'No panic' says Daniil Medvedev after shock Wimbledon exit
Daniil Medvedev, the former US Open champion, suffered a shocking first-round defeat at Wimbledon, extending his disappointing Grand Slam performance this year. Despite reaching the semi-finals in previous years, Medvedev fell to Benjamin Bonzi in a three-hour match.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
London: Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev said he was "not panicking" after a shock first-round defeat at Wimbledon extended his dismal Grand Slam form this year.The Russian ninth seed lost 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to France's Benjamin Bonzi in three hours and seven minutes in sweltering conditions on Court TwoMedvedev reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2023 and 2024 but the Russian's bid for another strong run at the All England Club came to an abrupt end at the hands of the world number 64.It was the first time in seven Wimbledon appearances that Medvedev has failed to advance past the opening round.Medvedev, a six-time Grand Slam finalist, has endured a dismal year at the majors, losing in the Australian Open second round and French Open first round before his Wimbledon flop.The 29-year-old, who won the US Open in 2021, defeated top seeded Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year before losing to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.But the Russian was sanguine about his defeat on Monday, saying he would be "very worried" had he not reached the final at this month's Halle grass-court event, which he lost to Alexander Bublik."I had a great week of preparation because I come in with confidence after Halle," said Medvedev."I literally won every practice set I played. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter for the match. The match is a new story."First round, for sure many, many times you play a bit worse. If it would be second or third round, maybe I could have better shots, play better."The Russian had angrily slammed his racquet against his chair after losing, but said he was confident he will get back on track."It's not panicking. But I was really worried after 's-Hertogenbosch (where he lost in the quarter-finals to Reilly Opelka). It was a lot of losses," he said."For me it's a matter of confidence. Again, I come back to this Halle tournament . If it would not be there, I would be here and say, 'Look, something is definitely missing'."But no, just a matter of couple of matches, win matches. I feel like this year I lost a lot of close calls. When I start winning them, I can go up the rankings."For the moment, I'm not that worried. If I finish the year somewhere around 15 in the world, maybe I will be more worried. For the moment, I am not."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Alcaraz survives Wimbledon scare, Sabalenka serene, but others feel the heat
Carlos Alcaraz survived Wimbledon's hottest-ever opening day, although the Spaniard was far from his sizzling best as he began his quest for a hat-trick of titles with a big scare against Fabio Fognini at the All England Club on Monday. With air temperatures soaring to 32 degrees Celsius, Alcaraz needed more than four hours to subdue veteran Fognini, winning 7-5 6-7(5) 7-5 2-6 6-1 — the last set interrupted after a spectator became unwell in the heat and required assistance. Women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka, bidding to win Wimbledon for the first time, had no such trouble as she dispatched Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5 but last year's runner-up, fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, was pushed hard by Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in a 2-6 6-3 6-2 win. While five-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who won the Queen's Club title in the build-up, lives to fight another day, several high-profile players departed the men's draw. No arena at Wimbledon gets as hot as bowl-like Court Two and the conditions were clearly not to the liking of ex-world number one Daniil Medvedev as the ninth seed saw his hopes scorched by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who won 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2. Eighth seed Holger Rune of Denmark, yet to really make his mark at a Grand Slam, won the opening two sets against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry but succumbed 4-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4. Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, twice a Grand Slam runner-up, was left despondent after retiring with a back injury, having fallen two sets behind against French qualifier Valentin Royer. Winning Streak Only two defending men's champions had ever lost in the first round at Wimbledon, but there were moments when Alcaraz looked in danger of joining compatriot Manuel Santana on that short list as Fognini rolled back the years. Alcaraz arrived at Wimbledon on an 18-match winning streak, which included a spellbinding French Open final win over Jannik Sinner. But the spark was missing on Monday in front of a Centre Court crowd that included David Beckham. Heat is second nature to Alcaraz, but it was Fognini who flourished in the sun and when he broke serve twice to level the match at two sets apiece a massive shock looked possible. But Alcaraz, regularly using an ice towel to cool down, found an extra gear in the decider and even charmed the crowd by offering his water bottle to the distressed fan. He then led the warm applause for former top-10 player Fognini, for whom this was his final Wimbledon. "I don't know why it's his last Wimbledon because the level he has shown, you know, he can still play three or four more years. It's unbelievable," Alcaraz said of Fognini. Next up for Alcaraz is British qualifier Oliver Tarvet who marked his Grand Slam main draw debut with a superb 6-4 6-4 6-4 defeat of fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi of Switzerland. Tarvet is one of 23 British players in the singles draw, the most since 1984. The home charge was led Sonay Kartal who upset 20th seed and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2. She was joined in round two by British number one Emma Raducanu who comfortably passed a tricky test against Mingge Xu, one of three British teenaged wild cards to play on Monday. When Katie Boulter later knocked out Spanish ninth seed Paula Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-4 on Centre Court, seven British players had enjoyed victories, the most in a single day for the home nation in the professional era. Home hope Jacob Fearnley could not follow suit though as he was outshone 6-4 6-1 7-6(5) by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, who showed why he is creating such a stir with some carnival tennis on a steamy Court One. Tough Workout World number one Sabalenka won the opening five games against part-time model Branstine