Canada's Shapovalov eliminated from Wimbledon as rain delays matches again
No. 1 Swiatek eliminated; Andy Murray's Wimbledon career ends after partner withdraws from mixed doubles play
Canadian Denis Shapovalov dropped a five-round battle 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to American Ben Shelton in third-round men's singles action at Wimbledon on Saturday.
The match was scheduled for Friday but was suspended due to rain with Shelton leading the opening set 3-2.
Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., had six aces but struggled with 13 double faults. He only broke once on four opportunities and had 37 winners to 46 unforced errors.
The 14th-seeded Shelton had seven aces to four double faults and broke on five of his 16 chances. He also had 38 winners and 38 unforced errors.
"I'm happy with what I've done but I'm definitely not satisfied," Shelton said after the match. "The pinnacle is playing the world No.1 at Wimbledon. I'm excited so let's get at it."
Neither player had previously lost a five-setter at Wimbledon.
In women's doubles action, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Japan's Ena Shibahara defeated Estonia's Ingrid Neel and Norway's Ulrikke Eikeri 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 in second-round play.
Their match continued Saturday with Neel and Eikeri having already won the first set 6-2 before the match was also suspended due to rain on Friday.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic wrapped up the day's action at Centre Court by coming back from an uneven opening set to defeat Alexei Popyrin 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
WATCH | Shapovalov bounced in 5-set marathon match:
Swiatek ousted again at Wimbledon
No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek again faltered at Wimbledon, losing in the third round to Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The result ended a 21-match winning streak for Swiatek. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion, including four titles on the red clay at the French Open — most recently last month — and one on the hard courts at the U.S. Open.
The All England Club's grass has always given her the most trouble as a pro at any major tournament, although the 23-year-old from Poland did win the junior trophy as a teenager.
Swiatek has only once been as far as the quarterfinals at Wimbledon; that was last year, when she lost at that stage. In 2022, her 37-match unbeaten run ended with a third-round loss to Alize Cornet at the All England Club.
Swiatek has talked about looking forward to improving on grass, but she decided to withdraw last month from the only tuneup event that was originally on her schedule before Wimbledon.
The 35th-ranked Putintseva now has an eight-match run of her own, all on grass, including a title at Birmingham before arriving in London. Still, this is the first time in 10 appearances at Wimbledon that the 29-year-old from Kazakhstan made it past the second round.
Her best showing at any Slam was getting to the quarterfinals at the French Open twice and U.S. Open once.
This result also was unexpected because Swiatek not only won all four previous meetings against Putintseva, but also claimed every set they had played.
Asked during a postmatch interview on No. 1 Court how she managed to emerge with the victory, the often-animated Putintseva replied: "I don't know. Really, I don't."
Zverev 'got so nervous'
Alexander Zverev overcame a knee problem, a marathon tiebreaker and nerves from seeing one of his sporting idols in the Royal Box in order to book a spot in Wimbledon's fourth round.
Zverev beat Cameron Norrie — the last British man in the tournament — 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (15) after converting his sixth match point in the tiebreaker on Centre Court.
He'd needed treatment several times on his left knee following a tumble in the second set. He was also a bit starstruck from seeing Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, one of several major sporting figures in the Royal Box. Zverev is a massive fan of Bayern Munich, the German club that Guardiola coached from 2013-16.
"When I saw Pep I got so nervous for a few games there," Zverev told the crowd after the win, before launching a personal appeal to Guardiola. "Bayern Munich needs a coach, man. And if you're tired of football, you can coach me on the tennis court anytime."
Another big name on court later included seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who was playing Alexei Popyrin in the late match on Centre Court.
In women's doubles action, Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe were tied 1-1 in the first set against Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova and Irina Khromacheva when play was suspended on Friday.
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Japan's Ena Shibahara lost their opening set 6-2 to Estonia's Ingrid Neel and Norway's Ulrikke Eikeri before the suspension of play.
Murray's Wimbledon career ends
Andy Murray's Wimbledon career came to an anticlimactic end when Emma Raducanu, his mixed doubles partner, pulled out of that competition hours before their first-round match on Saturday because of an issue with her surgically repaired right wrist.
The 37-year-old Murray, a two-time singles champion at the All England Club, has said he will head into retirement after competing at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, which start later this month.
Mixed doubles was supposed to be the last event at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for Murray, who withdrew from singles because of an operation to remove a cyst from his spine on June 22, and then exited in the first round of men's doubles alongside his older brother, Jamie.
"Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight," Raducanu said. "I'm disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care."
She won the 2021 U.S. Open as a qualifier at age 18, and her career has since been sidetracked by a series of injuries. Raducanu had procedures on both of her wrists and an ankle in 2023.
Her fourth-round match in singles against Lulu Sun of New Zealand is scheduled for Sunday.
The All England Club feted Murray with a postmatch celebration of his career after he and Jamie were beaten in men's doubles at Centre Court on Thursday, including a four-minute highlight video that included tributes from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams.
Tournament organizers made the prescient decision to hold the special ceremony after that match — rather than waiting until after he played mixed doubles — just in case Murray and Raducanu ended up not competing together.
Because the brackets already were set for mixed doubles with the official draw, Murray was not allowed to find a new partner so he could stay in that event.
Katie Volynets and Rajeev Ram were moved into the mixed doubles field to substitute for Raducanu and Murray, and will face Zhang Shuai and Marcelo Arevalo.
Murray's 2013 title at Wimbledon made him the first British man in 77 years to win the singles championship at the tournament, and he won the trophy again in 2016.
Murray also won the 2012 U.S. Open, finished 2016 at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, claimed two singles gold medals at the Summer Olympics and led Britain to a Davis Cup title.
With files from The Canadian Press
