The 2016 Wimbledon Championships are halfway done with the first week coming to an end and so far, it has seen many nail-biting encounters with some of the tournament’s contenders making their way through to the fourth round of the tournament. However, like every other year, a number of players have been shown the door by relatively lower ranked players. Current World No. 2 and last year’s runner-up Garbine Muguruza, two-time Champion Petra Kvitova, and World No.4 Stan Wawrinka are some of the big names who were beaten by lower ranked players.
However, the biggest upset of the tournament and probably one of the biggest in Wimbledon history was the defeat of two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic at the hands of 28th seed Sam Querrey which has boosted the chances of Federer and Murray of winning the Wimbledon. Let’ s take a look at the 5 biggest upsets from the first week of Wimbledon Tennis.#1. Novak Djokovic’s defeat to Sam Querrey
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The best tennis player at present Novak Djokovic had a brilliant year so far and by winning both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, this year was Djokovic’s best opportunity to do a calendar Grand Slam. The Serb was the heaviest favorite ahead of the Wimbledon Championships and had won his first two matches comprehensively with straight set victories over James Ward and Adrian Mannarino.In the third round, the World No.1 was up against big-serving American Sam Querrey who was seeded 28th. Djokovic began the match well, being 4-0 up in the first set before Querrey bounced back and took the first set 7-6. The 6ft 6in tall American took the second set 6-1 before play was suspended.As play resumed, Djokovic tried to make a comeback by taking the third set 6-3 and was 3-1 up in the fourth before Querrey took the set to a tiebreak which he won courtesy of a wide forehand by Djokovic. It was one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history and it ended Djokovic’s 30-match winning streak at Grand Slams. It also meant that for the first time since the 2009 French Open, Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. Querrey will now take on Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the fourth round.
#2. Stan Wawrinka’s defeat to Juan Martin Del Potro
World No.4 Stan Wawrinka is probably the best player after the Big Four and has already won two Grand Slams but this year wasn’t one of Wawrinka’s best as apart from a French Open semi-final, his performances have been quite subdued. The Swiss’ opening game of the Wimbledon was against World No. 65 Taylor Fritz, whom he beat in four sets.He then took on the 2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro who had recently returned to tennis after a brief hiatus from the sport owing to a wrist injury he suffered in 2014. The Argentine was playing his first Grand Slam since the 2014 Australian Open and had cruised through the first round with a comfortable win over Frenchman Stephane Robert.Wawrinka began well and took the first set 6-3. However, the World No. 165 bounced back and took the second set 6-3. Both players broke twice in the third set but it was Del Potro who won the third set tiebreak before he ousted Wawrinka by clinching the fourth set 6-3. It was Wawrinka’s worst Grand Slam performance since his first round exit at the 2014 French Open. Del Potro’s tournament ended after a four-set loss to 32nd seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the third round.
#3. Garbine Muguruza’s defeat to Jana Cepelova
The young Spaniard made it to the headlines by reaching the final in last year’s Wimbledon where she lost to Serena WIilliams. Muguruza recorded her first Grand Slam victory in this year’s Roland Garros after beating Williams in straight sets. Muguruza was World No.2 coming into Wimbledon and was one of the top contenders for the title. In the first round, Muguruza survived a scare from Italian Camila Giorgi to win the match 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.In the second round, Muguruza was up against Slovak qualifier Jane Cepelova who was ranked 127 in the world. Cepelova had previously beaten Simona Halep in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon. Cepelova was cruising through the first set and though Muguruza was trying to stage a comeback, her resilience just wasn’t enough as the 23-year old took the first set 6-3.The Slovak then showed Muguruza the door by taking the second set 6-2. It was the end of the tournament for last year’s runner-up who had lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Barbora Strycova by the same scoreline. Cepelova faced last year’s French Open runner-up Lucie Safarova in the next round and put up a tough fight before losing 6-4, 1-6, 10-12.
#4. Dominic Thiem’s defeat to Jiri Vesey
The 22-year old Austrian has had a terrific year so far, having won four ATP titles and reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Roland Garros before being ousted by eventual winner Novak Djokovic. His performance at Roland Garros gave him a place in the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time. Thiem was seeded 8th in the Wimbledon and was expected to continue his form from Roland Garros as he had won the Mercedes Cup, beating Roger Federer in the final.Thiem began his tournament with a straight set win over 2012 quarter-finalist Florian Mayer. In the second round, Thiem was up against Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely. The match was a tightly contested one as all the sets were decided by a tiebreak. The World No.49 held his nerve to beat the Roland Garros semi-finalist in straight sets. It was only the second top 10 win of his career for Vesely who has recorded his best performance at a Grand Slam by beating 31st seeded Portuguese Joao Sousa in the third round. He now takes on 2010 runner-up and World No.10 Tomas Berdych.
#5. Petra Kvitova’s defeat to Ekaterina Makarova
The hard-hitting Czech has probably been the country’s best tennis players ever since the playing days of Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna. Wimbledon has clearly been Kvitova’s favorite Grand Slam as she is a two-time champion here. However, 2016 hasn’t been one of Kvitova’s best years as she has put in a number of inconsistent performances in addition to her inability to go past the third round in any of the Grand Slams so far.Kvitova was the 10th seed coming into Wimbledon and began her tournament with a 6-0 6-4 win over Romanian Sorana Cirstea. In the second round, she was up against 35th seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova. The match was tightly contested but it was Makarova who took the first set 7-5 before rain stopped play. The second set was played on the next day and it was another close set but the two-time Champion couldn’t prevent herself from being eliminated as Makarova won the second set tiebreak to clinch the match. Kvitova’s woes in 2016 continued while Makarova will now face compatriot Elena Vesnina in the fourth round after beating another Czech Barbora Strycova in the third round.
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