Wimbledon Day 5 preview: Experience key factor for Muguruza
After three days of play, six of the Top 10 seeds already are gone from 2021 Wimbledon: No.3 Elina Svitolina
Friday’s third-round action from the bottom half of the women’s draw features the two winningest players of the year: No.2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka
Will it make a difference when Jabeur takes on two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza?
“I think it does matter, because before I used to step in like someone just coming in to play a tournament, but like now I have more experience,” Jabeur told reporters. “I have more confidence, I want to win so bad, and I want to try my best. I have lost before very tough matches, and I think now with experience right now it’s going to help me manage the game, especially against Muguruza.”
The third quarter has produced two unseeded matchups: Sloane Stephens versus Liudmila Samsonova
Eight matches, winner advances to the second week of a Grand Slam. Let’s go …
THIRD QUARTER
No. 8 Karolina Pliskova
It’s an all-Czech Republic matchup: Pliskova took care of Donna Vekic
Pliskova, 29, had her best results at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, reaching the fourth round. Martincova, 26 and ranked No.87, doesn’t have that major pedigree. This is only her sixth Grand Slam main draw, but she’s doubled her previous best major total with two good outings. And, in less than one month, Martincova’s won eight of 10 matches on grass.
History suggest a tight match.
Head-to-head: 1-0, Pliskova, a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) win in the first round of the 2019 US Open.
Liudmila Samsonova
Samsonova is on fire. The 22-year-old Russian beat No.22-seeded Jessica Pegula
This is only Samsonova’s sixth Grand Slam main draw – and her first Wimbledon. She’s coming off tournament of her life in Berlin, where she qualified and then beat, in order, Marketa Vondrousova
Berlin champion Liudmila Samsonova
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) June 30, 2021View Profile extends her winning streak to 9 matches, defeats No.22 seed Jessica PegulaView Profile 64 36 63.
Samsonova’s incredible run to the Berlin title as a qualifier earned her a #Wimbledon MD WC. Now into her 1st 3R at a Slam.
Faces Stephens or Ahn. pic.twitter.com/yZLZZizjpq
It was her first career title. Doing the math, that’s nine straight wins on grass and six Top 50 wins. Not bad for a player ranked No.65.
Stephens, after taking out No.10 seed and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, beat qualifier Kristie Ahn 7-5, 6-3.
Head-to-head: 1-0, Samsonova, a three-set win at 2020 Brisbane.
No.13 Elise Mertens
Mertens defeated Zhu Lin 6-2, 6-0 to reach the third round, while Keys defeated Lauren Davis
Although Mertens lost her two grass warmup matches, the 25-year-old Belgian has had a nice season, which includes a title at the Melbourne 500, a semifinal berth in Dubai and a finals appearance in Istanbul.
Keys, who had a rough start to the year, has steadied. She reached the third round at Roland Garros and the quarterfinals in Berlin, beating world No.4 Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-head: 2-0, Keys, straight-set wins at 2017 US Open and 2019 Australian Open.
Madison Brengle versus Viktorija Golubic
Brengle upset fellow American and No.4 seed Kenin 6-2, 6-4 – in 45 minutes. Golubic, who took down No. 29 seed Veronika Kudermetova
Brengle, 31, is looking to equal her best effort in a major, going back to the 2015 Australian Open. She has career wins over Serena Williams and Kvitova (three) and isn’t afraid to face adversity. She saved four match points against Christina McHale in the first round.
Head-to-head: 1-1, with Golubic winning most recently a week ago in Eastbourne qualifying, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
FOURTH QUARTER
No.7 Iga Swiatek
Swiatek, 20, is proving to be a fast learner. She won the French Open last fall at the age of 19. And now after handling Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-3, her career record at Wimbledon is 3-1. Her record in the second round of majors is an impressive 7-2.
“Every match gives me opportunity to have more and more confidence,” Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. “So I’m pretty happy with my performance today. Playing such an experienced player is never easy, so I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning, because she has many years of playing on grass and I have only two, basically.
🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek moves into R3!
— wta (@WTA) June 30, 2021
The 2018 #Wimbledon girls’ singles champion defeats Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-3. pic.twitter.com/KD7TtdWhJW
“I wanted to be aggressive from the beginning and just play really powerful. And I did that, so I’m pretty happy.”
Begu surprised No.26 Petra Martic
Head-to-head: 0-0.
No. 12 Garbiñe Muguruza versus No.21 Ons Jabeur
Safe to say, Muguruza loves the grass at Wimbledon. She broke through to her first major final there six years ago and went one better, winning the title in 2017.
The list of former Wimbledon champions still in the draw has dwindled to two. It’s down to Muguruza and Angelique Kerber. At 28, Muguruza is feeling a little … old.
“I’m starting to feel like I’m not the youngest anymore,” Muguruza said. “It’s just the experience. I would say it’s becoming a little bit easier, just in an emotional way of talking. Because the more mature you are, the more you know how to deal with the situations.
“When you're young, you take everything so high and down and emotional. You know, I take the good side of becoming 28, it’s experience.”
Muguruza took down qualifier Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-1, 6-4, while Jabeur bested 41-year-old Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0.
“Very tough match,” Jabeur said of Muguruza. “The grass suits her game, honestly. I’m just going to try to play my game, and we’ll talk to my coach and see what we can do. The most important thing for me is really to get in there and then have pleasure on the court.”
Head-to-head: 1-0, Muguruza, winning in 2020 Hobart in three sets.
No. 18 Elena Rybakina
No.15 seed Maria Sakkari
But it was the 28-year-old American who prevailed 7-5, 6-4, completing a late match that was suspended Wednesday. It was her career 16th win over a Top 20 player and represented only the second time she’s produced back-to-back main-draw, match-wins on grass.
Results-wise, Wimbledon is Rogers’ most challenging Grand Slam. She’s never been beyond the third round (2017), but a win Friday would vault her into the fourth for the first time.
Rybakina, a 22-year-old from Kazakhstan, is playing her first Wimbledon. So far, so good. She defeated qualifier Claire Liu 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the third round.
Her grass court record so far: 6-2, after a semifinal appearance in Eastbourne.
Head-to-head: 1-1, with Rybakina winning last week’s match in Berlin, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
No.2 Aryna Sabalenka
Maybe, just maybe Sabalenka found something in the eighth game of the third set against Katie Boulter
“I mean, she’s clearly a champion for a reason,” Boulter told reporters afterward. “Those are the people that play the best points at the most important points. She did that today. I obviously felt like I had quite a few breakpoints and didn’t manage to take them. I also didn't feel like I gave them away. She had to win them. She won them.”
Was Sabalenka’s piercing scream at the end a display of dominance – or something closer to relief?
“I’m proud that I actually could get through this match because I was really emotional in the beginning and I didn’t really feel the surface out there,” Sabalenka said. “She was playing really great. Of course, crowd was support her more. I felt like everything was against me, and I'm really happy that I could, like, separate myself from the people and everything, and just think about my game, what I have to do.”
It was only the third career win for Sabalenka at Wimbledon, and the first time she’s won back-to-back matches. She’s the No. 2 seed, but she’s the only one of Top 20 here not to advance to a major quarterfinal.
Osorio Serrano defeated No.32 Ekaterina Alexandrova
Head-to-head: 0-0.
