Wimbledon Day 5 — Tennis so Good You Don’t Want to Leave to Get a Hat
This gem of a Wimbledon audience shot was during today’s hot-shot-heavy match between Guido Pella and Kevin Anderson. The commentator on the ESPN stream (possibly Andrew Castle?) is responsible for our post’s title and the best explanation we can give for the sometimes crazy lengths people will go to to fashion a hat out of whatever they have with them — from newspapers to fleece blankets to down vests — rather than, you know…. BUY A HAT.
Please tell us if you have another explanation for these people.
Speaking of Pella…
π¨ U N B E L I E V A B L E π¨@guido_pella and @KAndersonATP, take a bow! π#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6uEAIJZNfS
β Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2019
Good of Pella and Anderson to bust out some Wii Tennis on centre court.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/jOt8CfhwVK
β Matthew Willis (@MattRacquet) July 5, 2019
Guido Pella is building a rep as a finalist slayer at Wimbledon. Last year he took out 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic in a 5-set marathon. This year he took out last year’s marathon man finalist Kevin Anderson in straight sets, with a stunning level of winners and shocking lack of errors. Dude was on FYRE, baby.
The Argentine reached his first-ever 3rd round in a Slam at last year’s US Open; he’s now into his first ever 4th round at Wimby. Given his performance today, and with a similar-style big serving opponent up next in the form of Milos Raonic, Pella has a shot to make his first QF as well.
Meanwhile Djokovic is looking at his totally broken-open section of the draw like…
Not the #NextGen You Were Expecting
Everyone in the tennis world is always on the lookout for the Next Big Thing and though there are currently a lot of excellent young players on both tours, some have been selected by fans and media as faves and expected future Big 4 material.
Well, Wimby Day 1 took care of three of the biggies, Sascha Zverev, Naomi Osaka, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Over the course of the tourney we’ve also lost current and former Chosen Ones like Denis Shapovalov, Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Alex De Minaur, and Sonya Kenin.
Today included some more #NextGen casualties, with Val losing her Polish prince Bertie (aka Hubert Hurkacz) in four sets to Djokovic, and Canadian darling Felix Auger-Aliassime surprisingly going out in straights to spirited Frenchie Ugo Humbert.
UGOING TO THE FOURTH ROUND!
β Wilfy (@whitelinefervor) July 5, 2019
Ugo Humbert with a super solid straight set win over teen phenom Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 7-5 6-3. FAA grounded and shaky today but take nothing away from the Frenchie. So good this first week.
Sets up a date with The Djoker in R16. pic.twitter.com/glFfUVp1aQ
Into the Top 100 for the first time less than a year ago, the currently #66-ranked Humbert was in a lively mood from the start.
Ugo Humbert looks very happy π (π₯Eurosport) pic.twitter.com/J5VwSGn24v
β Rena (@_irenka23_) July 4, 2019
That more relaxed vibe no doubt helped him stay steady throughout the match, serving well and showing off some fancy shot-making. Across the net, Felix was battling a perpetual problem with his serve, possibly related to his unusually stilted service motion….
Continuing the trend of #NextGen-ers being hard on themselves, Felix didn’t rate his or Ugo’s performance all that highly…
“I just wasn’t finding ways,” says Felix Auger-Aliassime after his loss to Humbert. “I think he just did what he had to do. It was solid. From my end it was pretty embarrassing.” #Wimbledon
β TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) July 5, 2019
Humbert will be hoping his game is better than solid when he faces Djokovic in the next round. For those not too familiar with the Frenchie, here’s a lovely little montage from the ATP….
Happy Birthday, Ugo Humbert! π @nextgenfinals | #SeetheFuture pic.twitter.com/OdGIeHG5tg
β ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) June 26, 2019
Coco Hype Is Officially a Thing
“People say Court 1’s my court. Maybe Centre can be as well.”βCoco Gauff https://t.co/mPhCU5cM0T pic.twitter.com/0xn0KxhqIC
β TENNIS.com (@Tennis) July 5, 2019
On Day 3 we talked about the smooth flow of Coco Gauff’s game, and that stunning level of maturity in her aura as she followed up her first round win over Venus Williams. Today, facing match points and a straight-sets loss in the third round, she looked more like you’d expect an overwhelmed teenager thrust into the Centre Court spotlight to look.
The narratives were quickly shifting in tennis media, as pundits backpedaled their FUTURE CHAMPION hype and focused more on the limits of her age.
And then Polona Hercog, facing a rather monumental win in her own career, faltered at the finish line. She failed to close out the match, lost the set, had an MTO for a back issue, and then relied on a dumptruck’s worth of backhand AND forehand slices to try and carry through the third set.
Absolute heart-breaker for Hercog. Had the match on her racquet and let it slip. Coco showed phenomenal fortitude, dealt with so many tricky shots and her own nerves, took the win. Faces Halep next. The hype will be off-the-charts.
β Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) July 5, 2019
The most impressive thing about Coco’s performance was a shift in that second set. Previously looking a little lost and forlorn, she started to shake it off and dig back into the match bit by bit. When Hercog blinked, Coco was happy to take the opportunity to wrestle away control. It was an ongoing battle, but she was eventually triumphant, much to the delight of her family and the Centre Court crowd.
This also kicked the hyperbole matchine back into overdrive, but amidst the “savior of tennis” articles were some words of caution — like this tweet down below — from those who have seen previous youngsters crumble under the sudden crushing weight of everyone’s expectations.
ππ½ She ππ½ is ππ½ fifteen ππ½
β Dima (@panicmode_on) July 6, 2019
It’s ok to celebrate Coco’s achievements and be excited about her future, without declaring her as the saviour of tennis. https://t.co/FU1WsDqgus
We also posed a question about the dubious motivations of celebs who immediately jump on a teenager’s bandwagon, and you can click through the tweet below to see the range of responses:
No one will agree with me, but I find it a bit weird that Coco said she was getting DMs from celebs after her 1st round win. I mean….you’re an adult celeb and a teenage girl you don’t know wins a tennis match and your first thought is I NEED HER NUMBER. π
β Tennis Inside Out (@TennisInsideOut) July 5, 2019
We posted this before Michelle Obama’s tweet of congrats turned up. So, depending on if she sent a DM as well, many apologies if we accidentally implied the former First Lady is “weird”….heh.
But seriously, people. Be excited for Coco’s next match against the formidable Simona Halep, enjoy her talent and grace, but let’s try to hold back on the Weight of the World kinda stuff. Here’s a peek at the very teenage energy Coco’s got going with all this celeb love going on:
Was this the REAL moment of the day? π Jaden ππΌ just ππΌ tweeted ππΌ me! ππΌ
β Chad (@CCSMOOTH13) July 6, 2019
π₯: Coco Gauff’s IG pic.twitter.com/4Ac2uufsxM
WHAT ELSE?
Aside from Djokovic, Pliskova, and Verdasco wins, and another round for Yastremska, the results today didn’t always go according to prediction–or at least didn’t get there cleanly. Here’s a quick peek:
Equalling his best ever Grand Slam performance, @benoitpaire beats Jiri Vesely 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-6(2) to advance to the #Wimbledon fourth round pic.twitter.com/Sc8H9ztLfg
β Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2019
Benoit Paire’ season started with him literaly sleeping on court in Auckland followed by getting booed by French crowd at French indoor tournaments.
β Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) July 5, 2019
Since the start of clay season he has won 2 titles and reached second week at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Roberto Bautista Agut doesn’t face a break point all match and beats #9 Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-1 to reach the last 16 at #Wimbledon for the 3rd time in his career.
β JosΓ© Morgado (@josemorgado) July 5, 2019
Peaking at the right time.
β Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2019
Having rallied from 4-1 down in the deciding set against Daniil Medvedev, @David__Goffin played the final two points to perfection to reach the fourth round #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/0gOqeZlfsw
.@D_Yastremska (2/2)
β Ashish TV Slams (@ashishtvslams) July 5, 2019
104 winners in three matches (seven sets). π#wimbledon pic.twitter.com/m8iQi4e8l1
.@Simona_Halep beats Azarenka 6-3,6-1 and is into the 4th round πͺ#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/kr2wUQhlBc
β Wilson Tennis (@WilsonTennis) July 5, 2019
Azarenka looks crushed. She hit 33 unforced errors in 66 minutes.
β JosΓ© Morgado (@josemorgado) July 5, 2019
One in each two minutes.
Unchartered territoryβ¦
β Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2019
Chinaβs Shuai Zhang progresses to the fourth round for the first time at #Wimbledon as she beats No.14 seed Caroline Wozniacki pic.twitter.com/X356oNJ9sl
Zhang Shuai is the 1st Chinese player into the R16 @Wimbledon since Peng Shuai in *2014*.
β WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 5, 2019
Zhang has not dropped a set, defeating No.23 Garcia, Wickmayer, and now No.14 Wozniacki 64 62 to book her spot in the second week.
Never won a MD match at #Wimbledon before this week.
(Article continues below)
An Oops! and an Oh My…!
Siegemund and Sitak got to the showers a bit earlier than anticipated….
Attack of the sprinklers at #Wimbledon π¦pic.twitter.com/iVwJzyIS91
β Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 5, 2019
In other news, Flirty!Stan has been an absolute delight of provocative pics and *wink wink nudge nudge* humor on social media of late…
Hi Iβm Stan, I play tennis, can I have your phone number please ? πΈπππ»ππ€·π»ββοΈπ€£ #ItsNeverABadTime #OnTheCourtOrOff #wimbledon #makeitfun pic.twitter.com/r2RDnpU8c5
β Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) July 5, 2019
And that’s a wrap for DAY 5 of WIMBLEDON!!!
Are you caught up on Day 4 as well?
Do you want to move on to DAY 6??
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