LONDON — Ashlyn Krueger found the perfect way to ring in the Fourth of July, rolling through Ukraine’s Daria Snigur 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to advance to the third round at Wimbledon — all on America’s 250th birthday.
Krueger, who entered the tournament as a qualifier and sits at No. 102 in the world rankings, was among eight American singles players competing in southwest London while their fellow Americans back home enjoyed holiday festivities and fireworks.
Not every American had reason to celebrate, though. The 23rd-seeded Emma Navarro struggled against her Ukrainian opponent, falling 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to 12th seed Marta Kostyuk.
On the men’s side, 23-year-old Zachary Svajda made his Wimbledon debut and gave fifth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur a scare, capturing a set before ultimately bowing out 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Fans at the All England Club were also eagerly awaiting a much-anticipated doubles appearance by Venus and Serena Williams, who were scheduled to take the court Saturday against Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
The iconic sisters, now 46 and 44 years old, last played doubles together at the 2022 U.S. Open. Between them, they captured six Wimbledon doubles titles from 2000 to 2016, part of a combined haul of 22 doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals.
