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Teenage Coco Gauff is eliminated from Wimbledon in the third round after a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 loss to compatriot Amanda Anisimova on Center Court on Saturday.
Gauff, 18, was a French Open runner-up and seeded 11th at the All England Club.
Anisimova, seeded at No. 20, has now reached the fourth round in three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
“It was my first time playing on Center Court,” said Anisimova. “This is the special day of my career.”
Anisimova started the match with a loss in the first three games before the 20-year-old’s powerful baseline game finally began to prevail. Anisimova won that opening set to a tie-break that she then led 4-1, but Gauff grabbed the next half-dozen points. She then lost the tiebreak despite leading 4-1.
“I think the worst thing for a tennis player is to lose 7-6 in the first set,” said Anisimova. “I had the same experience at the French Open. From experience I think it’s really important to just hit back and give everything I’ve got.”
She didn’t let that derail her. Instead, she continued to take control of the groundstroke changes while doing a fantastic job handling Gauff’s serve, which hit 123mph on Saturday.
After entering 2022 with a record of 11-23 in sets of three, Anisimova has won 13-6 this season and leads the Tour with most wins in games going the distance.
“I think I just didn’t play that well,” said Gauff. “I don’t think it really has anything to do with my head. There are days like that. I just have to practice so I have fewer days.”
After finishing the win, Anisimova flopped on her back on the court, covering her face with both hands, then got up to blow kisses to the crowd, wiping away tears.
“It was a tricky game,” said Anisimova. “The conditions were very difficult. It was always changing and you had to adapt every second and just focus on what was going on.
Anisimova next meets Harmony Tan for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Tan defeated second-place British wildcard Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the fourth round. She never had a break point in the match and converted five of the 10 she earned.
The unseeded player from France defeated Serena Williams on center court in the first round and then edged out 32-seeded Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.
“I think I like grass,” said Tan, who has won three straight matches in a tournament for the first time in her career. “I really like to slice, volley, anything with my game.”
Tan makes her All England Club debut. She has played four times at the French Open and reached the second round once. She also played at this year’s Australian Open and also reached the second round there. At the US Open in 2018, she lost in the first round in her only appearance at Flushing Meadows.
Ajla Tomljanovic also advanced, beating 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova 2-6 6-4 6-3.
Other women’s four-round matches on Monday include No.17 Elena Rybakina vs. Petra Martic and 2019 champion Simona Halep vs. No.4 Paula Badosa, who defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-6 (4) .
Kvitova has not progressed past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since round four at the 2020 Australian Open.
Martic, ranked 80 but a fourth-rounder twice before at Wimbledon, ended American Jessica Pegula’s streak of quarterfinal appearances at Grand Slam tournaments this year with a 6-2, 7-6 (5)- 3rd place win.
The 28-year-old Pegula, the No. 8 seed, had reached the quarterfinals at this year’s Australian Open and French Open. At Wimbledon she reached the third round for the first time.
Meanwhile, Tamara Korpatsch, the German player who criticized Tan for withdrawing from her doubles match at Wimbledon, has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be withdrawing from her next tournament in France, she said on Instagram.
It is at least the fourth known case of COVID-19 among players who have competed or intended to compete at Wimbledon.
Korpatsch, who lost to Heather Watson in her singles first round match at Wimbledon, posted pictures of herself at the All England Club with Rafael Nadal and John Isner on social media on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
