Wimbledon’s third-round slate moved quickly on a day that produced one of the draw’s biggest shocks: defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek was beaten by Alexandra Eala on Centre Court, while Alexander Zverev powered past Marcos Giron in straight sets. For readers tracking Berrettini-related Wimbledon paths, the results matter because a section of the men’s draw is now being shaped by who survives this crowded round, not by seed number alone.
Zverev’s 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 win over Giron was built on pace and control. He delivered 17 aces and won 81% of his points at the net, a combination that left Giron chasing from the start and then trying to hang on once the second set tightened. Taylor Fritz also stayed alive after a harder test, beating Lorenzo Sonego 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 after fighting back from 5-3 down in the final tiebreak to take it 7-5.
The women’s side brought the result that changed the mood of the day. Swiatek’s defeat, 7-6, 6-2, came after Eala edged an 85-minute opening set on Centre Court, and it removed the defending champion from the bracket before the weekend’s later rounds were fully set. That kind of loss does more than clear a path for someone else; it rewrites the pressure map for everyone still in the section, because the biggest name no longer stands where the draw expected her to stand.
There was no shortage of other match pressure. Amanda Anisimova fell to Madison Keys 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes after seven double faults and 42 unforced errors, while Linda Noskova outlasted Sorana Cirstea 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 in two hours and 18 minutes and saved a match point along the way. Flavio Cobolli’s 0-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov added another long match to a day full of them; he converted 79% of points behind his first delivery and saved 13 of 16 break points.
The day’s quietest but most human note came off the court. Serena Williams said on Instagram that her knee “just isn’t ready to compete,” and she withdrew from the doubles campaign alongside Venus after the injury she sustained in her opening-round singles defeat to Maya Joint. That leaves one of Wimbledon’s most watched pairings out of the event before it starts, and it is a reminder that the tournament’s story is being written as much by bodies that do not recover in time as by match points. With third-round play still unfolding, the next round will be defined by which names handled the day’s openings and which ones left the bracket open for someone else.
