Tue, Jul 09, 2024 page7

• Gauff out as Alcaraz, Sinner head to Wimbledon clash

  • AFP, LONDON
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  World No. 2 Coco Gauff was on Sunday sent crashing out of Wimbledon by US compatriot Emma Navarro as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were firmly locked on an All England Club semi-final collision course.

  Gauff’s 6-4, 6-3 fourth-round defeat means that only two of the top 10 women’s seeds are left in the tournament.

  TAIWAN PLAYERS

  

  Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz returns to France’s Ugo Humbert during their Wimbledon men’s singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Sunday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Meanwhile, Australian Open women’s doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens of Belgium made quick work of their second-round opponents.

  The top women’s doubles seeds defeated the UK’s Yuriko Miyazaki and Emily Appleton 6-1, 6-2.

  In the first round of the mixed doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig lost 6-3, 3-6 (10/5) against the UK’s Marcus Willis and Alicia Barnett.

  ANOTHER ONE DOWN

  Navarro, ranked 19th, reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time with her defeat of US Open champion Gauff.

  Gauff, who made the semi-finals at the Australian Open and French Open this year, has still to get past the last 16 at Wimbledon, the tournament, where she made her breakthrough as a 15-year-old in 2019.

  Her shock defeat followed the unexpected exit of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round on Saturday.

  “I think I played really aggressively. Coco’s an amazing player and I have a ton of respect for her,” Navarro said.

  Only fourth-ranked 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini, the world No. 7, remain from the top 10 women.

  UNCOMFORTABLE ALCARAZ

  In the men’s singles, world No. 3 Alcaraz defeated French 16th seed Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to make the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the ninth time in just 14 appearances.

  However, it was another uncomfortable afternoon for the Spaniard, who had needed five sets to see off Frances Tiafoe in the third round.

  His erratic performance on Sunday saw him drop serve five times and commit an uncharacteristic 33 unforced errors.

  The 21-year-old, bidding to become just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, eased through the first set under the Centre Court roof before crucially saving four break points in the fifth game of the second.

  Humbert stormed back, breaking the champion three times in the third set as Alcaraz went spectacularly off the boil.

  However, Humbert handed over a service break in the 11th game of the fourth set and Alcaraz took full advantage to quickly seal the tie.

  “I will be there, fighting until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who is chasing a fourth Grand Slam title.

  Alcaraz will take on US 12th seed Tommy Paul, who beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

  Over on Court One, top seed Sinner moved into the last eight with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (11/9) win over US 14th seed Ben Shelton.

  Sinner, who won his maiden Slam crown at the Australian Open this year, is to face Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals in a rematch of their final in Melbourne.

  “It was a tough match, especially the third set. I had to keep saving set points,” said Sinner, a semi-finalist last year.

  Medvedev, also a semi-finalist last year, progressed when 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov retired in the first set of their last-16 tie with a knee injury.

  Additional reporting by staff writer
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