourth set and served out the victory.
AP
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