End of the first round and start of the second round this Wednesday July 3, 2024 at Wimbledon with many French people on the courts and a little rain.
The favorites: Alcaraz and Gauff at the rendezvous
Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff, both seeded 2nd in the tournament, wasted no time on Centre Court in the second round of Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The Spaniard defeated the Australian Aleksandar Vukic (69th) in three sets (7-6, 6-2, 6-2), while the American swept aside the Romanian Anca Todoni (142nd) in two sets (6-2, 6-1).
The blue performance: Quentin Halys
Frenchman Quentin Halys (220th) made short work of American Christopher Eubanks (62nd) in three sets in the first round this Wednesday. Coming from the qualifications, the Bondy native is one match away from equaling his best performance on the London grass: a 3rd round, in 2023, against Jannik Sinner.
Big disappointment on the other hand for Eubanks, who had been the sensation of the 2023 tournament by reaching the quarter-finals. The American will lose a lot in the rankings.
The other French: Humbert unrolls, Pouille overturns, Monfils interrupted by the night
Lucas Pouille was in a bad way, but the world number 212 from the qualifiers found the resources to win. In two days, he qualified for the second round by overthrowing the Serbian Laslo Djere (51st) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. At 30 years old, the Frenchman, who reached the quarter-finals in 2016, will face Felix Auger-Aliassime (17th) or Thanasi Kokkinakis (93rd).
For his part, Ugo Humbert, seeded 16th in the tournament, concluded a well-led match with an ace against the Dutchman Botic Van De Zandschulp (96th) (7-6, 6-1, 6-3). He is in the third round of Wimbledon for the third time after 2019 and 2022 and will challenge the American Brandon Nakashima (65th).
Another stunning Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech. The Varois, 76th player in the world, overcame a former US Open finalist, the Japanese Kei Nishikori (401st). Victory in five sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, his very first at Wimbledon. Arthur Cazaux lost in three sets against Alexander Bublik, 4-6, 6-7, 4-6. Finally, Gaël Monfils got off to a good start against Stan Wawrinka but the Frenchman saw his match interrupted by nightfall while he was leading two sets to nothing and the two men were tied 5-5 in the third set. The match will resume on Thursday.
The outsiders: Medvedev and Svitolina jostled but victorious
Alexandre Müller played the match of his life on Centre Court against Russian Daniil Medvedev (5th). Winner of the first set, the Frenchman, ranked 102nd in the world, ended up losing in four sets (6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-5).
Semi-finalist last year and seeded 21st this year, Elina Svitolina had a close call against the Polish Magda Linette (44th). A victory in three sets 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 despite everything, which propels the Ukrainian to the second round.
The sensation : Sonay Kartal
The British Sonay Kartal, 298th player in the world, eliminated the French Clara Burel (45th) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the second round.
Buoyed by the fervent crowd on Court No. 3, she became the first qualified player to reach the third round of Wimbledon since…1997. A big challenge awaits her against Coco Gauff in the next round.
The bide : Casper Ruud
We knew he was allergic to grass. As usual, Casper Ruud leaves Wimbledon in the first week. The Norwegian, seeded 8, was beaten in the second round by the Italian Fabio Fognini (94th). Defeat in four sets (6-4, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3).
Also read: Wimbledon: Ruud, Tsitsipas, Zverev… These members of the top 10 are allergic to grass
Today’s crazy scenario: Machac’s climb on Goffin
A truly incredible scenario. Well on track, David Goffin led two sets to zero against Tomas Machac but the Belgian then completely collapsed. The Czech came back to two sets to all, which had the gift of waking Goffin up. The 83rd in the world then found his tennis again and led 5-0 in the deciding set before completely cracking. Machac came back to 5-5 and pushed the Belgian into a super tie-break of all dangers and on his third match point, the Czech sealed the deal for an incredible turnaround 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6.
The number: 4
Although he withdrew from the singles tournament due to his recent back surgery, Andy Murray will still play in the doubles tournament with his brother Jamie. But for his last Wimbledon, «Sir Andy» had another surprise in store for the British public: a mixed doubles match with Emma Raducanu, the 21-year-old prodigy who won the US Open in 2021 and brilliantly qualified for the third round on Wednesday.
According to the X Game, Set and Maths account, this is the fourth time the Scot has played a Grand Slam tournament in mixed doubles after Wimbledon 2005 (with Shahar Peer), Wimbledon 2006 (with Kirsten Flipkens) and Wimbledon 2019 (with Serena Williams).
The sentence, signed Fabio Fognini
Question on the court after his victory against Casper Ruud: “What did you say to yourself when you lost the third set when you had match points?”
Fabio Fognini : “This is why I love and hate this sport.”
The daybreak, signed Carlos Alcaraz
A backhand passing shot at the end of the race, the Spaniard has the secret of it.
