Siegemund plays Keys to perfection while Osaka is ‘upset’ by Wimbledon defeat
When it comes to Wimbledon, Madison Keys has not had the best luck.Last year, she was 5-2 up in the final set against Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round only to pull her hamstring, watching on in disappointment as the Italian reached the final.In 2022, she missed Wimbledon altogether due to an abdominal injury.Winning the Australian Open in January for her first grand slam title was meant to free her up, perhaps marking a turn in fortunes, but on Friday she was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by the 37-year-old Laura Siegemund.A couple of hours later, reporters were informed that the American would not be doing her mandatory press conference due to illness.
Keys had struggled through her opening two matches and, whatever the reason, she was well below par against Siegemund.The German can get under the skin of her opponents at the best of times, her drop shots outstanding and the strength of her grunting at the louder end of the spectrum, and Keys looked out of sorts from the start.In all, the sixth seed sprayed 31 unforced errors in two sets, threw in four double faults and won just one point from 19 on her second serve.Siegemund took full advantage, becoming the oldest woman in the open era to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time, testament to the longevity and perseverance of a player who lost 10 times in qualifying at slams before making the main draw here for the first time in 2015.“You can’t not be happy when you beat a great player like Madison,” said Siegemund, who will now play Katie Boulter’s conqueror, the lucky loser Solana Sierra from Argentina.
“It was not easy today, it was quite windy and swirly, at times it wasn’t the best quality.But I managed and in the end I found solutions and kept my nerves.”Keys was not the only big name to fall.Naomi Osaka had been showing good improvement on grass this year but was worn down 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.Osaka fought back from 3-0 down to level at 3-3 in the decider but could not force it home.
“Right now I’m just really upset,” Osaka said, asked to sum up her thoughts on the short grass-court season,“I think if I look back on it, I can be happy with how I played,I started getting a lot more comfortable on grass,“It’s because I actually thought I could play well in general,Not saying I didn’t play well, but make a deep run here.
I wanted to do better than I did before,Also, I felt like I was trying so hard,I low-key busted a vein in my hand,”Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionOsaka will now head to the hard courts, a time in the season in which she normally thrives, having won the US Open twice,But having lost in the second round in New York last year, she is wary of making any projections.
“Obviously, I look forward to it,” she said.“I think last year I put a lot of stress on myself because I know I have a history of playing well there, and then also the Asian Swing.I am looking forward to it, but I don’t want to kind of psych myself out.”Amanda Anisimova continued her superb grass-court season with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Dalma Galfi of Hungary.The American, runner-up at Queen’s Club, will play Linda Noskova next.
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Fears AI factcheckers on X could increase promotion of conspiracy theories
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Wimbledon 2025: Sabalenka denies Raducanu in dramatic battle, Alcaraz advances – as it happened
Time to sign off from another thrilling, relentless day of action at the All-England Club. I’ll leave you with Tumaini Carayol’s report from Centre Court. Thanks for joining me. Bye!Centre Court (1.30pm BST start) Jannik Sinner (1) v Pedro Martínez Iga Swiatek (8) v Danielle Collins Miomir Kecmanovic v Novak Djokovic (6)No 1 Court (1pm BST start) Mirra Andreeva (7) v Hailey Baptiste Barbora Krejcikova (17) v Emma Navarro (10) Ben Shelton (10) v Marton FucsovicsNo 2 Court (11am BST start) Clara Tauson (23) v Elena Rybakina (11) Alex de Minaur (11) v August HolmgrenNo 3 Court (11am BST start) Daria Kasatkina (16) v Liudmila Samsonova (19) Grigor Dimitrov (19) v Sebastian OfnerCourt 12 (11am BST start) F Cobolli (22) v Jakub Mensik (15) Zeynep Sonmez v Ekaterina Alexandrova (18)Singles matches/selected courts only; full schedule hereSabalenka denies Raducanu in epic battleKartal sweeps past Parry to reach last 16Norrie marches on with win over BellucciSiegemund shines, Keys and Osaka go outShelton finishes off match in 70 secondsAustralia’s Thompson sets up Fritz clashDraper claims line calls ‘not 100% accurate’Diary: Ivanisevic attacks Tsitsipas’ fitnessRaducanu might feel disappointed at the way things unravelled from 4-1 and break point up – but she can take a lot of positives from her performance
Emma Raducanu fights hard but Aryna Sabalenka ends her Wimbledon dream
For a few fleeting moments late on Friday, as 15,000 spectators collectively lost their minds, something special was unfolding under the Centre Court roof. Not only was Emma Raducanu holding her own against Aryna Sabalenka, she was soaring. More than an hour into one of the most intense matches she has played, Raducanu arrived at set point against the best player in the world.However, Sabalenka, the world No 1, has long grown accustomed to the massive target on her back, which so often spurs her challengers to perform far above their usual levels. In the face of another grand slam champion playing some of her best tennis, Sabalenka elevated her own game to even greater heights in the decisive moments, crushing Raducanu’s hopes of a career-best victory by triumphing 7-6 (6), 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon
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