TENNIS NEWS – COURT 1 AT WIMBLEDON WAS TODAY’S “UPSET COURT” AS SIMON, MUGURUZA, THIEM ALL CRASH OUT AT THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 30th June 2016

TENNIS NEWS - COURT 1 AT WIMBLEDON WAS TODAY'S "UPSET COURT" AS SIMON, MUGURUZA, THIEM ALL CRASH OUT AT THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB BY RICKY DIMON

epa05399298 Garbine Muguruza plays Jana Cepelova of Slovakia in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2016. EPA/ANDY RAIN EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES |

There were three matches on Court 1 at Wimbledon on Thursday. And there were three upsets. Gilles Simon, Garbine Muguruza, and Dominic Thiem all got booted out of the All-England Club during second-round action. Muguruza’s exit, of course, may have been the most surprising given that she is a former runner-up at the All-England Club and the reigning French Open champion.

But it all started with Simon, who fell to a reinvigorated Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4. Dimitrov had not won a match since his Istanbul final meltdown against Diego Schwartzman and he showed signs of being unable to close out this one. The Bulgarian lost the third set and even trailed by a break in the fourth before managing to seal the deal.

“I have been, I think, quite a bit unfortunate with some of my matches the past months,” Dimitrov reflected. “I would say. I just figured, well, it is what it is. I can’t do anything about it. But the only thing I can do is give myself the best shot possible. When I got to that point, when I got to that feeling…I just kept playing my game. My excitement for the game was there, which always helps. The positivity brings you good shots, good decisions.”

“In the end Grigor played really good in the key moments, tiebreak in the second set and the end of the fourth set,” Simon assessed. “I had the feeling that I was more confident on the court in the third and in the fourth also. But in just five minutes he played like really good.”

Gilles Simon of France returns to Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2016. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Muguruza was good for just about zero minutes on Thursday. Unable to make the transition from clay to grass and perhaps bogged down mentally as well, the Roland Garros winner lost 6-3, 6-2 to Jana Cepelova.

“I think my energy was missing a little bit today,” Muguruza admitted. “From yesterday I felt already a little bit…tired I think is the best word. And today during the match and after the match I’m like, ‘It’s a tough day today.’ I [felt] empty a little bit and I start to be sick. But I think it was a little bit of combination.”

Thiem also bowed out in straight sets, although he at least put up a fight. In a showdown that all boiled down to tiebreakers, Jiri Vesely swept the 22-year-old Austrian 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(3). After exchanging a pair of breaks in the opening set, both men held the entire rest of the way. Despite winning in straight sets, Vesely won just three more total points than Thiem (126-123).