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Wimbledon 2024 Women’s Day 6
Yulia Putintseva repeated a grass-court giant-killing act on one of the biggest stages in tennis, knocking world No. 1 Iga Swiatek out of Wimbledon 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday.
The third-round thrashing on covered Court No. 1 on a day of constant rain interruptions, sends the Kazakh into uncharted territory.
She also beat a WTA No. 1 in 2019 on grass at Birmingham, eliminating then-top-ranked Naomi Osaka in the second round.
Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek had not lost a match since mid-April in Stuttgart and was on a 21-match win streak.
But the 35th-ranked challenger put an end to that success with her upset in two hours. Swiatek will remain atop the rankings despite the shock loss.
The winner had never been to the third round here in nine previous appearances.
The Polish top seed won the opening set but suddenly went off the boil as the second set began, with Putintseva using quick-fire tactics to rattle the seed and speed up the pace of play.
“I feel great, really great,” she said. “I don’t know how I did it.
“My tactic was to not give her any time, it worked and that was pretty much it.
.”I tried to play my game and stay intense on every point. I took time away from her.
“I have no words, I’m so happy now. The crowd brought me back to life after losing the first set. I could feel their energy.”
Swiatek ended with 38 unforced errors while Putintseva held her count to 15.
“I totally let her come back to the game in the second set,” the top seed said.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I made some mistakes, as well. But for sure, she used her chance.
“My tank of really pushing myself to the limits became suddenly, like,empty. I was kind of surprised.
“But I didn’t really rest properly after Roland Garros. I’m not going to make this mistake again.
“I feel like on grass I need little bit more of that energy to keep being patient and accept some mistakes.
“Mentally, I didn’t really do that well at this tournament. I need to recover better after clay court season, both physically and mentally.”
Putintseva next takes on Jelena Ostapenko; The 13th-seeded Latvian put out American Bernarda Pera with the loss of four games in 59 minutes.
Elena Svitolina, 2023 semi-finalist here, spent 80 minutes in adding to the Wimbledon misery for two-time losing finalist Ons Jabeur, defeating the Tunisian 6-1, 7-6 (4).
The Ukrainian winner, watched by husband Gael Monfils, advanced into the second week on her second match point.
“It was really tight in the second set, I had to stay focused,” Svitolina said. “It was a big relief to win it in a tiebreaker.”They are always a lottery – and I feel I won one today.
“It’s not easy to play such a champion like Ons, she’s very tricky on grass. But I was playing great tennis today.
‘I’m relieved and happy with my performance.”
Jabeur could not hide her disappointment: “I feel like I didn’t play my best and I tried to come back in the second set, and I had my chance.
“That’s tennis. I hope I can definitely learn from this one and be stronger in the
second half of the season.”
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, hammered former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 6-1.
Harriet Dart made a British exit, losing 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 to China’s Wang Xinyu, who accounted for fifth seed Jessica Pegula in the previous round.
“It was a huge opportunity today; I put myself in some situations where I was up
and leading.
“It was really tough: to be up in two sets and come away with a loss is pretty
heartbreaking, to be honest.”
Former French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova advanced into the second week as Spanish opponent Jessica Bouzas Maniero, who put out 2023 winner Marketa Vondrousova in the first round, had to quit after less than an hour.
Krejcikova moved on 6-0, 4-3. “It’s obviously very disappointing that Jessica had to retire. It was an interesting match with the (rain) delays and everything that was happening.
“But I’m happy. I’m happy I’m through to the fourth round.
Main photo:- Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
Aryna Sabalenka will work to break through on the Stuttgart indoor clay as the world No. 1 bids for the title in a rare Monday final against Jelena Ostapenko in a battle of Grand Slam winners.
Double Australian Open holder Sabalenka is desperate for a change of luck after losing finals here in 2021 (Ash Barty), 2022 and 2023 (the last two against Iga Swiatek).
The top seed booked her spot with Sunday’s 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Italian Jasmine Paolini, duplicating a defeat of the two-time finalist at the majors from last month in Miami.
Ostapenko, who won Roland Garros in 2017, defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4.
With the event taking a day off for Good Friday, the final is delayed by 24 hours,
Sabalenka got a bye in the first round and a walkover in the second and only began her first actual match on Saturday.
She showed no rust in her semi-final, ending the first set against Paolini without an unforced error. She overcame a 3-0 lead from the Italian in the second set but got it back before an insurance break for 5-4 followed by victory in 89 minutes.
Ostapenko will be competing in her first clay final in nearly eight years – her first since Roland Garros back in the day.
Holger Rune battled past injured Carlos Alcaraz to spoil the Spanish Easter party at the Barcelona Open, with the Dane lifting the trophy 7-6 (6), 6-2.
The pair of 21-year-olds were familiar foes, having played 20 times in juniors before hitting the Tour; Rune won the first 500 series title of his career and his fifth overall.
Alcaraz was treated three times in the second set after an apparent injury to his upper right thigh/groin after duelling hard in the opening set at the Real Club.
The loss will send Alcaraz back to third in the rankings, with Alexander Zverev moving back to second behind Jannik Sinner as a result of winning the Munich title on Sunday.
Rune, a first-round victim last week in Monte Carlo, reversed his clay momentum in Spain, handing Alcaraz a first loss of a set for the week.
The Spanish top seed’s two final shots both clipped the top of the net and fell back as Rune raised his hands in celebration after 97 minutes on court in the Catalan capital.
“This means the world,” the winner said. “I started the match stressed, he was playing big-time tennis.
“I was able to find my rhythm after he broke me (3-2 in the opening set) and I got more into the match.
“The first set was a big battle with a lot of important points. It was super-important to win the set and gain momentum.
“I’m so proud of myself.”
Rune ended with 18 winners while the ailing Alcaraz produced 33 unforced errors. The Dane claimed his 50th match win on clay and levelled his Tour record in the series to 2-2.
Rune said he channeled Novak Djokovic’s Paris Olympic gold medal win from last summer over Alcaraz as he struggled to turn his game around in Barcelona.
“I asked myself what Novak did to win that final. I (realised) that I didn’t need to hit every ball on the line. I need to make him play and hit a lot of balls.”
Rune, who won the elite Paris Bercy Masters 1000 title in 2022, finally began reversing a 13-match loss streak against top five opponents.with his title victory.
Alcaraz may be racing for fitness with the Madrid Masters starting on Wednesday as the ATP ploughs ahead with an unpopular two-week format for Masters tournaments despite growing protest from exhausted players.
Main photo:- Holger Rune celebrates Barcelona win – by ATPTour.com
Alexander Zverev turned 28 on Sunday and awarded himself a third title on his home Munich clay as he beat Ben Shelton 6-2,6-4 to win the ATP event.
The 2017 and 2018 champion here is now threatening Carlos Alcaraz as the pair duel for the world No. 2 position which the Spaniard took over last week after winning Monte Carlo.
Zverev schooled lefthander Shelton in 70 minutes for a second win in their series. The winner becomes the second to hold three Munich titles after countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber (2007, 2012, 2016).
“I’m enjoying my birthday so far,” Zverev said. “It’s extremely special to win in Germany, the most special thing I can do.
January’s Australian Open finalist added: “It’s definitely a great birthday present, I knew I had to play my best today, conditions were very hot and very fast.They were perfect for me.”
The winner broke three times while never facing a challenge to his serve from Shelton as he claimed a sixth career title at the 500-Tour level.
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev with his “birthday” trophy – by BMW Open/Bitpanda
Sabalenka hoping to turn her luck in Stuttgart
Rune rises to the occasion with defeat of Alcaraz
Zverev grabs a birthday gift with third Munich title
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