As much as strawberries and cream, one of the major traditions of Wimbledon’s second Monday is upset defeats of higher seeded players and this year’s tournament at The All England Club delivered across both the Men’s and Women’s tournament. Although some higher seeds did advance like Roger Federer (3rd overall), Andy Murray (the top ranked man), Simona Halep (2nd overall woman), and Venus Williams (10th ranked) those who did fall are just as notable. The biggest upset on the men’s side was 16 seeded Gilles Muller besting number 4 in the world Rafael Nadal which was not short of drama as the Spaniard rallied from two sets down to force the deciding fifth which went to a whopping 15-13 in favor of Muller after five grueling hours of play. Muller’s reward will be facing off against Marin Čilić who is ranked 7th in the world, and who has lost in each of the last three quarterfinals.
On the woman’s side things were even more hectic than just a single upset as reigning French Open winner and 13th overall Jelena Ostapenko beat 4th ranked Elina Svitolina two sets to none but given he status as a rising star in the world of tennis this isn’t quite as monumental as Muller beating a 15 time Grand Slam Champion. What was monumental today at Wimbledon was Caroline Wozniacki (5th overall) flaming out in the fourth round of Wimbledon for the sixth time, losing this time to 24th overall Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets. Similarly, the top-ranked woman Angelique Kerber’s failure to win against a lower ranked opponent in the form of 14th ranked Garbine Muguruza represented another disappointment in a Grand Slam tournament for her, after an embarrassing French Open loss in the opening round. The quarterfinals begin on July 11th for the women and July 12th for the men with more potential intrigue still possible. In the meantime pass the strawberries.
