LONDON — Aryna Sabalenka expressed a lighthearted wish for the Wimbledon surprises to cease, which is a reasonable hope given her status as the current world No. 1. Sabalenka now stands as the sole representative of the top five women’s seeds in the ongoing tournament following the early exits of No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, last year’s runner-up, as well as No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, and No. 5 Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka found herself in a precarious position during Wednesday’s second-round match but managed a remarkable comeback to win 7-6 (4), 6-4 against Marie Bouzkova after facing the prospect of dropping the opening set at three different intervals.
A notable statistic emerged as Day 2 concluded, with ten women and thirteen men from the seeded players being eliminated, matching a 25-year record for any Grand Slam event. Further eliminations on Wednesday included No. 12 Diana Shnaider, No. 21 Beatriz Haddad Maia, No. 22 Donna Vekic, and No. 29 Leylah Fernandez.
Reflecting on her situation, Sabalenka humorously remarked, “I hope it’s no upsets anymore in this tournament, if you know what I mean.” Known for her stunning performances, she boasts three Grand Slam wins, all secured on the hard courts of the Australian Open or U.S. Open. She recently faced controversy after being the runner-up to Gauff at the French Open, which she and Gauff have since addressed through social media exchanges.
The past year was a challenging one for Sabalenka, who had to miss Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury. Fortunately, this time around, she was on court amid more favorable weather after rain delayed play on the smaller courts and temperatures cooled from excessive heat.
In the pivotal match, Bouzkova, ranked 48th, led 6-5 in the first set because of a Sabalenka double-fault. Bouzkova had opportunities to close out the set, even standing just two points away at various times, but Sabalenka rallied with a forehand volley winner and a decisive backhand shot.
As the match progressed to a tiebreaker, Sabalenka maintained her momentum, taking the set after a strong forehand return on Bouzkova’s serve. A single break in the second set gave Sabalenka the lead she needed to secure the victory, advancing further in the competition.
Sabalenka’s final triumph saw her amass a 41-17 advantage in winners with merely 18 unforced errors over the course of the match that lasted over an hour and a half.
Elsewhere at Wimbledon on Wednesday, Emma Raducanu triumphed over 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova with a score of 6-3, 6-3, while Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion and sixth seed, dispatched Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. Among the men, two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz extended his formidable 20-match winning streak, defeating Oliver Tarvet 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. No. 5 seed Taylor Fritz secured a challenging five-set win over Gabriel Diallo, but No. 12 seed Frances Tiafoe was defeated by Cam Norrie.
Looking forward to Thursday’s action at the All England Club, Novak Djokovic is slated to open the Centre Court schedule by facing Britain’s Dan Evans. Following Djokovic’s match, Iga Swiatek will compete against Caty McNally, with No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner taking on Aleksandar Vukic.