LONDON (AP) — Barbora Krejcikova needed seven match points to knock French Open champion Mirra Andreeva out of Wimbledon in the biggest upset of the women's tournament so far, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Andreeva faced six match points when Krejcikova — the 2024 Wimbledon champion — served for the match at 5-3 and saved them all before finally converting her fourth break point in a marathon game.
The fifth-seeded Russian teenager handed her opponent a seventh
match point when she sliced a backhand wide in the next game, and this time Krejcikova converted with a bit of luck. Her shot hit the net cord and bounced in and Andreeva could only return it long.
Andreeva, coming off her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, threw her racket away in disgust and later smashed it into her bag before leaving Centre Court.
“What a match,” Krejcikova said, trying to sum it all up. “What a match.”
Earlier, No. 1 ranked Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner both advanced in straight sets, with Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka also reaching the third round.
Krejcikova is a two-time Grand Slam winner, also taking the 2021 French Open title, but has struggled with back and knee injuries and has fallen to No. 38 in the rankings.
Andreeva had shown signs of frustration throughout the third set — including when her bead bracelet broke during a point at 1-1 and she had to spend a few moments picking beads out of the grass along the baseline and throwing them toward the back of the court.
Two ball kids and the chair umpire joined her in cleaning up before play resumed.
There was also some loud cheers during the third set that had nothing to do with tennis. Some in the Centre Court crowd had half an eye on England's World Cup match against Congo and celebrated both of Harry Kane's goals and the final whistle.
Gauff came from a break down in the third set and then won the last six points of the tiebreaker to beat Solana Sierra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).
Gauff was two points away from losing the match when Sierra served at 5-4 in the third set but won three straight points to break back. In the 10-point tiebreaker, she trailed 7-4 but didn't lose another point, sealing the win with an ace and then screaming out loud with both fists clenched.
“When she had to serve for the match I just reminded myself that I’m a great returner as well,” Gauff said. “I was just trying to be positive and I think that showed.”
Gauff had her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019 when she reached the fourth round as a 15-year-old, beating Venus Williams in the first round. But while she has won both the U.S. Open and the French Open since then, she has yet to make the quarterfinals at the All England Club despite two more trips to the fourth round.
As it happens, that win over Williams also came on July 1 on No. 1 Court.
“It was kind of my breakout moment, and playing against one of my idols was insane,” Gauff said. “Every time I walk down this hallway I get deja vu and I just remind myself, like, if I could do that (seven) years ago, I'm definitely a better player since then. So I definitely can do it now.”
Osaka showed off a new look again before winning her second-round match.
Osaka, whose fashion reveals have become an event of their own at Grand Slam tournaments, wore a less elaborate outfit for her walk-on than the “Kill Bill” inspired kimono she sported for her opening-round match on Monday.
It still drew plenty of attention as she made the walk from the locker room to No. 2 Court, trailed by photographers and fans wanting to take their own photos.
This all-white outfit featured a wide belt and a long train that trailed behind her, which the four-time major winner took off as she began warming up for her match against qualifier Anastasia Gasanova.
She went on to quickly dispatch Gasanova 6-3, 6-2.
“I'm just trying to mix it up a little bit,” Osaka said about her outfit, adding she had been worried that a loss might have ruined her daughter Shai's third birthday on Thursday.
“I just wanted to be here for longer, I didn't want to make her get on a plane on her birthday,” Osaka said.
Sabalenka soon followed her into the third round, beating McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6 (9) on No. 1 Court.
Sinner, the defending champion who came from a set down twice to win in five sets in the first round, had a more comfortable victory Wednesday. Sinner beat Nuno Borges 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the first match on Centre Court.
It wasn't entirely straightforward for the Italian, though, as he had to break back for 5-5 when Borges served for the second set, before winning in just over 2 1/2 hours.
“Second set was very, very tough,” Sinner said.
Other winners included French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, No. 17 Frances Tiafoe and No. 21 Tommy Paul.
Next up on Centre Court Novak Djokovic taking on Stefanos Tsitsipas.
On Tuesday, Serena Williams returned to Centre Court but lost in three sets to Maya Joint in her first singles match in nearly four years. Williams, who tweaked her knee in the match, still hopes to play doubles with sister Venus later in the week.
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