but was given a far tougher workout after that as she moved into round two. The 27-year-old from Minsk missed last year's event because of a shoulder injury and arrived this time with a point to prove after losing in the Australian and French Open finals this year. Several other women's contenders sparkled in the sunshine, none more than 13th seeded American Amanda Anisimova who served up a dreaded 'double-bagel' 6-0 6-0 defeat to Yulia Putintseva. Ukraine's Elina Svitolina beat Anna Boindar in straight sets while 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova continued her return to form by knocking out American 30th seed McCartney Kessler, setting up a second-round clash with Raducanu. Australian Open champion Madison Keys, seeded sixth, battled for two hours and 41 minutes to beat Romania's Elena Ruse and played down the impact of the heat. "I think it's funny coming from the States, because this is quite literally a very typical summer day," she said. There was a sad end for Tunisia's twice runner-up Ons Jabeur though as she retired from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova because of illness.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Tennis-American men still searching for a way to emulate Keys and Gauff success
By Pritha Sarkar Tennis-American men still searching for a way to emulate Keys and Gauff success LONDON, - With Madison Keys and Coco Gauff raising hopes that they could complete an "American slam" of the majors this year, their male counterparts at Wimbledon can only look on enviously. Keys ended her long wait to get her hands on a Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open this year and when Gauff triumphed at the French Open earlier this month it seemed like there was no stopping the Americans - in the women's draw at least. Unfortunately for the men, Andy Roddick's U.S. Open victory in 2003 remains a painful reminder year after year of how long it has been since an American man picked up a singles trophy at one of the four majors. The singles draw at Wimbledon is populated with 45 Americans 19 in the women's and 16 in the men's which is almost double that of any other country. Some of the players in action this year at Wimbledon, such as Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen, were not even born when Roddick was the toast of Flushing Meadows. This year, the leader of the men's pack was supposed to be fifth seed Taylor Fritz, who came into the tournament riding high on confidence after winning his fourth Eastbourne title two days ago. In fact, in the Wimbledon men's field, he owns the second highest number of grasscourt titles - his haul of five only behind seven-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic. But on Monday he came within two points of going out in the first round before hanging tough to win the fourth set tiebreak and leave the match deadlocked at two sets all when play was suspended for the night, 45 minutes before the 11pm curfew. Fritz's day summed up the plight faced by American men. He seemed to be on the verge of becoming the highest-seeded casualty even though he never got broken and had set points in the first two sets which Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard won 7-6 7-6 before the American won the next two 6-4 7-6. Should he survive Tuesday's final set shootout, he will join 12th seed Frances Tiafoe, Tien, Jenson Brooksby and Ethan Quinn in the second round. Americans Brandon Holt, Mackenzie McDonald, and Nishesh Basavareddy all lost on the hottest opening day recorded at Wimbledon, with temperatures soaring above 32 degrees Celsius, while eight others will be in action on Tuesday. AMERICAN QUARTET While Fritz was lucky to play in a cool temperature-controlled environment thanks to the Court One roof being closed before his match started, Keys was among many players who had to toil under the blazing sun. Britain's heatwave, however, failed to throw her off stride as she led a quartet of American women into round two with a 6-7 7-5 7-5 win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Amanda Anisimova was even more impressive as she delivered the dreaded 6-0 6-0 double bagel to Yulia Putintseva. Ann Li and Ashlyn Krueger also won, while Gauff is in action on Tuesday. With American women having won 25 Grand Slam titles since Roddick lifted the U.S. Open trophy 22 years ago with Venus and Serena Williams accounting for 19 of them Keys had one message for her male counterparts - "Keep up". "I feel like the American women have been probably inspiring the men for a while. I can't really think of a time the past 20 years where U.S. women weren't doing incredibly well," she said. "Granted, we had the Williams sisters for a long time leading that charge. There were also a lot of great American women constantly in the top 20, 10, 30. "I think the men are inspired and they want to try to keep up." This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Wimbledon: Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will resume their match in the 5th set
LONDON — Fifth-seeded Taylor Fritz's match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in Wimbledon's first round was suspended after four sets on Monday night in case they wouldn't be able to finish before the tournament's 11 p.m. curfew. Wimbledon: Taylor Fritz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard will resume their match in the 5th set They'll resume on Tuesday. Playing with the No. 1 Court retractable roof closed and artificial lights on, Mpetshi Perricard was two points from winning while leading 5-2 in the fourth-set tiebreaker, but never got closer. From 6-all, 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Fritz took the next two points to force a fifth set and pounded his right fist on his chest, yelling, 'Let's go! Come on!' It was about 10:15 p.m., and the players met up at the net with an official to discuss whether or not to continue. Eventually, the chair umpire announced to the crowd: 'Ladies and gentlemen, due to the late time of the day, we will not be able to finish the match. Therefore the match will be suspended until tomorrow. Play is suspended.' Fritz did not appear pleased about the interruption. He looked toward his guest box with his palms up and said: 'I couldn't do anything. I tried.' In a match between two of the tour's top servers, Mpetshi Perricard hit 33 aces before play was stopped, and Fritz hit 24. Mpetshi Perricard never earned a break point during the four sets contested Monday; Fritz had five chances and converted one. Fritz, a 27-year-old Californian, was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2022, losing to Rafael Nadal, and again a year ago, losing to Lorenzo Musetti. Mpetshi Perricard, a 21-year-old Frenchman, reached the fourth round at the All England Club last year, also eliminated by Musetti. tennis: /hub/tennis This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
