Gauff ousted on day of Wimbledon shocks as Djokovic launches history bid
U.S. second seed Gauff arrived at the All England Club with high hopes after winning the French Open last month but was beaten 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 by Ukranian world No. 42 Dayana Yastremska.
Other high-profile casualties on day two of the grass-court Grand Slam were women's third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen.
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Japan Times
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Naomi Osaka finds comfort zone at Wimbledon after once being 'paralyzed' by fear
After years of having a rather a strained relationship with Wimbledon thanks to being "paralyzed by fear" at the thought of playing on tennis' fastest surface, Naomi Osaka feels she has finally found her grass-court wings. The Japanese player, who has won all four of her Grand Slam titles on the hard courts of Melbourne Park and Flushing Meadows, has never found her comfort zone on the green, green grass at Wimbledon, making only four previous appearances during her 10-year professional career. During those four visits to the All England Club, she won a total of just five matches, with third-round showings in 2017 and 2018 her standout performances — hardly anything to shout about for a woman who has been ranked on top of the world. But after matching her best showing at Wimbledon on Wednesday with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win over Czech Katerina Siniakova, who has won the Wimbledon women's doubles title three times, Osaka feels she has finally overcome the fear factor on grass. "When I was younger, I had no fear," explained Osaka, now ranked 53rd as she continues to try to recapture her best form after taking a maternity break in 2023. "I think when you are young, you fear nothing, and that's one of the really cool things about it. "But with age, fear kind of crept along and, I guess, paralyzed me in a way. Now I'm kind of just getting over that and trying to spread my wings on grass. "I think it is working, and I think I am moving pretty well. Yeah, I just hope that in years to come and hopefully this year I can do a lot better in this tournament." Osaka could not have picked a better year to enjoy a deep run. Following the carnage of seeded players over the first three days, the highest seeds she could meet before a potential semifinal against either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or Australian Open champion Madison Keys are No. 13 Amanda Anisimova or No. 30 Linda Noskova — neither of whom is known for their grass court pedigree. After two straight-set victories, Osaka will certainly fancy her chances of defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time, considering the Russian has not beaten her since 2017. "Definitely this year I feel a lot more comfortable moving on grass," said Osaka after improving her record at Wimbledon to 7-4 on the day her daughter, Shai, celebrated her second birthday. "I know the last couple of years I was really scared to move because when I was younger, I strained my knee or whatever. It took a couple of years to get over that, but I definitely feel a lot more comfortable."
Japan Today
17 hours ago
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Alcaraz ends Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure; Paolini crashes out
tennis By Steven GRIFFITHS Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur, while last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini became the latest star to crash out on Wednesday. A record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round, but Alcaraz and women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka avoided seismic shocks on Centre Court. Second-seeded Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd. "First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest," Alcaraz said. "I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well." Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass. His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, the world number two hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. In stark contrast to Alcaraz's fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money. As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings. While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion, Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round. "It was just really special. It's not every day that you get to play against maybe the best player in the world. I did a pretty good job of enjoying the moment and trying to play some good tennis, Tarvet said. In the first two days, nine of the top 10 seeded players across the men's and women's singles draws were eliminated, a Grand Slam record in the Open era. Second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen all lost in the first round. And Italian fourth seed Paolini was next to stumble in the second round. Paolini, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in the 2024 Wimbledon title match, slumped to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Russian world number 62 Kamilla Rakhimova. Sabalenka bucked the trend, out-dueling 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a heavy-hitting contest. The Belarusian, who suffered painful defeats in the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, lashed an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes. "Honestly it's very sad to see so many top players losing but you better focus on yourself," said the three-time Grand Slam winner. "I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean!" Sabalenka's next opponent is Britain's Emma Raducanu, the former U.S. Open champion beating 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3. Sixth seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys also advanced, making short work of Serbia's Olga Danilovic in a 6-4, 6-2 win. On the men's side, 13 seeded players lost in the first round, breaking the previous tournament record of 11 and tying the 2004 Australian Open for the most at a Grand Slam. American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe was the latest leading man to endure a surprise defeat, losing to British world number 61 Cameron Norrie 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in the second round. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
17 hours ago
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Sabalenka tells troubled Zverev to talk to family about mental health issues
tennis World number one Aryna Sabalenka has urged Alexander Zverev to talk to his family about his mental health issues before they "destroy" him. German world number three Zverev opened up about his mental struggles, saying he felt "alone" and "empty" after a shock Wimbledon first-round defeat against France's Arthur Rinderknech on Tuesday. "Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it," the 28-year-old told reporters when asked if he would see a therapist to help with his problems. "I've been through a lot of difficulties. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well." The three-time Grand Slam finalist's cry for help brought a sympathetic response from top-seeded women's star Sabalenka. Speaking after her Wimbledon second-round win against Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic on Wednesday, the Belarusian revealed she used to speak to a therapist, before deciding it was better to share her problems with her family. Reigning U.S. Open champion Sabalenka, 27, believes Zverev should follow the same path. "Well, I had a therapist five years in my career. I stopped maybe in 2022. But it's actually crazy to hear from someone like Alexander because he surrounded himself with the family, you know?" Sabalenka said. "It's really important to talk openly about whatever you're dealing with. Especially if you have your family, talk about what are you experiencing because if you're going to keep it inside, it's just going to destroy you. "I think that's kind of like something happening to him. He just needs to open up to whoever is close to him. Like I think family is the best, people who can accept whatever you're dealing with." Zverev's frank admission sparked concerns about his welfare and Sabalenka said being more open is the only way to feel positive. "The moment you start talk about your problems, you kind of start realizing a lot of things. It's helping to solve them," she said. "So he just has to be a bit more open, not only to himself but just like open to his family, team, just so everyone is aware what is going on through his mind. That's the most important. Like me with my team, we always talk a lot. So that's why I don't need a therapist, because I have my team. "We can talk about whatever. I know they're not going to judge me. They're not going to blame me. They're just going to accept it, and we are just going to work through. This is the best advice I can give Sascha." © 2025 AFP
