Wimbledon: Another seed leaves when
Keys is surprised by Siegemund. No. 1 Sabalenka beats Raducanu
[July 05, 2025]
By HOWARD FENDRICH
LONDON (AP) — This most unpredictable of Wimbledons delivered yet
another surprise Friday when reigning Australian Open champion
Madison Keys, the No. 6 seed, was a lopsided loser in the third
round, eliminated 6-3, 6-3 by 104th-ranked Laura Siegemund of
Germany.
Keys' exit left just one of the top six women in the bracket before
the end of Week 1: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who stuck around by
claiming the last five games and defeating 2021 U.S. Open champion
Emma Raducanu of Britain 7-6 (6), 6-4 at a boisterous Centre Court
at night.
No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 4 Jasmine Paolini and
No. 5 Zheng Qinwen already were out. The men's field also has seen
its share of surprises, including a Wimbledon-record 13 seeds gone
in the first round.
“At times, it wasn’t the best quality, let’s say. But I managed, and
in the end, it's just important to find solutions and I did that
well. Kept my nerves in the end," Siegemund said, then added with a
laugh: "There are always nerves. If you don’t have nerves in this
moment, you’re probably dead.”
Wimbledon might be the only Grand Slam event where Keys hasn't
reached at least the semifinals, but she has participated in the
quarterfinals there twice and is enjoying a breakthrough 2025,
including her title at Melbourne Park in January.
Keys' power vs. Siegemund's spins and slices offered quite a
contrast in styles, and this outcome was surprisingly one-way
traffic on a windy afternoon at No. 2 Court. The key statistic,
undoubtedly, was this: Keys made 31 unforced errors, 20 more than
Siegemund.
When it ended with one last backhand return from Keys that sailed
wide, Siegemund smiled broadly, raised her arms and jumped up and
down repeatedly.
“You can’t not be happy when you beat a great player like Madison,”
Siegemund said.
How unexpected is this for Siegemund? Before this year, her career
record at the All England Club was 2-5, and she'd never made it past
the second round. Taking into account all four Grand Slam
tournaments, she had reached the third round only once in 28
previous appearances, getting to the quarterfinals at the 2020
French Open.
“There is technically no pressure for me,” said Siegemund, at 37 the
oldest woman remaining in the tournament. “I try to remember that I
only play for myself. I don’t feel like I need to prove anything
anymore. My boyfriend often tells me that.”
[to top of second column] |
Laura Siegemund of Germany, right, greets Madison Keys of the U.S.
at the net after winning their women's singles third round match at
the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 4, 2025.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
On Sunday, the German faces another participant no
one could have predicted would be at this stage of the grass-court
major: 101st-ranked Solana Sierra of Argentina, who lost in
qualifying and made it into the main draw when another player
withdrew.
What else happened at Wimbledon on Friday?
Ben Shelton played for all of four points and about a minute,
wrapping up his second-round match against Rinky Hijikata that was
suspended Thursday night. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached
the fourth round by beating Jan-Lennard Struff in four sets. Other
men's seeds advancing were No. 5 Taylor Fritz, No. 14 Andrey Rublev
and No. 17 Karen Khachanov. In the women's draw, four-time major
title winner Naomi Osaka's Wimbledon ended in the third round for
the third time, eliminated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. No. 13
Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. advanced to the fourth round, as did
No. 24 Elise Mertens and No. 30 Linda Noskova.
Who is scheduled to play at the All England Club on Saturday?
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek will take on Danielle
Collins at Centre Court — who could forget their testy exchange at
the Paris Olympics? — while No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time major
champ Novak Djokovic also are involved in matches at the main
stadium. Two American women will be in action at No. 1 Court: Hailey
Baptiste faces No. 7 Mirra Andreeva of Russia, and No. 10 Emma
Navarro plays defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech
Republic.
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