FEDERER, DJOKOVIC AVOID THE UPSET BUG AT WIMBLEDON, DEL POTRO GOES DOWN TO GULBIS

Written by: on 7th July 2017
Wimbledon Championships
FEDERER, DJOKOVIC AVOID THE UPSET BUG AT WIMBLEDON, DEL POTRO GOES DOWN TO GULBIS

epa06069759 Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns to Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2017. EPA/NIC BOTHMA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES  |

By Ricky Dimon

 

There will be no Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin Del Potro tussle during third-round action at Wimbledon this weekend. Nor does Grigor Dimitrov have a showdown with John Isner on his plate. How ’bout Alexander Zverev vs. Jack Sock? No sir; not that one, either.

 

Surprises reigned supreme at the All-England Club on Thursday. While Djokovic and Roger Federer remained unscathed without any trouble of any kind, Del Potro, Isner, and Sock all fell by the wayside.

 

It started with Isner blowing a bigtime opportunity against an opponent who stands more than a foot shorter than he does. The 6’10” American had been 4-0 lifetime at 5’9” Israeli Dudi Sela’s expense prior to this one and more of the same appeared to be in store when Isner bagged the first set in a tiebreaker and again when he regained his one-set edge by taking the third 7-5. After Sela survived the fourth in another tiebreaker, though, one break in the decider was enough for the diminutive underdog to triumph 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3.

 

“It’s all between the ears, I think,” Isner explained. “I had opportunities, of course. When I don’t go for it, bad things happen. That was the case throughout the whole match: me not going for it. That’s why I lost.”

 

Del Potro lost because he ran into a resurgent foe in Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis, who has plunged to No. 589 in the rankings because of both physical problems and poor play, powered his way to a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3) success. Prior to clobbering Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in his Wimbledon opener, the Latvian had not won an ATP-level match since the 2016 French Open.

 

“I played well my first-round match,” Gulbis assessed. “This match I played really, really great tennis. I served well; I returned well. In my opinion, Del Potro is one of the best players. I mean, for sure he has one of the best forehands. He’s really tough to beat.”

 

“I [didn’t] have my best day on court,” Del Potro admitted. “And he played really well. He served so strong all the time. I couldn’t break his serve (except once) during three sets. I think he’s a very dangerous opponent to play on grass, and he did much better than me today.”

 

Jack Sock joined Del Potro and Isner on the sideline following a setback certainly more stunning than the Isner vs. Sela result and perhaps even more shocking than the Del Potro vs. Gulbis outcome. The 18th-ranked American fell to 217th-ranked Austrian Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2. Ofner, who qualified for the main draw, had never contested a single ATP-level match prior to this tournament.

 

Djokovic and Federer, meanwhile, are still going strong. Via a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 decision against Adam Pavlasek, Djokovic cruised into the last 32. Federer joined him there by beating Dusan Lajovic 7-6(0), 6-3, 6-2.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.

 

Topics: , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.