Wimbledon: Gauff, Pegula and Zverev
are among a record-tying 23 seeds gone in the 1st round
[July 02, 2025]
By HOWARD FENDRICH
LONDON (AP) — There was three-time Grand Slam finalist and No. 3
seed Alexander Zverev, outplayed over five sets in a first-round
loss at Wimbledon to 72nd-ranked Arthur Rinderknech, who entered
Tuesday with a 1-4 career record at the All England Club and zero
trips past the third round in 18 appearances at majors.
There was No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last
year and at the French Open last month, sent home Tuesday by Nikoloz
Basilashvili, a qualifier ranked 126th who only once has made it as
far as the fourth round in his 31 previous Grand Slam tournaments.
And, most striking of all, as night arrived, there was No. 2 Coco
Gauff going from the champion at Roland-Garros to a quick exit at
Wimbledon, beaten 7-6 (3), 6-1 by Dayana Yastremska.
And on and on went the upsets on Day 2 at the grass-court major,
meaning 23 seeds — 13 men, 10 women — failed to get to the second
round, equaling the highest total at any Grand Slam tournament since
they began assigning 32 seeds in each singles bracket in 2001.
No. 3 Jessica Pegula also was among those leaving. The American was
the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open and was coming off a
grass-court title in Germany over the weekend, defeating Iga Swiatek
in the final, yet didn't pose much of a challenge to 116th-ranked
Elisabetta Cocciaretto in a 6-2, 6-3 loss that lasted less than an
hour.
Two other major finalists, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen and No. 15 Karolina
Muchova, were eliminated Tuesday, as were No. 26 Marta Kostyuk and
No. 25 Magdalena Frech, whose opponent, 18-year-old Canadian
Victoria Mboko, lost in qualifying last week and only got into the
field when another player, Anastasia Potapova, withdrew with an
injured hip.
Nothing was quite as out-of-nowhere, though, as Rinderknech's
success. At least Yastremska has been a major semifinalist, at last
year's Australian Open.
“What a moment. Such emotions,” Rinderknech, a 29-year-old from
France, said after completing his 7-6 (3), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-7 (5),
6-4 victory across 4 hours, 40 minutes against Zverev in a match
suspended Monday night at a set apiece. “I don’t even know where to
start.”
He ended things with a backhand winner, then dropped to his stomach,
face down, on Centre Court.
Zverev joined Musetti — who hadn't played since a leg injury forced
him to stop at Roland-Garros and was a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 loser
against Basilashvili — as top-10 losers on Tuesday, a day after No.
8 Holger Rune and No. 9 Daniil Medvedev departed.
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Arthur Rinderknech of France celebrates after beating Alexander
Zverev of Germany in their first round men's singles match at the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP
Photo/Kin Cheung)
Other seeded men exiting on Day 2 included No. 18
Ugo Humbert, No. 27 Denis Shapovalov, No. 28 Alexander Bublik and
No. 30 Alex Michelsen.
Rinderknech pulled off his win thanks to some terrific serving,
delivering 25 aces and saving all nine break points he faced. He
converted three break chances against Zverev and won the point on 44
of his 55 trips to the net.
“It’s my first top-five win, in the biggest stadium in the world,”
Rinderknech said. “My legs are still shaking. I’m just so happy the
match is finished.”
What else happened at Wimbledon on Tuesday?
Two-time champion Petra Kvitova played her final match at the All
England Club, bowing out 6-3, 6-1 against No. 10 Emma Navarro. “This
place holds the best memories I could wish for,” said the
35-year-old Kvitova, who will retire after the U.S. Open. “I never
dreamed of winning a Wimbledon and I won it twice." Defending
women's champion Barbora Krejcikova and men's No. 4 seed Taylor
Fritz both needed comebacks to win, No. 1 Jannik Sinner was never
troubled in a straight-set victory, and 24-time major champion Novak
Djokovic dealt with a stomach issue during his 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-2,
6-2 win against Alexandre Muller at night.
Who is scheduled to play at the All England Club on Wednesday?
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka starts the Centre Court program against Marie
Bouzkova at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), followed by
two-time defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz against
733rd-ranked University of San Diego player Oliver Tarvet of
Britain, and then 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova vs.
2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.
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