Tennis
Harris exits Wimbledon in second round─── MORGAN PIEK 07:59 Thu, 03 Jul 2025
South Africa’s leading men’s singles player, Lloyd Harris, saw his short run at Wimbledon come to an end on Wednesday after being eliminated from the grass-court Grand Slam in London.
The 28-year-old Harris showed plenty of fight against the 14th-seeded Russian, Andrey Rublev, but was ultimately outclassed.
Harris took the first set on Court 3 in a tiebreak, but Rublev fought back in the second to gain momentum and eventually sealed the match in four sets.
Carlos Alcaraz. Photo: AELTC/Bob Martin
While Harris fired down 25 aces, he failed to capitalise when it mattered most against the experienced Rublev. The Russian claimed the win 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round.
In May, Rublev also beat Harris in four sets – that time during the first round of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris.
Meanwhile, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised through to the third round with a straight-sets victory over 733rd-ranked Englishman Oliver Tarvet. Alcaraz wrapped up the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Aryna Sabalenka. Photo: AELTC/Ian Walton
On Thursday, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic will take on Britain’s Dan Evans. World number one Jannik Sinner of Italy is also scheduled to be in action against Aleksandar Vukic of Australia.
In the ladies singles, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus advanced to the third round, where she’ll face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu of England.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam winner, took just an hour and 35 minutes to dispatch Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 7-6, 6-4.
Emma Raducanu. Photo: AELTC/Edward Whitaker
Raducanu, in turn, made light work of beating the 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova – also of the Czech Republic – 6-3, 6-3 to set up her clash with Sabalenka.
Meanwhile, 2024 Wimbledon and French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy was knocked out after a three-set loss to Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia. Rakhimova upset the fourth seed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Australian Open champion Madison Keys of the USA also progressed, beating Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2.
On Thursday, Iga Swiatek will face Caty McNally of the USA, while defending champion Barbora Krejcíková of the Czech Republic will go up against Caroline Dolehide, also of the USA.
