London
CNN
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If there is a lump of comfort to a seed player already discarded from Wimbledon, then this is this: you are not alone.
The biggest name of tennis has fallen at an unprecedented rate during the first week of this year’s tournament, with the male and female draw sections wide open.
It gave us a period of soul searching for the best players in the world. World No. 3 Jessica Pegra called the 58-minute defeat to Elisabetta Cocchialett “probably the worst result of the year.”
The boys’ third seededalexander Zverev felt “very alone” and was even more straightforward when he said he was trapped in a “hole” on the tennis court after his defeat to Arthur Lindernek.
Pegra and Gouf joined the team at the exit of the first round, with fellow top ten seeds Zheng Qinwen and Paula Badosa, while Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev having a similar fate to a male draw.
According to Opta, it was the first time during the open era that eight players (eight male or female players) seeded among the top 10 were eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam.
Additionally, a 13-seeded player in the men’s draw tournament record lost the opening match, but Gough became the third woman in the open era, which ended in the first round of Wimbledon, who won the French Open a few weeks ago.
As of Friday, 19 seeded players were knocked out of the male draw, causing 17 to fall into female charm.
For Gough, she believes that the French open title may have been a problem with the loss of Wimbledon. The American star said the deep run at Roland Garros had prevented her from entering Grasuchi’s swing, while also citing it as a broader reason for the majority of the confusion she saw this week.
The transition from clay to grass tournaments is short, with players having infamous demands, making the form dip even higher.
“Historically, I feel that Wimbledon has always had so much confusion in the first round here,” Gouf told reporters. “I think it’s always a topic. I think it’s a really quick turnaround. Most species get deeper in Roland Garos…and you have to come and try to adapt to the grass.
“Bracking all of these tends to be in a hurry because of how fast the turnaround is from the clay,” she added.
Clay and grass require contrasting tactics and style play. In the former, the ball bounces higher and rotates more dramatically. In the latter, shots tend to remain low and net play rather than long baseline gatherings tend to pay off.
Furthermore, the play is slower and more orderly on the clay, but the grass is much faster. And while players can stretch and slide the clay, the Grass Court usually doesn’t offer the same luxury to the player.
“The grass moves are completely different,” longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglow previously explained on his YouTube channel. “It feels completely different. It’s a completely different way of moving.”
Perhaps the shift from clay to glass has become even more challenging, as Wimbledon courts are slower than usual due to the hot weather before and after the tournament. Speed of play was an issue that players mentioned over and over again.
“It felt slow and slippery. Igawi Tek, a clay coat specialist who has been struggling with grass in movement, said after her first round victory.
“But in the heat and everything, the ball bouncing off differently what happens the next day… We need to adjust to a slightly different condition each day. The grass is a living surface.
Few players have mastered the clay to grass switch, as Carlos Alcaraz is the obvious exception. The Spaniard won his second title with Queens just two weeks after winning the French Open last month, but struggled in his first round match at Wimbledon and needed five sets to watch Fabio Fognini.
The often-used saying that there are no easy matches in Grand Slams than ever before can be true during this year’s Wimbledon. It is a testament to the depth of talent currently on display in sports, and is a huge slavery that can lurk in any round.
“The game is really tough,” Francis Tiafoe said after his second loss by former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cameron Norry, who hasn’t been seeded in this year’s tournament.
“That’s not how you were where you could be, I cite, quote, “make your seeds easier.”
“The game is incredibly deep right now. If you’re not ready to go, you’ll lose.
That depth is always more obvious in Grand Slams where stakes are high and where ranking drops play in such a way that there is nothing to lose. And for the larger name of a draw, the nerves become larger than the other events, creating a more general situation.
“The first round is really, really tough, especially as a seeded player,” U.S. Ten Seed Emma Navarro told reporters Tuesday. “There’s nothing to lose (who) players, and nothing to feel like they’re chasing everything. I know the consequences of losing the first round of a Grand Slam.
“It’s easy to feel like there’s a mountain in front of you,” Navarro added. “The first challenge may not be the most difficult, technically or tennis, but it’s the first match at a new venue. Even if you played the previous year, things always feel different.
Also, Wimbledon arrives mid-year in the calendar year. This is the point where fatigue is beginning to accumulate and physical demand for tours is at the expense of it. This could be even worse for the higher ranked players who will deepen the tournament and ultimately play more matches.
“To be honest, I think everyone is a bit tired,” America’s sixth seed Madison Keys told reporters after progressing to the third round. “The season is already long. It’s tough. Six months have passed and we all feel like we’ve just played a lot of games.
For those who are still in male and female draws, this week’s Wimbledon could be a chance to run that defines a deep career in the Grand Slam. Only two of the remaining eight players get a quarter of the female draw that is seeded. This is a great opportunity for the Dark Horse to reach more than the semi-finals.
“Hopefully there’s no more confusion in this tournament, if you know what it means,” she was half-joking, realising that she had already happened to some of her biggest rivals.
