CNN
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This turns out to be not a good year to be the third seeded Wimbledon single.
On Tuesday, American Jessica Pegra and German Alexander Zverev were each ousted in the opening round of the tournament at the All-England lawn and tennis club.
First came the surprising victory by Italian World No. 116 Elisabetta Cocchialetto, who knocked out Pegra 6-2, 6-3 in 58 minutes.
Later that day, at the resumption of the match, which began Monday, France’s Arthur Lindanok notched his upset against Zverev 7-6 (3), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4.
Cockiallett, 24, who missed Wimbledon last year, was called “A Dream Come True,” coinciding with a decline in the world rankings.
“I was very excited to play Wimbledon this year,” Cocchialett said in an on-court interview. “I was practicing really hard to do everything I could today and couldn’t wait until the game started.”
Pegra has made a fast turn towards Wimbledon and won the title at the Bad Homburg Open on Saturday.
However, last year, US open finalist Pegra quickly gave the opponent credits, saying that Cocchialett played “Incredible Tennis.”
“She was hitting her shots and asking for it, offering a big percentage, doing a big second serve, redirecting the ball,” Pegra told reporters. “Today was her day to be honest.”
Cocchialett will face American Katy Volinette in the second round.
As for the 29-year-old Rinderknech, a five-set victory over Zverev is his first victory over a majors top 10 opponent. Monday’s match was suspended after the second set due to Wimbledon’s mandatory 11pm curfew.
“My legs are still shaking,” Linderneck said in an on-court interview. “I can’t do it anymore. I’m happy the game is over.
“We started yesterday, whatever it was, at 8. Today we finished at 7am. I slept about six hours last night. This sport is extremely difficult, but what a moment. That kind of feeling.”
When asked if he felt like he was in control, Linderneck joked, “Hey.”
“When you play someone like Sascha Zverev, who is number three in the world, you really can’t control it. “He was there for 10 years. It’s my first top five victory at the world’s biggest stadium, so I don’t know.”
Rinderknech’s second round opponent is Chile’s Cristian Garin.
