Roland-Garros champion and world No 1 Simona Halep became the latest big name in the women’s draw to make her exit at Wimbledon after suffering a three-set defeat to Su-Wei Hsieh.
The opening set of the match saw a bizarre start as the first five games all went against serve. The first hold came in the sixth as Halep took a 4-2 lead. The next two games went according to serve before Halep broke for the fourth time to take the first set 6-3.
Both women traded breaks in the second that left the score at 4-4, before Hsieh got a vital break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead. She held the next game to level the match at one set all.
In the deciding set, Halep took an early lead after breaking twice, but while serving, she could not get it done. In the following, she squandered a match point, and that was all the motivation that Hsieh needed as she broke the Romanian again in the next game to take a 6-5 lead. Halep had two chances to stay in the match, but was unable to convert. Hsieh won the match at the first time of asking to send Halep packing with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
In the men’s side, Halep’s counterpart Rafael Nadal had no trouble in advancing to the next round as he eased through with a straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur.
Nadal broke twice and did not have to save a single break point as he took the first set very comfortably, 6-1. The second was just as easy for the world No 1 as he broke De Minaur twice to take it 6-2.
In the final set, Nadal got a break in the fifth game and that was all he needed as he won the third to sail into the next round with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Other selected women’s results:
Angelique Kerber defeated Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4
Dominika Cibulkova defeated Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-2
Daria Kasatkina defeated Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 6-3
Jelena Ostapenko defeated Vitalia Diatchenko 6-0, 6-4
Other selected men’s results:
Ernests Gulbis defeated Alexander Zverev 7-6 (2), 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0
Novak Djokovic defeated Kyle Edmund 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Kei Nishikori defeated Kei Nishikori 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-4
Juan-Martin del Potro defeated Benoit Paire 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3
Photo: Wimbledon.com
