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Rocked by shocks Wimbledon stunned by first week surprisesPosted: Sunday June 30, 2002 12:53 PMUpdated: Sunday June 30, 2002 12:54 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- For three hours on a surreal summer's day, a series of seismic shocks ripped through the men's draw at Wimbledon, leaving behind mass carnage rarely witnessed so early at the grasscourt grand slam. While former champions Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and second seed Marat Safin's explosive exits rocked the All England Club on Wednesday, there were no signs of the demolition ending as the event headed towards its second week. For the first time since seedings were introduced in 1927, only two of the top 16 men's seeds have made it through to the fourth round. While top seed Lleyton Hewitt ruthlessly cast aside his opponents to reach the last 16, more significantly for local fans, fourth seed Tim Henman also survived the cull to keep alive Britain's hopes of ending the 66-year wait for a home-grown champion. The women's draw, in contrast, underwent few surprises in the opening six days as Venus and Serena Williams led 10 -- including the likes of Jennifer Capriati, fourth seed Monica Seles, 2001 runner-up Justine Henin and Jelena Dokic -- of the top 16 seeds to form a largely predictable line-up in the fourth round. Diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus, Swiss lucky loser George Bastl and Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand had little in common when they walked through the gates of Wimbledon last Monday. But within 48 hours, all three were suddenly elevated to superstar status as they wielded their rackets to send Safin, seven-time champion Sampras and 1992 winner Agassi packing out of the tournament in round two. Fans stunned Fans were left stunned when in quick succession the powerful Safin was shown the exit door by Rochus, Sampras was humbled on the infamous 'graveyard of the champions' court two by Bastl, and Agassi was blown off court in straight sets by Srichaphan. "It is disappointing ... it is going to be a tough flight home. A tough couple of weeks knowing this is going on and I am not here," a crestfallen Sampras said following his demoralizing five-set loss. Although predictably all three giantkillers quietly slipped out in the third round, never before had the All England Club witnessed such high profile loses on the same day and so early in the tournament. "It was an extraordinary day ... to lose three of the biggest names around -- but if you're not on the top of your game, you're going home," Hewitt said after booking his third round place. If those upsets were not enough to blow the draw apart, title hopefuls Roger Federer, Australian Open winner Thomas Johannson, fifth seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andy Roddick were also felled in an action-packed first week. Agassi and Sampras's astonishing defeats also delivered the most grievous blows to American pride as for the first time since the Open era began in 1968, the U.S. -- who had started with 14 challengers -- had no men left in the draw at the fourth-round stage. American interest Lucky loser Jeff Morrison was the last man standing in the third round and his exit Saturday ended American interest at Wimbledon for at least a year. American women -- who have captured the last eight slams between the Williams sisters and Capriati -- however, are going from strength to strength and remain on course to grab all four semifinal spots. Last year's French Open finalist Kim Clijsters, who has been plagued by a shoulder injury recently, is the only big name to have lost in the women's competition, with many familiar faces still battling for quarterfinal places. The same cannot be said of the men's draw, where, apart from Hewitt and Henman, the only other recognizable faces in the last 16 are British number two Greg Rusedski, Australian Mark Philippoussis and towering Dutchman Richard Krajicek -- the sole former champion still left in the event. With Philippoussis and Krajicek to clash in a battle of the big servers Monday, the stage is now set for some unlikely challengers such as 22nd seed Nicolas Lapentti, who is amazingly the top seed left in the bottom half of the draw, Belgium's Xavier Malisse and London-based Australian Wayne Arthurs.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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