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Daniil Medvedev crashed out from the first-round at Wimbledon, losing to Benjamin Bonzi. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the second round, defeating Carson Branstine.
Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon (AP)
Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev faced a surprising first-round defeat at Wimbledon on Monday, losing to France’s Benjamin Bonzi.
Medvedev, who had reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the past two years, saw his hopes for another strong performance at the All England Club abruptly ended by the world number 64.
Bonzi overcame the ninth-seeded Medvedev 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in three hours and seven minutes amidst sweltering conditions on Court Two.
This marked the first time in seven Wimbledon appearances that Medvedev failed to advance past the opening round.
The 29-year-old Russian, a six-time Grand Slam finalist, has had a challenging year at the majors, with a second-round exit at the Australian Open and a first-round exit at the French Open preceding his Wimbledon setback.
Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021, defeated top-seeded Jannik Sinner in last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals before losing to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.
Bonzi expressed his delight, saying, “This is my first top-10 win at a Slam. Obviously, it is always special at this tournament. I love this place, so it’s very special and Daniil is a great player. He has reached two semi-finals here. I knew it was a tough match, but sometimes it is better to play this kind of player in the first round. Anything can happen, so I’m very happy with the win.”
How Did Sabalenka Win?
Meanwhile, top seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the Wimbledon second round on Monday, defeating Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5.
The 27-year-old Belarusian, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has never gone beyond the semi-finals at the All England Club.
Sabalenka aims to overcome the disappointment of losing in the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open earlier this year.
In the first set, Sabalenka broke Branstine twice as the Canadian struggled with her serve.
Branstine put up a tougher fight in the second set, winning the first game to love on her serve but missed a chance to break in the next game.
Playing her first Grand Slam main-draw match, the 24-year-old Branstine had notable victories over French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson and Bianca Andreescu in qualifying.
The second set was tied at 5-5 before Sabalenka broke in the 11th game and served out the victory, setting up a meeting with either New Zealand’s Lulu Sun or Czech player Marie Bouzkova.
(With inputs from AFP)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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