Elisabetta is injured at the beginning of the match and gives up 6-4 6-0. The last blue player left on the draw also leaves. The no. 2 suffers with Gracheva
A forbidding opponent wasn’t enough, with Elisabetta Cocciaretto there was also bad luck. Her best winning streak at Wimbledon ended in the third round with a 6-4 6-0 defeat by Jessica Pegula, number 4 in the world and rival not yet within reach of the blue. A game that lasted 1h15′, partly influenced by an ankle problem accused by Cocciaretto in the very first points. Among the big names, Aryna Sabalenka goes on with the thrill who, down 5-4 in the second, reassembled Varvara Gracheva in three sets.
cocciaretto out
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Jessica Pegula, number 4 in the world and with tennis grades visibly higher than those of Cocciaretto, would have won anyway. But for the Italian number one (n.43 WTA) there is still a bitter taste in the mouth of an injury that did not allow her to give 100%. It all happened in the second game, when she lost her footing in a descent to the net and slightly twisted her ankle. The entry of the physiotherapist was helpful but not decisive, with Elisabetta having to wait for the fifth game to find a bandage that would allow her to be fluid in her movements. There Pegula had eased the tension, and she managed to recover from a 0-4 and get to 4-5, when, with a double fault, she threw away the opportunity to extend the first set. In the second, the start was not handicapped, Pegula made all the difference: the American put the turbo on and, suddenly, there was no more game. 22′ was enough for her to close, with Elisabetta taking five games before being able to snatch a miserable point from her. Cocciaretto left the field a few minutes later, frowning. She doesn’t get it often. But to grow you also need matches like these.
THRILL SABALENKA
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What a scare Aryna Sabalenka got; what Iga Swiatek probably hoped for, who with a defeat of the Belarusian would have been sure to remain in first place in the ranking after Wimbledon. The number 2 in the world, on the other hand, made up for Varvara Gracheva (n.41), having found herself having to serve to stay in the Championships before winning 2-6 7-5 6-2. For a set and a half Gracheva played tennis in a total state of grace, with a simple tactic: I’m not wrong, let’s see what you have to do. The Belarusian, on a nervous day of the ones that happened to her more often a year ago, answered… wrongly (5 double faults, 16 free in the first set). Thus Gracheva finished an excellent first set with three breaks to her credit, while the Wimbledon website warned with a notification of the “possible surprise” to come. Wait a minute, I had to say, it’s in these moments that she sees herself as a champion. And in fact the sunset of the second set turned into the dawn of the Belarusian, who when she rediscovered her best level was unplayable, as she was to be expected on paper. After nearly two hours of play, Gracheva came out with her head held high and smiling. Sabalenka may not have rested as she wanted, but now she’s definitely in the Slam mood.
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