Following Serena Williams and Emma Raducanu’s early exits, this time it was Iga Swiatek who was on the receiving end of a shocking defeat after losing in straight sets to Alize Cornet during the third round of Wimbledon.
Because of this, the race for the coveted Grand Slam trophy is suddenly wide open as the Wimbledon 2022 odds no longer necessarily favour certain high-profile players.
Given her World No. 3 ranking, Ons Jabeur is looking like one, but so is World No. 18 Simona Halep – who has been generally solid playing in grass courts.
Before we dive deeper into the action, read on below as SBOTOP brings to you the latest Wimbledon 2022 updates.
Alize Cornet the streak stopper
Despite being eliminated already, Alize Cornet will be remembered for ending one of the most memorable winning streaks in tennis history.
Prior to the third round, Cornet’s opponent Swiatek was on a roll as she was on a 37-match winning streak and aiming to reach win No. 38, which would’ve moved her second on the all-time list behind Steffi Graf’s 66-match run between the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The World No. 1 had not lost since February in Dubai, but it was simply not her day as she made 32 unforced errors to lose 6-4, 6-2 in just one hour and 32 minutes.
Cornet couldn’t help but look back and compare when she also caused a major upset in the 2014 edition of this tournament, stunning Serena Williams also in the third round.
“I have no words. It reminds me of the time I beat Serena on this court eight years ago so you guys are lucky for me. I am like the good wine in France. Good wine always ages well,” said Cornet.
After beating Iga Swiatek, Alize Cornet would go on to lose to Ajla Tomljanovic in the Round of 16, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6. Tomljanovic is set to face Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals.
Simona Halep emerges as a new favourite
At this moment, Simona Halep is essentially the co-favourite alongside Ons Jabeur to win the Wimbledon since she’s banging in form once again.
The World No. 18 has yet to lose a single set here in this competition, and she’s fresh from a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over World No. 4 Paula Badosa.
Under coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Simona Halep revamped her approach to grass-court tennis and it shows as she added more power to her serve compared to relying more on her stifling defence before.
She finished with 17 winners and only nine unforced errors en route to her 10th win out of her last 11 matches on grass this season, although it can be noted that this is her first win on grass over a Top 5 competitor.
“It means a lot that I’m back in a quarterfinals after I struggled so much with injuries and self-confidence,” Halep said to the media afterwards. “But I’m working hard every day. I feel like if I do that, I will get better.”
“I feel strong physically. I feel very good mentally. So I think everything comes together. I feel I have power on court,” she added.
The 30-year-old is slated to face Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals. Halep has a 2-1 edge in her head-to-heads against the young American.
Ons Jabeur makes history
After reaching the quarterfinals a year ago, this time Ons Jabeur has gone a step further by becoming the first Arab player to reach a major semi-final since the Open Era began in 1968 after beating Marie Bouzkova on Tuesday, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
“I was hoping that I could get to this stage for a long time already. I struggled few times in the quarterfinal,” said Jabeur.
“I was talking a little bit to Hicham Arazi, and he told me, ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we are sick of it. Please break this.’ I was, like, ‘I’ll try, my friend.’ We were just texting, and he was really happy. He was, like, ‘Thank you for finally making the semifinal. Now you can really go and get the title,'” she further shared.
The World No. 3 dropped the first set. But in sets two and three, Jabeur broke Bouzkova’s serve six times in total to make her comeback.
From 2-1 in the second set, Jabeur won eight straight games. And after dropping serve at love in the fifth game during the decider, Jabeur bounced back and won eight of the last nine points.
Ons Jabeur will meet Tatjana Maria in the semi-finals where she has a 2-1 advantage in their head-to-heads.
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