Britain’s Liam Broady defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud to advance at Wimbledon. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
There were surprises on the fourth day at Wimbledon.
Liam Broady, a 29-year-old Briton growing up four hours from London in Stockport, England, provided the most surprising win over No. 4 Casper Ruud in the second round. Broady, the world-ranked 142nd ATP player , won the first frame before surrendering the next two frames to his Norwegian opponent. However, Broady hit back and won the last two sets and claimed the win – his first against a top 10 player – 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0.
Then No.9 Taylor Fritz, who reached the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finals, gambled away a two-set lead over unseeded Mikael Ymer. Fritz lost three straight sets to Ymer, who managed the incredible comeback win 2-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-2. This will be the furthest progress the 24-year-old Swede has made at Wimbledon.
Earlier in the day, two sides of the professional tennis age spectrum also caused a stir.
Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year-old Russian who made her WTA debut in 2022, became the third youngest player to reach the third round at Wimbledon in the Open Era after beating 10th seeded Barbora Krejčíková. Andreeva led 6-3, 4-0 before Krejčíková was eliminated in the second set.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old Stan Wawrinka reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2020 after upsetting No. 29 seed Tomás Martín Etcheverry of Argentina. Wawrinka – who is 15 years older than Etcheverry – won the first set, dropped the second set but got through the final two frames to win 6-2 4-6 6-4 6-2.
If you want to feel old: Wawrinka had competed in 12 Gran Slam tournaments – including two at Wimbledon – before Andreeva was born in 2007.
Wawrinka will now face Novak Djokovic, which Wawrinka joked about in his post-match interview.
So while Andreeva could be the future of women’s tennis, Wawrinka proved on Thursday that he can still play alongside the younger generation in men’s tennis.
How did the Americans fare?
While Fritz’s Wimbledon bid ended in defeat, the other top-10 American, Frances Tiafoe, stayed in contention after a three-set win over Dominic Stephan Stricker. But it wasn’t a walk in the park. Tiafoe and Stricker battled it out in an intense opening set that included 24 tiebreak points. Tiafoe grabbed the lead, secured the set and won 7-6 (13-11), 6-4, 6-2.
Tommy Paul, another top 20 player, won his match against Milos Raonic. 16th seed Paul won the first two sets, dropping the third set and securing the final frame to progress. The final score: 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4.
Other Americans – including Fritz – didn’t fare so well:
Sloane Stephens lost to No. 20 Donna Vekić in three sets, 6-4 4-7 4-6.
Danielle Collins lost to No. 14 Belinda Bencic in three sets, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-2).
Sofia Kenin defeated Wang Xinyu in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
JJ Wolf lost in three sets against Alexander Bublik, who was 23rd. Wolf had a chance to steal a frame when forcing a tiebreak in set number two but failed to secure the win. Bublik’s last record ended with a 6:3, 7:6 (7:5), 6:0 win.
Michael Mmoh won 15 games but not a set in a loss to Maximilian Marterer. The German opponent won 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
Alycia Parks lost to Ana Bogdan. Although Parks won the first frame, Bogdan won 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Frances Tiafoe is the highest-ranked American left at Wimbledon. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Other notable surprises
Elise Mertens lost to Elina Svitolina in three sets. Svitolina, the unseeded Ukrainian, took the win in the first set, then faltered in the second and rebounded violently in the third and final frame. Svitolina defeated 28th seed Mertens from Belgium 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. Svitolina recently made it to the quarterfinals of the French Open but has not made it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon and the US Open since 2019.
Markéta Vondroušová shocked No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova with a straight-set win. Vondroušová, a 24-year-old Czech, had never progressed past the second round at Wimbledon. She won 6-3, 6-3.
Jule Niemeier, who did not even make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, is hoping for a repeat after beating 16th-seeded Karolína Muchová 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.
The unseeded Jiri Lehecka defeated the 18th seeded Francisco Cerundolo in three sets: 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Other notable results
Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, number 3 seeded, defeated Alizé Cornet in straight sets that included a furious tiebreaker in the second frame. Rybakina won 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).
Andrey Rublev, the No. 7 seed, bounced back from a set loss in the first set to defeat Aslan Karatsev in four sets 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
Caroline Garcia, seeded No. 5, defeated Leylah Annie Fernandez in straight sets. Garcia dropped the first frame but won the last two in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-6) victory.
Alexander Zverev struggled to beat Gijs Brouwer in straight sets after his semifinal appearance at the French Open. Zverev won 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) and advanced to the second round.
Anet Kontaveit, the former No. 2 player in the world, will officially retire after losing 6-1, 6-2 to No. 32 Marie Bouzková. Kontaveit, 27, announced in June that she was giving up tennis after being diagnosed with lumbar disc degeneration.
highlight of the day
Broady pulled off a mighty shot in his match against Ruud in front of his country: