For many the highlight of the round was Sinner beating Berretini in four. It was certainly a qualify encounter but the result was never really in doubt. Still, the potential champ going up against a former finalist in round 2 is headline making stuff and the center court crowd certainly got value for money.
Monfils defeating Wawrinka in straights was also a crowd pleaser and added some oomph to the second round.
It’s telling when the most significant thing I have to write about the second round is FAA’s collapse versus Kokkinakis from two sets to love and match points up.
The next most notable thing, and the saddest, is Hurkacz retiring injured match point down to Fils. The Pole hurt his knee diving for a ball and we were once again reminded how cruel sport can be.
Those two were both favorites and dark horses for the title and their absence from the draw is a downer for fans.
FAA going down when he seemed to be putting things back together again is another disappointment. He really is slipping into could’ve been a contender category. There is of course still time and of course no one will be more let down by his loss than the man himself. When he does win a slam, it’ll be some story to tell with all the ups and downs he’s had in his relatively short career.
Casper Ruud went out to blonde bombshell Fognini, losing in four. Ruud, the eighth seed, was never expected to contend for the title and his loss is only really interesting because Fognini came back from the career dead to do it and had made himself look even more handsome than usual with his recently bleached hairdo.
A few outside shots at the title scraped through:
Tommy Paul, the Queens champ, beat qualifier Virtanen, fighting back from 1-2 down. Paul is the 12th seed and just won a big grass title but his winning the trophy would still be a real shock.
Shelton avoided a possible upset versus qualifier Harris, also coming back from 1-2 down.
Dimitrov also beat Zhang in five.
Shapovalov defeated Altmaier. It’s a bit of a push to call the Canadian an outside shot, but he is a former semi-finalist and so talented.
Struff, who I should have included in my dark horse list as he is both highly dangerous and unseeded, defeated Zhang in four. He’ll face Medvedev next and an upset could be on the cards.
Two of my dark horses did make it through to round 3 – Bublik and Humbert. Bublik beating the highly talented Cazaux in straights is impressive and suggests a real maturity and growth on his part. He’ll face Paul in the next round, a classic encounter of consistency over raw flair.
Humbert also beat a dangerous rival in his straight sets dismissal of BVDZ. He’ll face former quarter finalist Nakashima in round 3. That match is in no way a certain win and is similar to the Paul vs Bublik encounter pitching a level headed sound player over one who’s more suited for grass. The problem is the grass nowadays is more suited to the consistent, more sensible players.
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